Schools that we visited were the ”problematic ones” in critical zones where the Israeli army has control. That morning I went to a school on a border between the Palestinian and Israeli neighborhoods, which is why the streets around it were full of soldiers. Kids and teachers show their teeth from time to time, soldiers get even more pissed off, and the vicious circle never stops.
It was only 5 am and my Palestinian family was already awake, preparing to leave the house. The scent of cigarette and cardamom coffee from the kitchen gently overwhelmed the room. ”Yalla, Lidija, we go?”
Palestinians from other cities think of it as gloomy and are often surprised to hear a foreigner went there. ”Why would anyone do that?”. Its residents (Khalilis) are of few words and even the sweetest ones are wrapped up in a rough peasant accent.