From Bethlehem to Virginia: a Palestinian student looks back at her freshman year at an American college and life back home.

• Author: Abu-Shanab, Hanan
• Position: VOICES

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I grew up in Bethlehem, in the West Bank, with my parents, two brothers, and three sisters. My father works for the Palestinian Authority's environmental. agency. My mother is a nurse at a local, clinic.

When I found out in July 2007 that I had won a scholarship to Hollins University, a women's college in Virginia, I was so excited about the opportunities that lay ahead.

But just traveling to the U.S. to start college was a challenge. As a Palestinian, I am not allowed to go through Israeli airports, so I had to take a bus to Amman, the capital, of Jordan, and fly from there. Amman is only 60 mites away, but it took 12 hours because of delays at Israeli checkpoints and the Jordanian border.

After Landing in Washington, D.C., I was exhausted and a bit frightened since it was my first time away from my family. I was expecting a tong wait to get through customs, but it was done in just 15 minutes. I was shocked because my encounters with Israeli police or soldiers had been so unpleasant.

From Washington, I had to drive about 250 miles to Roanoke, where Hollins is located. I couldn't believe there were no Army jeeps on the roads, no checkpoints where we were stopped and our car searched--art of which are common when driving in the West Bank, which has been occupied by Israel since the 1967 war.

That's why just traveling between cities in the West Bank can take hours. Israel says it needs checkpoints and searches for its security, but it makes life very difficult for the 2.6 million Palestinians in the West Bank.

I knew that life would be easier in the U.S., but I had no idea how accessible everything would be. This made me even more sad about the conditions in the West...