VC Speaks Out: Palestine and Palestinian Men

Ok I'll start with sort of jokey comments about my time so far in Palestine and then, hopefully later, say some serious things about my time in Israel.

I have to say that my experience in Palestine, so far, has been (as I expected) that we are dealing with a rather boxed-in but still educated and cosmopolitan in many ways people. I think it really says something that your average street person, here (and I have spoken with many...because as some of you know, I get lost easily...and I don't mean like tourist-guide kind of people who interact with foreigners a lot) speaks MUCH (MUCH MUCH MUCH) better English than your average Cairo Grand Hyatt or AUC employee...I mean you can't even compare.

I also have to say, to my great disappointment, that Palestinian men are perhaps the most straight men I've ever seen...which is say because they really are hot. I don't know why it is they tend to gay-ify when the emigrate outside the occupied territories (I mean the ones in Jordan and Egypt usually trip the gaydar) -- maybe they are just too angry, here, to be interested -- but I have not really gotten vibes or glances or even passing curiosity from ANY of them. I mean it's more straight than...well...like I said, anywhere I've ever been.

Earlier this evening, when I was walking to the cyber cafe after dinner, a huge SUV pulled-up onto the sidewalk in front of me and I saw some hot men in it. I immediately flashed back to Afghanistan, in which case the situation would have meant: "Wow! Panjshiris -- Abdul, should we talk to them? We KNOW they want to talk to us!" (and they WOULD!), but in this case they not only paid NO attention, but horrified me by having a woman, WITH HER FACE SHOWING, sitting with them in back.

{This whole section is tongue-in-cheek, of course}

I don't know about my readers, but I find societies that allow women to appear in public with their faces showing to be TOTALLY barbaric...so inconsiderate to the dominance of homosocial space that we come to depend on in the Middle East. To make matters worse, women walk around here totally uncovered (although mostly in black), wearing fashionable and even tight outfits (unaccompanied by men!). I don't know what happened to all of the zeon-pink nylon higabs and frumpy denim skirts that characterize Cairo, but also missing are the corresponding cat-calls. Odd: a society in which women are enfranchised and NOT protected from the "gaze" of men is ALSO one in which men are resultantly more respectful of women as people who have the right to walk, unharassed, in the street? VERY INTERESTING.

So, yes, I have a crush on a gas station guy, everyone here is straight, and if it weren't a bit boring (I don't even see coffee shops, anywhere!), I'd probably really like it here.

VC