Update 2/12: Reflecting on the past week...

I'm in the Jewish Chronicle for the second time in almost as many weeks, but never would have imagined it was because of the horrifying experiences of last Friday night. Whilst I am counting my blessings and doing everything I can to get back to normal, I am still struggling with the shock and panic of escaping from the fire and being separated from family members during the evacuation. Returning to the village on Tuesday was a huge help and seeing my host family gave me some closure, they will rebuild and move forward. I think the part that has affected me the most is that this was a deliberate act of arson, that other human beings threw molotov cocktails towards the place where I was sleeping, knowing that there were families asleep in their homes, knowing that the wind would build and raise and carry the flames, with the sole intention of killing us all. Acknowledging that aspect is very challenging. There have been some wonderful moments this past week too. My day working with kids in Shefar'amr, 2 seminars with adults (on injecting comedy into presentations, and creating comedic dialogue, description and characters) were all really fabulous and I have 1 more kids creative writing workshop to go tomorrow evening. Spending time with friends and family has been great. Looking forward to heading home on Sunday night and hugging all of my boys.