Travelling as Palestinians is never a piece of cake. After
two days in Jordan and delays because to the inability to travel due to Jewish
holidays, arriving in France proved to be a breath of fresh air. Stepping out
of the airport, some of the Palestinians were confused. ‘Are we still in
Palestine?!’ they were asking. With the sound of so many Arabic conversations
and the faces of other Arabs walking past, it seemed that transitioning to
European culture suddenly didn’t feel so overwhelming. This instant diversity
that our Palestinian friends were met with made France feel to Mounia ‘like a
home away from home’. With such a long journey under their belts, it was a
relief to have only a short trip from the airport to the hotel.
The group then relaxed for a little while before we all
ventured out together with our French hosts to eat and get to know each other
better. Planning a trip of this scale
with so many people and components is always challenging for both the participants
and the organizations involved. However, when you’re involved in an exchange
with the theme of Discrimination- a subject that affects everybody on such
different yet such collectively personal levels- it’s near impossible to
approach the trip with anything other than optimism and excitement. There is a
mutual sense of determination amongst everyone involved as we prepare for ten
days of sharing experiences and learning from one another about life on
opposite sides of the world.
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