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Name: naomi
Country: China
Metro: Beijing
Gender: Female
Interests: Photography, traveling, reading, music, trying new foods, ice skating, dancing, yoga, tai chi
Expertise: My official title (I have a certificate to prove it) is "Foreign Expert" but I'm not quite sure what I'm expert in!
Occupation: Education/training
Message: message meEmail: email me
Website: visit my website
Member Since:
2/22/2005
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| (This article was taken from www.cpt.org)
If the Christmas story were to happen today, Mary and Joseph would have a hard time getting to Bethlehem....
Join with other churches in this effort to uplift the crisis facing Bethlehem and remember the Palestinians cut-off from traditional lands.
Since 2002, Israeli authorities have been building a separation barrier that snakes through the occupied Palestinian territories, in effect annexing valuable Palestinian land and water resources. To clear the way, Palestinians living near the security barrier often face the threat of home demolitions. According to Israeli human rights monitoring organization B'tselem, the separation barrier affects nearly half a million Palestinian residents, and currently the barrier separates almost twelve percent of the land on the Palestinian side of the 1967 Green Line from the rest of the occupied Palestinian territories. When completed, the barrier will be 780 km long (for more statistics click here.)
Today, the Israeli-built separation barrier surrounds Bethlehem, located in Palestine, on three sides and cuts off the city from Jerusalem only six miles away. The Israeli human rights group B'tselem writes about the separation barrier:
"In June 2002, the government of Israel decided to erect a physical barrier to separate Israel and the West Bank in order to prevent the uncontrolled entry of Palestinians into Israel. In most areas, the barrier is an electronic fence with dirt paths, barbed-wire fences, and trenches on both sides, at an average width of sixty meters. In some areas, a wall six to eight meters high has been erected in place of the barrier system . . . The construction of the barrier has brought new restrictions on movement for Palestinians living near the Barrier's route, in addition to the widespread restrictions that have been in place since the outbreak of the current intifada. Thousands of Palestinians have difficulty going to their fields and marketing their produce in other areas of the West Bank. Farming is a primary source of income in the Palestinian communities situated along the Barrier's route, an area that constitutes one of the most fertile areas in the West Bank. The harm to the farming sector is liable to have drastic economic effects on the residents--whose economic situation is already very difficult-- and drive many families into poverty." (To read the full article, go to the website and follow the link at the end of this article.)
Another good reason to go to the website is that there are a couple pictures and maps you can see. You can find them at
http://www.cpt.org/campaigns/no_way_to_the_inn/description.php
Christmas may be over, but there is a New Year around the corner. And because of Israel's Wall of Separation, things are looking worse and worse for the Palestinians in the year ahead. | | |
| O Little Town of Bethlehem
(taken from www.hcef.com)
As Christmas draws near, Bethlehem is living one of the "most difficult periods in its history," says the town's mayor.
Victor Batarseh gave that bleak assessment in his customary Christmas Message, as reported by the Vatican agency Fides.
"The wall of separation built by Israel has created many problems, preventing contact with Jerusalem and other areas, isolating workers and practically confiscating 280 hectares of arable land, turning the town into a prison," lamented the mayor.
This year the number of pilgrims and visitors is low, due to Israel's security measures, including checkpoints on the Bethlehem road.
Usually Bethlehem is crowded at this time but today "all seems to be calm in the shadow of the wall," Batarseh added.
"Palestinian farmers cannot reach the market to sell their produce," he added. "Unemployment in Bethlehem has reached the unsustainable level of 65%. Because of the financial crisis, the municipality has been unable to pay its employees for three months."
In recent times, many Christians who lived in Palestinian territory have left the area because of difficult living conditions. "We pray the Star may once again shine on Bethlehem," the mayor said.
The Vatican agency also reported the appeal of the Franciscan Custodians of the Holy Land, who are calling on the faithful worldwide "to save Bethlehem."
The Franciscans report that the problems and difficulties not only affect the local population, but also the friars, religious and all pilgrims.
In 1965, Christians comprised 65% of the population; today they are less than 12%, the Franciscans noted. In recent years, 3,000 Christians have moved away from Bethlehem in search of a better future.
"The friars," Fides noted, "are trying to persuade people to stay but they continue to emigrate because of the economic and social difficulties." | | |
| This summer, the topic of self defense came up with one of my students I am close with. I don’t remember how “Carrie” and I got talking about it, but I started sharing a few basic things that my dad had taught me and that I had read. Carrie had never heard any of this before and was quite interested. As a tiny Chinese girl (she’s quite, quite small), she is especially vulnerable and realizes it. After I had shared just a few common-sense tips with her, she felt much better and more confident.
When it came time to choose a topic for this semester’s special lecture, I spent quite a while strategizing. What would be a topic I enjoyed, to make the work more fun? What would be a topic that required little research? What would be a topic that interested the students and was useful to their daily lives?
Then I hit upon an idea: self defense!
Randomly polling several of my classes and students, I found that none of my students had ever learned anything about self defense. Nor are there any opportunities to take classes on campus.
When I announced my lecture topic (and did a small demo in two of the classes), most of the girls’ faces lit up. They responded with genuine enthusiasm. Unfortunately, especially during finals season, enthusiasm doesn’t always translate into attendance. But for this kind of topic, a small group is better. Most of the students knew each other, and I knew all of them very well, so it was easy for them to practice and easy for me to get volunteer “victims.”
During most of the lecture part (common sense, prevention, awareness, etc), the girls weren’t particularly into the lecture. And that makes sense. In China, there is a sense of unreality to violence. Most of the girls don’t know anyone who has been hurt or attacked. But once we got to the actual defense tactics, they were all tuned in.
One of the girls, “Victoria,” is a timid little thing. She doesn’t often volunteer or answer questions in class. In fact, most of the time, she just looks afraid. During the lecture, if I looked at her or got near her, especially as part of a demonstration, she just shrunk and cowered in terror.
As we began working on the techniques, Victoria began to get more fearful. Her partner was a very spirited, determined girl with an exceptionally strong grip. Even I had trouble breaking “Scarlet’s” grip, and usually I can break a guy’s grip with no problem. But by the time we got to the third technique, Victoria had gotten the hang of moving quickly, explosively, and with power. She was able to break Scarlet’s grip and get away!
Every time she broke Scarlet’s grip, she became stronger, taller, more sure, and more confident. The change in her behavior was phenomenal. As the awareness of her own strength began to sink in, the confidence spread through her body language.
At the end of the class during the Q&A time, Victoria asked, “After learning that I am strong enough and able to protect myself, I want to know why so many women are raped.” A question like that coming from a fearful little wisp like Victoria was a sure sign that she had really gained confidence.
Ending my lecture, I asked the entire group: Can you defend yourself? Yes! Are you strong? Yes, we’re strong enough! Their eyes shone. They looked back at me with confidence and pride. As they walked out of the classroom, even their walk was different.
In the end, it wasn’t the scores of students I dreamed of, but 15 of the girls that I care about most are now walking tall, sure of themselves. These precious girls, my girls, now know how to keep themselves safe. And I know that they will share this with their friends and classmates.
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| Yesterday I wanted to get some moisturizer for my face to replace the Oil of Olay that was almost finished. At the store, I looked for a Chinese brand that I am familiar with and have used before. This brand is very respected and uses many good herbal ingredients in the lotion.
Unfortunately, instead of regular lotion, my two choices were lotion with snake oil or lotion with sheep placenta.
Somehow, I just can't get past the idea of smearing those products on my face.
In the end, I bought a nice Avon moisturizing gel that was on sale for more than 50% off. I asked the salesgirl if it was oil-free, but maybe I should have checked to make sure it doesn't have sheep placenta! | | |
| At work today, one of the girls pulled out a personality test--not the crazy online kind. The test listed 40 statements, and if the statement was true of you, then you wrote down the letter associated with that statement.
Of the four of us who took the test, I wrote down the most letters. The others wrote down around 12 or so; I wrote down 21. My answers were as follows:
C=3
S=4
M=6
P=8
Some of the questions really had me laughing:
-Do you often spend a whole day doing nothing?
-Are you often tired?
-Do you like to sleep a lot?
In the end, I found that the results really matched up with my personality. The test lists me as primarily phlegmatic, with some melancholy thrown in. After reading over the strengths/weaknesses and thinking over experiences from the past, I found it quite accurate.
Understanding my personality temperament really helped me understand myself a lot better. It clarified why I act or react the way I do. Some of my frustrations became more understandable.
Phlegmatic Strengths:
Calm, easygoing, dependable, conservative, efficient, practical, diplomatic, dry sense of humor
Phlegmatic Weaknesses:
Indecisive, fearful, stingy, spectator, self-protective, unmotivated
The personality test also provided a chart that showed how the different personality types reacted together. For example, if you are phlegmatic and your friend is Sanguine, you probably find your friend too loud and too emotional, while your friend probably thinks that you are too calm and uninvolved.
After going over the test together, some of the office dynamics became much clearer. One girl has been rather frustrated with the way another person works, but now she understands that it is the result of his personality and hers clashing. Although that doesn’t change anything, understanding the differences made it easier for her to cope with.
But all this talk about personalities got me thinking about something else. If Jesus was a man, then wouldn’t he have a personality type? If so, what personality type do you think he had?
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