Posterous theme by Cory Watilo
Matthew Creber

From My Ancestral Home in Wymondham...

...Also known as my parent's house.

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"My" bedroom is crammed full of all my worldly possesions. The bed in the spare room is covered with neat piles of socks, books and camera equipment (including 12 films for my beloved 1950s folding medium format). The crucial details of my trip have all been scanned and copied and some await my arrival, in the cloud (thanks Google Docs!). I have been jabbed with rabies the requisite three times. I have bought travel soap, travel toothbrushes, travel insurance. And, perhaps most importantly of all, I have uploaded a large chunk of my music collection onto my phone.

So, perhaps for the first time in my life, I am feeling relatively well organised. Which is fortunate, as I have a 4am start to catch the 9am flight from Luton tomorrow morning. Eugh. But this is a strange feeling. The calm before the storm. The waiting. In my case, there is a constant nagging anxiety that I may forget something really important (Phone charger? Passport?); but that's probably not a bad thing, as I think it is warding off other anxieties that one might have when they find themselves heading into a centre of international conflict. 

Reassuringly, in amongst the slightly concerned goodbyes, and the frequent "promise me you won't die"s, I have enountered a couple of people who have visited the West Bank themselves (among these people, my parents). These people are able to temper palpable concern with little asides like "oh, but you're going to love it", or "Nablus is a wonderful place" or (perhaps my favourite) "but it's great that you're doing it - the Palestinians are treated so badly".

So really, on balance, I'm feeling nervous... but sometimes I guess nerves are worth it. I'm not a thrill seeker by any stretch of the imagination (in fact, I think this trip would be a bad idea if i were), but i suppose that sometimes the anxiety and risks and unknown are outweighed by the sense that what we are doing is good, right, and in some way "worth it".

Will it be worth it? We'll find out. I fly tomorrow at 9.00.