What exchange I did with Palestinian restaurant

When I travel alone the plans are a bit different. Everything moves slower, I talk with other people more, I go exactly where I feel like going even if I get lost. And when I travel alone I also have time for different ideas to pop up.

Since I planed my trip trough Jordan, Israel and Palestine in hippy style I didn’t want to pay for accomodations. In Amman I was hosted by my friends and in Jerusalem I had huge luck that I was accepted by a Couchsurfer in the last second (I sent her a request when I was waiting in line at Israeli border).

But where will I sleep in Betlehem? What if I do an ‘exchange of goods’? I have quite some stuff to offer. I know how to cook and do pretty photos. So I wrote to a palestinian restaurant [Hosh Jasmin][1], that is sitting on the hill very close to Betlehem. I told them I want to be a volunteer at their place, I just need a warm place to sleep.  

Answer? “Yes, welcome.”

I packed both my backpacks and after a short drive from Jerusalem arrived to this big farm. I met the boys that work in the kitchen and chose a small hut made from rocks as my place to sleep. During the day I took a lot of photos and during the evening I helped them cook and clean.

Hosh Jasmin is for sure a good choice for dinner/lunch if you’ll ever be near Betlehem. Besides traditional Palestinian dishes they also have homemade wine and araq and local beer. 

 

PS.: The owner is a really interesting dude too. He has a falafel restaurant in Nicaragua and is building small tree houses (that will later become a hosel) in forests in Nicaragua.

Plus my house that became really dear to me.

[1]: https://www.facebook.com/HoshJas/?ref=br_rs