Struttin'

The other day the winner of 'Superstar,' the middle East's version of Pop Idol, came to the University to perform. Just what we didn’t need after so many strikes as students will take any pretext to skip classes. (It started at 2 but classes were almost empty from 11).

So having nothing else to do I wandered around campus with a few students from Academic Support. They usually irritate me with their giggling greetings but there was a nice vibe in the air today because of the visit, so I went along.

I rarely walk around campus, because it's like being a D-list celebrity recovering from some kind of embarrassing scandal. Students I know and don't will holler at me, laugh, giggle and come and talk to me. Admittedly some of it is good natured and nice and people tell me I am popular, so sometimes I just plain get off on it and as I say the vibe was good on that day.

So we just walked around somewhat aimlessly before the thing started, but one of our party seemed to be an impatient rush to do so. We sat on a step and he played Eminem from his phone whilst his friend asked me the usual questions about Western culture and all. 'Do they make poronography in Britain? Can you have girlfriends?'

Another thing foreigners are commonly asked by the students here is 'Do you know what happened to us in 1948? Do you know what Israel does?' It's bizarre to me that they would think we would be clueless of their situation. I think this goes alongside the bafflement that they have often expressed as to why I am even here, as if I had just accidently fallen into the place on the way to somewhere 'better.' When I have told people that I am here to teach and to show support for Palestine they seem a little nonplussed. Maybe they just see it as futile. Foriegners motives, perhaps even everyhing about them seem somewhat of a mystery to them, especially since they see very little of us around Jenin way.

Similarly, I am always intrigued by the matter of fact, dispassionate way they discuss dead or imprisoned relatives. This student was telling me how four years ago his brother was shot and killed by Israeli troops for no apparent reason. I suppose such events are so commonplace that the horrific becomes almost banal, every family has a similar story.

So anyway we went and had lunch and argila, which they paid for. I always feel bad about this because they have no money, but they won't hear of it. We listened to more from the students phone and I managed to get some Johnny Cash on, because students here listen to terrible western music: Backstreet Boys, Celine Dion, Westlife, or 50 Cent, Akon etc.

Then all of a sudden it was time to rush off and see the Superstar. He'd been derided as a 'motherfucker' and Israeli conspirator by people I had spoken to but the place was full of people shouting, dancing and (guys) giving the singer kisses and flowers. It was very boring for me because it was all in arabic, and I thought I had better leave because all I was doing was staring at the Christian girls who had dolled themselves up for the occasion.