Picking up the Pieces in Palestine

Power Walking in Beit Sahour

A few days ago, I saret Sahouriya or, in other words, became one who hails from Beit Sahour. That’s the Palestinian way of saying that I moved to Beit Sahour, the small town bordering Bethlehem to the east. My new home is host to Shepherd’s Field, where the angel announced the birth of Jesus to the shepherds. In reality there are two separate fields—apparently the Greek Orthodox shepherd got the news while he was standing about 1 kilometer away from where the Catholic shepherd was working.

I am living with a young Christian family; the mother is 24 and they have two small sons, ages three and five. Nona, the mother, convinced me to join her on walks around the town instead of exercising at the YMCA. So, that evening we were joined by her sister-in-law, brother-in-law and their baby for an evening of power-walking.

In America, people jog to be alone to think, to listen to music, or to wind down. In Bethlehem, that’s not the case at all. People’s clocks seem to be synchronized. At approximately 8pm, the entire city, save Grandpas and invalids, descends on the streets wearing walking shoes.

What constitutes a good walking shoe varies. For teenage girls, the heel must be at least 1.5 inches and is generally color coordinated to the belt, shirt, earrings and eye-makeup. For older but not yet obsolete Christian ladies, a thickly-padded rubber sole shoe neutral in color will do. This is often offset by a shin-length navy blue or black skirt. The adventurous of this group may opt for the peep-toe version so that their stocking-covered toes are visible. The town’s Muslim women often don sportier versions of the hijab, though I did not notice one with a Nike logo. Their skirts are generally ankle-length and shoe choice varies widely. The men of Beit Sahour seem to opt for running shoes or thick-strapped sandals.

Once one enters the great outdoor track, certain rules must be observed.

Ipods aren’t allowed—listening to music hinders one from his or her social obligations in the street or town center. The ideal walker must maintain a delicate pace; somewhere between burning calories and not being so out of breath that you cannot call ‘hala, hala’ (“what’s up?”) to the neighbors you pass. And one must always, always keep the right hand free for hand-shaking and back-patting.

Strollers are necessary for children under four. Husbands are necessary to push the stroller. It isn’t normal for the exercise to take one’s breath away. It is normal for the sunset over the hills to stop you in your tracks. By 9:30PM, one can circle the town if an aggressive pace was maintained. If one arrives at Flavors, the best ice-cream shop in town, past 10:00PM she will have to wait in line behind the faster walkers.