Fired Up!

We've been back in Ramallah for about a week after three weeks of travel in the US, and our comings and goings have been marked by fireworks. 

On our last night here in late June, Little Guy woke us up shortly before midnight.  While all three of us lay awake, the neighborhood suddenly erupted in cheers and fireworks.  This was in a residential area and pretty far removed from most of the noise and festivities, which were downtown.  In fact, we might normally not have heard it at all except that we had packed up our fan, so we didn't have our usual white noise.  Fortunately, we knew what all the excitement was about.  That night the Arab Idol finale was airing, so we could guess that the Palestinian from Gaza had won.  Hooray! 

Then, on one of our first days back in town, we started hearing firecrackers at about 9:00 AM on what was otherwise a VERY quiet morning (Friday during Ramadan).  Really?  Who bothers with fireworks during the day?  Ah, the tawjihi results just came out (high school exams), and students were celebrating their success, all day long and well into the night (when fireworks are much more effective). 

And, to round things out, a highlight of our trip (for me, at least) was a spectacular fireworks display on the Hudson River at the end of the conference I attended.