And you thought the jerk blasting Creed at 3AM next door was bad...

How about trying to study while gun battles rage on the streets outside? The IHT has a great article describing what it's like for Palestinian students during exam time. This article is especially timely, on the heels of a sizable pro-Palestine march on Washington, D.C., yesterday. Palestinian culture takes education very seriously (despite the 40+ years of occupation, they are among the most educated populations in the Arab world), even discouraging weddings and other boisterous events during exam weeks. However, violence between Hamas and Fatah forces spilled over into both the exam schedule and into Israel, despite calls from both sides for calm.

"I'm a good student, but I feel that my brain is empty," said Naji, 16, whose school stands next to a security headquarters that was the site of intense fighting between fighters from Hamas and Fatah rivals.
[...]
As the internal violence raged in Gaza, militants have ratcheted up their rocket fire at Israel, drawing increasingly harsh Israeli retaliation that has added to the chaos in the poverty-stricken coastal territory.

Students from the Israeli town of Sderot were bused out of range of Palestinian Qassam rockets Monday to take their own social studies exams in relative safety. Five rockets and mortar shells hit southern Israel during the day.
[...]
"When we were living under the occupation we were able to have our exams, but now I don't know if my little girl will be able to finish the exams or not," she said, blaming the rival Palestinian factions. "You don't know when they will start the crazy war game again." [full article here]