Now it's a funny anecdote..
It was Summer of 2000 when as a student I decided to go and teach English to kids for the Summer.
My destination Israel for three weeks then Palestine for another three.
Things were a bit safer back then but not much safer.
I was definitely a lot more naive.
So when my Palestinian friend, Khalid asked if I'd like to go clubbing with him and his pals, I didn't think twice about jumping into the BMW.
'Nice motor,' was all I thought.
After a great night clubbing in Israel, we crossed through the heavily guarded checkpoint for the second time, when I asked.
'This is a nice car,' I said.
'Must have been expensive.'
'Oh no,' Khalid replied, laughing.
'It was free.'
'Free,' I said.
'Yousif stole it last night in Israel and brought it back.'
I started to sweat.
'And if the border guards had noticed?'
'You would have had to duck,' he laughed.
'Why didn't you tell me,' I replied, half angry, half relieved.
After all, I was in the back seat, the first to get shot to pieces.
'Well if I'd told you, you would never have come.'
I had to appreciate the logic, but to this day I still wonder how close I came to ending up in a bullet riddled stolen car somewhere in Palestine.
(henrya1, Fri 20 Aug 2010, 16:12, Reply)