criplomats

We are home in Arkansas for two weeks of R &R – it feels great to be home and the weather is gorgeous (a bit chilly). We’re mostly staying at Mom’s house in Hot Springs.

Our timing was good to be back because we were able to hit two parties for John’s 25th college reunion. We went Friday night to U.S. Pizza in Hillcrest for a family night (complete with music by the Reverburritos), then to a classmate’s house for another party on Saturday night. Photos to follow soon! It was great to see so many friends.

In between parties, we had lunch with Mary at Faded Rose on Saturday, and enjoyed looking at her pretty flowers in the yard at her house. We also met up with Brian and Kelly later that afternoon for a glass of wine at By the Glass in the Heights.

This morning, before we left Little Rock, we had a wonderful brunch with Dail and Nancy at Bravo – we sure miss getting to visit with them – they are both looking great and enjoying retirement.

The days leading up to our trip were busy. I had the duty phone, but, luckily, nothing too crazy happened. The trip to the U.S. was long – we left our apartment around 8 PM on Wednesday night and arrived in Hot Springs the next day in the afternoon, gaining eight hours en route. We figure that by the time our bodies get adjusted, it’ll be time to head back!

I woke up to good news this morning: I can still go to work on Monday! I’m so relieved that the government didn’t shut down this weekend, for a variety of reasons – not the least of which is that  John and I have R&R scheduled this coming week, and we were not sure if we could still go if the government had shut down.

This was a very interesting and busy week.

Saturday late afternoon, John and I drove to Jerusalem to attend a birthday part for our friend Dave. It was great to see our A-100 classmates Dave, Liz and Mary. It was a fun party with yummy Mexican food.

Last Sunday, I spent the day in court in Haifa, representing the Embassy at the trial of Rachel Corrie, an American woman who was killed by a bulldozer in the Gaza Strip. Her parents are suing the government of Israel; one of the consular section’s responsibilities is to monitor trials of American citizens. Click to see the local coverage of the trial, which includes a photo of yours truly sitting behind Rachel’s parents.

Wednesday started my week as duty officer, which means I live in fear of the telephone ringing! So far, so good. Fingers crossed.

We were off work on Friday because of the Tel Aviv Marathon, which pretty much shuts down the downtown area. It was fun to stand in front of our building and watch 1000s of people run by. I watched for an hour or so, then went to the office to get caught up on work. I spent a lot of time working on an emergency visa case for a very famous Israeli singer, working with Washington to get computer issues pushed through. I finally got it printed so he could travel last night for some big event in the U.S. – I’m doing my part for world peace!

I’ve gotten some books and CDs from Cousin David that I really appreciate! It’s fun to get mail!

The highlight of my week was having my five students pass their test on Thursday! These are local staff taking a distance-learning class on immigrant and non-immigrant visas – we’ve been having weekly lessons since late-November. I’m so proud of them. We had a brief ceremony at the close of business to have a champagne toast with our department. One of my favorite students gave me a gorgeous pair of earrings that he made as a thank you gift, and I will treasure them.

After our toast, some officers and my manager stuck around for a while and opened a bottle of wine and relaxed after a busy week.

John took me out for a nice dinner at Whitehall on Wednesday. Thursday we had a happy hour with the RSO guys (regional security officers) at a nice little place across from the beach. John and I caught a new episode of “Law & Order,” which was a treat, and we watched some episodes of “Mad Men.”

Mom has had some weird things happen lately: a small airplane crashed in the field behind her house; she had some hail damage to the roof after a big storm; and a hit and run driver side-swiped her (she is OK). I hope that nothing else happens!

I talked to some members of the Bobo family on Tuesday night. Mike’s dad Ray Von is in the hospital in Dallas after bladder surgery – he is definitely on my mind this week. Ray Von and Liz were always so wonderful to me while Mike and I were in college, and Mike would take me home with him. Get well soon, Ray Von!

We passed the equinox this week, and it is starting to feel like spring here in Tel Aviv, despite a couple of rainy days earlier in the week. The weekend has been gorgeous.

Tuesday night, I went to the DCM’s residence to hear a talk by Israel’s first Bedouin (i.e., nomadic, Muslim, Arab) diplomat, Ismael Khadi. He was fascinating. Click for more information about him.

Thursday night, I went to our girls’ book club where we discussed Betty Friedan’s The Feminine Mystique, as best that seven working, child-free women could do.

Friday afternoon, we had a small happy hour at work, then, John and I had dinner with Petite and Howard, and Mike and Katie at a nice Italian restaurant.

The rest of the week was pretty low-key. I made a trip to the “big” grocery store last Sunday. John took me out to dinner to Whitehall on Wednesday. Saturday we got caught up on some “Mad Men” episodes and I started reading “She’s Come Undone” again.

I also came across an NPR review of a new Broadway show about Mormons, written by the South Park guys. It looks delicious!

With Cathy at Tzora Winery

All good things must come to an end: we took Cathy to the airport last night. From here she is headed to DC for a class before returning to Burundi. We really enjoyed having her here in Israel!

Last Monday, while Cathy was touring in Jerusalem, John and I went to the Ambassador’s residence after work for an “Art in Embassies” reception. The program director was in Israel and she spoke to us about the program, and a local artist also spoke.  The Ambassador and his wife worked with the program to pick art for the residence; they chose the theme “Couples,” and chose art from couples who are both artists. It was interesting to see the difference in styles between the members of a pair.

Thursday night, Cathy, John and I had dinner on the beach – the weather has been perfect this week, so it was nice to sit outside.

Friday I took the day off so that Cathy and I could go shopping. We started with a wonderful breakfast at Benedicts, then spent the day wandering around the shops in Neve Tzedek, as well as the Friday crafts fair at Carmel market.

This weekend is Purim, a Jewish holiday that is celebrated with costumes and celebration (i.e., lots of drinking). It was fun to see all of the costumes Friday and Saturday – from kids to young folks to the very old – everyone seemed to get in the spirit.

This past weekend marked the one-year anniversary of the death of my friend and co-worker Lesley in Ciudad Juarez, along with her husband and the husband of another Consulate worker. While several gang members have been arrested for the murders, there still doesn’t seem to be a clear motive.

Click to see more photos from our trip to the Judean Hills from last week.

Click to see more photos from our trip to the Golan and Galilee with Cathy, including a photo of the original Mt. Tabor – my mom was born in Mt. Tabor, Arkansas.