Ramalaga

Hundreds of tourists fill the streets of Malaga as Easter approaches. As a Christian Palestinian, it is hard for me to be thousands of miles away from my family during the annual festivities of the holy week . While being exposed to a new culture and its celebrations is out of my comfort zone, I have found more beauty and grace in the Spanish culture that make me appreciate this opportunity even more. My name is Jiana Isead, I was born and raised in one of the holiest places in the world: Bethlehem. I am a psychology student in Birzeit University, and I am currently on an exchange in Malaga. It was quite shocking for me to see how differently Easter is celebrated in Malaga, which encouraged me to write a post pointing out some of these differences. The smell of date stuffed cookies fills the houses of my town on Easter day. Churches are filled with hundreds of faithful Christians from all around the world, seeking to find forgiveness from Jesus and to be embraced by the land his

Palestinians have hundreds of layers, upon discovering more of the world these layers slowly start to shed. We feel ourselves changing, healing, metamorphosing. We feel the walls surrounding us slowly crumble. While we are enchanted by our homeland, we enjoy a concept that we are yet to learn, and that is freedom. To introduce myself, my name is Rand Abdalqader. I am a 20 year old Media and Journalism student in Birzeit University in Palestine, and I will be spending my semester in Malaga. ''Would you rather live here or in Palestine?'' Being bombarded by this question time and time again during my stay got me thinking about my future. What opportunities would I have if I decided to leave my homeland? On one hand, it is the primary source of my frustration and anger. On the other hand, what does the future hold for Palestine, if Palestinians leave? To further explain the situation, here is an example: Armed Israeli soldiers dressed up as Palestinians, invade