This week was busy, but a lot of fun! On Wednesday, I went with a woman from the Public Diplomacy section to visit two primarily Arab schools about two and a half hours north of Tel Aviv. At the first school, I gave a presentation to one of the English classes about American holidays. The kids there were Muslim and Druze, with a few Christians. The second school was a Bedouin school, and I talked about volunteering and social responsibility. The kids were amazing, and especially friendly and outgoing.
Our friend Israel left last Monday morning. Before he headed back to Amman to catch his flight, he came into the office with John and me for a quick tour and to meet some of the officers and LES.
Thursday night, I went to a party at a nearby hotel to celebrate the 83rd birthday of the Thai king, given by the Thai Embassy. It was fun – lots of people. I visited a long time with a diplomat from Costa Rica.
Friday night there was a fun Hanukkah party at our friends Katie and Charlie’s apartment, just down the hall from us. We did a Dirty Santa gift exchange – I got an Israel snow globe with camels inside – love it!
Saturday night was the annual holiday party at the Ambassador’s house. John and I volunteered to tend bar, and we had a lot of fun. His house is amazing. The house overlooks the pool and the ocean, with a huge back yard. Everyone from the Embassy was invited; there were lots of kids there, along with Santa and his elf.