Beit Jalla Walk

BEIT JALLA

Starting off on the morning of the walk, all of our classes gathered at an agreed point in Beit Jalla where we were introduced to the schedule of the day. Beginning our journey down a narrow paved road was good for us to warm up on. We gradually drifted off course and started on a dirt trail. Along the dirt trail initially we began to look at our surroundings of all the beautiful plants and trees with names so extraordinary I am still trying to pronounce them. We then walked towards a more intense terrain, but it was well worth it. After walking for approximately thirty minutes we began to see the beauty you can only see in your dreams. The way nature develops by itself, its a wonder of the world. The hills looked just as they should, not a single tree, rock or plant in the wrong place. This was what one would call natural beauty. As the walk continued we approached a point where we were required to all climb down a steep hill. The hill was not substantially large but fairly good-sized, the difficulty was the loose rocks that were used to try and grip your foot on. After that obstacle, appearing gradually were ruins of what were once homes scattered across the valley. The way they were sitting there with the surroundings of hills and little rock fences and in some areas "wells" you could almost picture what the structures once looked like. Having that thought in my mind while we continued the walk, I automatically began visualizing all the ruins I saw as if they were just built. I tried to picture the real beauty that they once were.

In the middle of the day, we ended up in a small village near Beit Jalla where we took a break. We went inside a workshop where the owners made rock sculptures of Jesus and other religious items. We walked upstairs to the balcony where we were given coca-cola and sandwiches. Shortly after we finished and went on with our journey. I was informed that we were going to finish our walk with a tree planting activity. The walk to actually arrive to this location was the most intense and adventurous walk of the day. We went in and out of deep trenches and/or pits and walked through bushes that pricked your leg every single time you stepped on one of them. After cutting my legs of pretty nicely we began climbing, this was the most difficult part of the day. Imagine climbing up a 500 foot cement wall with mostly smooth surfaces eliminating your possibility to find something to grip on to, thats what I had to quickly learn how to do. That alone was the highlight of my day.

We were nearing the destination point of where we were going to plant the trees. Along the path leading us to it was a man made stream of water flowing right alongside of us. It was amazing how it was built and how fast the water flowed through the little tunnel. The stream of water ended at what looked to be a swimming pool or water canal/trench. It was not at all very clean water but the local kids seemed to enjoy the water on the hot day. After passing the pool, the group found a horse, unsure of who owned it, one of us, of course took the initiative to try and mount it. Suddenly running out of the bushes appears a young man whom apparently claimed to be the horses owner. He was very furious to see people especially tourist looking people, trying to ride his horse. We began talking to him and he finally agreed to let us ride the horse but only the girls rode the horse. It was a rather funny and odd experience.

We arrive to the planting grounds for our olive trees where we all sit down and catch our breath. A van arrives with the necessary tools to dig our holes and of course, our olive trees. We split into groups of two, mostly one male and one female and began digging holes to put our olive trees in. Approximately forty-five minutes later all of the groups appear to be finished with there task of planting the olive trees. The teachers come over and tell us what needs to be revised and what is good. Sure enough, a few of the teachers and myself end up having to fix almost all of the planting areas due to incorrectly planted trees. Approximately thirty-five minutes following the revisions we have finally completed the task. All of the trees looked great and we were satisfied with the outcome. We all packed up the tools and garbage and the students walked to the bus to be driven back to Beit Jalla. I end up in the van with my teacher and the film crew and the driver. Due to prior injuries to my legs I could not finish the very last bit of the walk and drove with them all the way back to Beit Jalla.