criplomats

Sev and Gil

This was another very busy – but fun – week.

We started off by going downtown to see Christopher Hitchens, one of John’s favorite pundits, talk about his new book. The talk was in a synagogue, and it was fun to be able to read some of the Hebrew around the building.

Monday night, we went to Harry’s with Rebecca from CJ – she was the Deputy IV Chief while we were there, and we always enjoyed visiting with her and her husband Mike – they are both very witty and funny.

Tuesday afternoon, I took Flavie for her appointment with the vet, to get her move process started. After that, I picked up Gil at his hotel, and we met Sev and his girlfriend at a bar in Old Town Alexandria. On the way home, we stopped by James McCully’s house to say hi – he is teaching voice lessons out here. It was great to see all of those guys. Click to see more photos with Gil, Sev and James.

Wednesday night we were back at Harry’s, this time to meet John’s friend from his old Systematics’ days, Tabitha. We had a good visit with her and her family.

Thursday night we went to Georgetown for dinner with Caroline and Harold from CJ – Caroline was my supervisor there for a while, and they were regulars in John’s book club. We had a good dinner and good conversation with them.

Friday and Saturday we just relaxed and studied. Friday night we watched a couple of episodes of Law & Order that we had recorded. Last night, we watched “The Blind Side,” which was a wonderful tear-jerker!

With James

With just a little over three months to go here in DC, I finally got in gear and got Flavie an appointment at a vet for her shots and new microchip – she has one chip already, but it’s not the kind that Israel wants, so she will need another. And due to a rabies outbreak in Israel, they have tightened up their requirements, so she will also have to have a titer test done a month after her next rabies shot to be sure the vaccine is working. I was happy to find a vet just around the corner who is familiar with international requirements; she will go in next week.

I took the plunge and unpacked the new camera I bought last weekend! My friend Jim has a nice Nikon that he really likes, and I bought a similar one. I never really liked my point-n-shoot; hopefully this one will be better. I figured that since we will be traveling quite a bit, I should have a good camera. The photo of Flavie above was taken with it.

A good friend from Juarez was in town this week, Jason, so John and I took him to dinner on Monday at RT’s, that good Cajun place that we like (actually, he treated us!). We had a great meal and got caught up with the Juarez news.

We had another Juarez reunion at Cafe Asia on Thursday night. We met David, an officer who left Juarez before we got there; we had always heard good things about him, and we lived in his former house there. Turns out, he is a nice guy, and I really enjoyed visiting with him. My former manager, Caroline, and her husband are also back in DC.

Friday night we stayed home and watched “Crazy Heart,” which I really enjoyed. I don’t know if Jeff Bridges is a good actor, or just picks roles that suit his personality, but he was really convincing.

Saturday morning, we dusted off the bikes and went down the street to ride the W&OD Trail – it’s a pretty (but rather crowded) trail, paved, that passes through greenbelt, parks, community gardens, etc. The rest of the day was spent playing with the new camera and studying Hebrew.

We went bike riding again this morning – I saw a bunny, a turtle and a chipmunk!

The weather this week has been nice, although a couple of days were rainy. One afternoon, I was able to sit out on the balcony to study. We were saddened to hear about the campground flood in Arkansas this week – so very tragic. That campground is not far from Hot Springs.

With Harold and David

Rural Virginia Wedding

I’m not sure how it can be June already! We are about half-way through Hebrew, and had our progress tests this week. They went fine but are somewhat nerve wracking!

We went to a wedding Saturday night for our friends Keith and Whitney from Juarez. It was a beautiful wedding at a horse farm in rural Virginia. The scenery was incredible! They were two of our favorite folks in CJ, and it was great fun to see them look so happy and handsome.

Friday night, we met Dean for drinks at a cool restaurant near Foggy Bottom and visited with him for a couple of hours. He is headed to Ciudad Juarez to be Principal Officer, so it was fun to share our CJ experiences with him. And, as always, he is full of good advice for John and me – plus, he is just a great guy!

At FSI, there are Canada geese everywhere and this is the season for babies – they are so cute!

About to storm at our apartment complex

At the wedding

Wow, we had a lot going on this week!

The big event was the wedding Saturday night for our friends Sarah and Aaron. They were in our A-100 class and were two of our favorite folks, so we were quite happy when Aaron proposed to Sarah.

The wedding was gorgeous – outdoors at a vineyard about 2.5 hours from here. There was a reception afterwards, followed by dinner and lots of dancing – we had a blast! John and I drove down on Saturday afternoon, and spent the night after the wedding in Charlottesville. Click here for more wedding photos.

On the way home, we stopped at a good used book store in Manassas, so John was a happy camper.

Last Monday night, I took Cathy to Harry’s for a farewell dinner. I already miss seeing her at lunch everyday!

Tuesday was book club at a local coffee shop. After that, we metro’d downtown to see two other A-100 classmates who got married and are back in DC visiting from India.

Thursday night we drove downtown for a going-away BBQ for our good friend Jim – he is off to Jarkarta. We’ll sure miss him – another one of our favorites from A-100. Click for photos from the BBQ.

Friday our Hebrew class took a field trip to the National Portrait Gallery – we had to give mini-presentations in Hebrew about the U.S. Presidents. It was a good (but hard) exercise, and it was fun to see the exhibit of the presidential portraits. John and I ended the day with wine and oysters at Clyde’s across the street.

This morning, my friend Jane took me kayaking on the Potomac – it was wonderful! We met early and spent over three hours leisurely going down the river. We saw turtles, birds, baby ducks and a snake – it was hard to believe that we were in the middle of such a big city. And in the distance, we could see the Washington Monument, just beyond the Key Bridge. A great way to end the holiday weekend! Click for more photos.

When I got home, John had big news for me – he had just read an email telling him that he had received a Superior Honor Award from the Consulate in Ciudad Juarez! I’m so proud of him! A few weeks ago, I learned that I got a Meritorious Honor Award, but his is even better – he rocks!

Kayaking on the Potomac

John with Dave at the wedding

With Jim at the wedding

John’s parents, Pete and Ginger, drove out to visit us this weekend. We headed to RT’s for a great meal Friday night. I had another bowl of that she-crab soup that I love so much, and the seafood in parchment. It was delicious!

Saturday, we metro’d down to the Botanical Gardens, then toured the rotunda of the Capitol. (P.S., when you get tickets for a tour of the Capitol, be warned that all you get to see for all of your standing in line with a bunch of high schoolers is a tour of the rotunda and the statue room.) After that, we went to the Natural History Museum so Pete could have his photo taken as a Neanderthal. For dinner, we grilled up some yummy steaks back at the apartment and just relaxed.

Sunday morning, John and I got in some Hebrew studying, then the four of us drove down to the outlet mall in Leesburg to do a bit of shopping. We had a great Mexican dinner after we got back to Falls Church.

Click to see more photos from their visit (including Pete as a Neanderthal).

Wednesday night, we took our friend Justin out to Harry’s for a good-bye dinner before he leaves for Bahgdad. A mutual friend, Billy, came with us and entertained us with stories from his time in Jerusalem, his current post. We served in Juarez with Justin, and are sad to see him go.

Thursday was a fun happy hour for my good friend Cathy, who passed her French test this week and is off to Africa.

This week in area studies, we had a fascinating three-hour lecture on Jordan. On Friday in Hebrew, we had a little party to celebrate one of the Jewish holidays. I was supposed to bring kosher cheese dip, but had to make do with kosher guacamole instead. Oh well.

At happy hour with Cathy