Za'tara (Tapuah)

Jurish, Za’tara junction

14:15  We left from Rosh Ha’ayin on Highway 56.

14:55  Za’tara junction.  Three soldiers stood at the hitchhiking station on the road down to the Jordan Valley.  There are no inspections at the big checkpoint.  At least one soldier is up in the guard post.  We continued without interference to Qusra and Jurish.  There were no inspections on the way back, either.  Five or six soldiers were waiting at the settlers’ hitchhiking station on the way to the Jordan Valley.

15:00  Jurish.  Nine pupils, girls, awaited us at the municipal building, happy and highly motivated.  Only one of the girls who’d resumed her studies after the war was missing.  First we held an English class.  One girl, whose English was much better than that of the others, was taught separately by Sarah so she could progress faster.

The English class focused on conversation, practising grammar and sentence construction and reading a short text about the birth of a new daughter.  The topic led to an interesting discussion.  Despite the differences in English proficiency, all the pupils enjoyed participating in the discussion and the atmosphere was good.

While waiting for the yoga class to be over, Shosh talked with a number of young women who’d come to the municipal building.  A few children who’d come to the club also joined the conversation, and were glad of the chance to play with her computer. 

Yoga class (Sarah’s report):  The class began with eight girls and two children.  Two of the girls left in the middle; one, a regular attendee, was very tired.  We began with simple breathing exercises and then began yoga asanas exercises for forty minutes.  We concluded with relaxation exercises.

The group enjoyed themselves greatly.  There were many moments of focused laughter and pleasure.

We left at 17:30.