Breakfast with Abu Wael

Today I went with Eng. Abdalrazzaq to a village north of Ramallah to visit with a farmer, Abu Wael, facing water shortage problems. This village was indeed rather remote. When we reached the village Abu Wael was waiting along the main road to show us to his home which was up a rocky road. As soon as he saw me and learned that I was from America, he began carrying on about America and Israel. I was thinking, well this is really awkward, maybe I'll just stay in the car for this visit instead of subjecting myself to this badgering. After some careful translation by Abdalrazzaq and further explanation by Abu Wael, I learned that he was happy to see me and wanted me to see that Palestinians are not terrorists, but simple people trying to live simple lives. Abu Wael, who was a father to 18 children, 6 of which had died at a young age because of a lack of healthcare services in the village, shared some of the problems he faces on his farm, including threats from the Israeli military to destroy his home, and a severe shortage of water. The shortage of water is a particular hardship on his family because there are so many people living in his house, and as a farmer his way of live is raising sheep, chickens, and other birds, and he has a horse and donkeys for working the land.
Abu Wael's wife serves us breakfast, consisting of homemade yogurt and cheese from the milk of their sheep, tomatoes, cucumbers, olive oil and olives from their trees, preserved squashes filled with almonds, bread baked in the home, and tea and coffee. Everything was really delicious and in my worst Arabic, I tried to tell Abu Wael and his wife how much I enjoyed their fare.
Abu Wael was really interested in me and offered to have me and other foreigners to his home again for a big meal to show more people the way of life of the Palestinian. Before I left, they brought me a big bottle of olive oil, a big bottle of olives, a box of cheese, and some bread. Their amazing generosity despite their marginalized situation was absolutely incredible.