So, day 1 of my fast was not so bad yesterday as Sean and I slept in until 1pm or so, attempting to recover from the long weekend. My only discomfort yesterday was in the incredible thirst that Labor Day weekend parties beforehand greatly contributed to. In any case, today is Day 2 and I'm much more uncomfortable. I didn't realize how physically and psychologically attached I am to coffee in the morning. It's one of my favorite things about waking up and, unfortunately, I must go without this week. It's 10:45am right now... I'm thirsty and still mourning my cup o' joe. Going to the gym in about an hour instead of to lunch. Only 8.5 hours or so left until I can eat... and drink water. Honestly, seriously thinking about cheating and getting a cup of coffee this afternoon when the hunger sleepiness really kicks in.
The most prominent highlight of this month is the fasting practiced by the most observant Muslims. Every day during the month of Ramadan, Muslims around the world get up before dawn to eat the Suhoor meal (the pre dawn meal) and perform their fajr prayer. They break their fast when the fourth prayer of the day, Maghrib (sunset), is complete. Fasting includes not only food but everything. Not a drop of water, ounce of coffee, or piece of gum can be consumed during daylight hours. As a side note, the sun comes up around 6am and doesn't go down until around 7:30pm.
During Ramadan, Muslims are expected to put more effort into following the teachings of Islam and to avoid obscene and irreligious sights and sounds. Purity of both thought and action is important. The fast is intended to be an act of deep personal worship in which Muslims seek a raised level of closeness to God. The act of fasting is said to redirect the heart away from worldly activities, its purpose being to cleanse the inner soul and free it from harm. Properly observing the fast is supposed to induce a comfortable feeling of peace and calm. It also allows Muslims to practice self-discipline, sacrifice, and sympathy for those who are less fortunate, intended to make Muslims more generous and charitable.
Out of solidarity, I have decided to try fasting with our Muslim friends at the Consulate... just to see what it's like. I'm planning on only fasting for the first week and that's it... and, I don't think I'm going to exclude water since it's about 95 degrees and crazy humid right now. But, it should be interesting. I'm going to journal my way through the 4 days I fast (only Tuesday-Friday of next week) and see if I reach this 'higher level of closeness to God." I imagine it'll be more along the lines of hallucinations but who knows.
So, happy Labor Day! We'll talk soon.
So, after a very long week of July 4 celebrations, Sean and I had our own little party, very much alone, on Saturday, July 5 at a restaurant called Terra to toast our upcoming half-month of no work. Terra has become our 'celebration' restaurant and I think everyone needs one of those... Come to think of it, Sean and I have a restaurant for every occasion:
Zuni: "We survived one hellacious day at work and now we need a fantastic bottle of wine and some good company."
Sol: "We haven't eaten out in at least 3 days and are now ready to drop some dough on some awesome tapas."
Sakura: "I've eaten nothing but crap and drank too much the last week... so, it's time for some body cleansing sushi."
Spaggettim: "We be po' coz we spent all ar worf-less A'merkin monaaayyyy travlin and noodles be cheap."
1868: "It's Sean's 30th Birthday. " (Never again, though, as no meal is worth $500).
Foccacia's: "Well, it may only be 10am but, in 2 hours, when I finally get my food, I'll be hungry. So, this'll make for a long leisurely lunch."
Anyhow, I digress. Sean and I celebrated big with the help of 2 amazing bottles of wine at Terra and then scurried (uh, stumbled) home to pack and sleep before our 3 am wake-up call to head to the airport. For whatever nonsensical reason, most of Tel Aviv's longer flights leave either before the sun comes up or just after it's gone to bed. So, our flight to Madrid left before 7am. Bad for the sleep cycle... but, good because we were in Madrid by 10:30am. Anyhow, we spent 4 days there... and, here are
some highlights:
Ahhh, the lazy man's way to see a city. For 16 Euro each, we were able to hop on and off this baby for a whole day. After walking for hours on end and not really going anywhere the day before, this was a godsend.
I knew our American bums had it all wrong. Why be a dirt-laden, facial hair sporting, cardboard sign carrying, paperbag alcoholic when you can be a sad clown begging for money to travel across Europe?
I'll give you 3 guesses as to what this building is...1, 2, 3. This is the Palacio de Comunicaciones, perhaps the most beautiful building in Madrid (well, in my opinion)... It's the post office, of course.
The Spanish and toro flags mark the entrance to the Plaza de Toros de Las Ventanas, supposedly the most famous bullfighting arena in the world.
Sean in front of the arena...
This is the closest I would get to a bull's horn.
In the park... Spaniards enjoying a leisurely Sunday afternoon
In the botanical gardens... This monument memorializes the 191 people killed in the Madrid train bombings on March 11, 2005.
Monument to Alfonso XII (King of Spain from 1875-1885: I know, I don't care either) in Parque del Retiro... Lord help me if we ever build a monument for one particular President of ours (name rhymes with Woosh)... Okay, I can deal with a library... but, not a massive statue of him riding a horse... although, that would be funny.... Maybe just his face on a plaque with the following quote engraved on it. "I'll be long gone before some smart person ever figures out what happened inside this Oval Office." George W Bush...Washington DC, May 12, 2008
Kids waiting patiently for a marionette show in the park.
Okay, so Sean and I had a good laugh to this. Sat down in a little cafe within the Parque del Retiro to drink a glass of wine and do a little people watching. This particular Mickey knock-off was making balloon swords and selling them for, like, 2 euro (nearly 4 bucks) a piece. After selling enough balloons to pay rent for the month, he (uh, I mean, she), wandered off into that tree there in the distance to count her money. She actually took off her Mickey head... had that ever happened in the States, let's say at Disneyland, such an event would be traumatic enough to send kids screaming to the nearest shrink and parents to the nearest lawyers.
So, following our jaunt through the park, we headed back to the Plaza de Toros de Las Ventanas... Now, as most of you know, bullfights are typically fights to the death. I didn't want that so I deliberately bought tickets to a bullfight where they didn't 'seal the deal.' (Who knows how that would be exciting but I had no desire to see an animal slaughtered). Turns out I bought tickets for a different bullfighting arena on the other side of town. It just so happened that the Plaza de Toros de Las Ventanas was also having a bullfight that night so, we went ahead and paid our 5 Euro to get in. Little did I know that just half an hour later, I would have paid double for someone to describe to me just how awful these 'sporting events' are so that I could have been spared the horror.
The beginning of the event is happy and colorful. People are drinking lots and lots in the stands and shouting. Spaniards all around us hooting and hollering. The matadors come out and introduce themselves and their entourage. There are 3 matadors for the entire event, each of whom engages in 2 fights for a total of 6 slayings. Each matador has 6 assistants: 2 Picadores mounted on horseback who lance the bulls and cripple them; 3 Banderilleros who wave the pink flags to distract the bulls and get the matador out of danger; and a Mozo de Espada, or sword servant, who is the keeper of the swords.
The whole crew parades across the arena now, in what is called the paseillo, in order to introduce the presiding dignitary. Ah, it looks so culturally rich and wonderful. Sparkly jackets, pink tights, and blindfolded horses... what else could you ask for in terms of a cultural experience?
The bull is let out of the pen and storms after the 2 banderillos and matador waving their pink and gold dress 'capes.'
There are 3 distinct parts to a bullfight. In the first stage, Tercio de Varas, the behavior of the bull is observed by the matador to see the way in which he attacks the capes. Basically, from what we could tell, the matador spends several minutes trying to wear down all 600kilos of the bull.
Note: Notice the small 'hiding wall' in the background. I'll get to that later.
Apart of the first stage still, the 2 picadores enter the arena on blindfolded horses. Yes, that's how messed up this is. The horses would obviously freak knowing a bull was attacking it so they blindfold them.
The matador pisses the bull off just enough and encourages it to attack the horse which is protected by padding.
Bull zeroes in on the horse and...
Although this is a distant shot, the bull slams into the horse and is stabbed with a huge spear in the neck by the picador... obviously, weakening the bull further. Just a side note: Imagine the training that horse has to go through prior to bullfighting so as not to get spooked when the bulls ram its side... Let's see... a bull is 600kg.. a little itty bitty smart car is probably about that same weight.
What does one write as a skillset on their resume for training horses to take incredible blows like that?
"Hi! My nem eez Jose Juan Miguel Alejandro Joaquin Ortiz and I slam eento the reebcages of horses en my Smart Car all day long."
Here's a close-up of the intimate few moments the bull and horse spend together.
Oohhh, this is actually the same stage but the second bullfight we saw before I had to leave (nice way of saying i almost yacked). This bull hit the horse (upper left side of pic), and the picador flew off. This bull was my favorite.. .although he was dead 10 minutes after this pic was taken. He sure had some fight in him. In fact, after the matador couldn't kill him on the 5th sword blow to the brain, a picador pulled out a little knife and scrambled its brain.... He still kept fighting, though, legs switching at all.
So, this ends the first stage of the slaughter. The bull is pissed and, not surprisingly, his demeanor changes.
In the second stage, the Tercio de Banderillos, the 3 banderillos get their moment of glory by very 'bravely' spearing the bull in the shoulders with barbed sticks. That's what he's holding up in his hands and also what is sticking out of the bull's back.
Here's the bull close-up with the skewers flopping around on him.
In the 3rd and final stage, the Tercio de Muerte, the matador re-enters the arena alone with a small red cape and a sword. Apparently, bulls are actually colorblind so the red is chosen just as a matter of tradition and, true story, so that blood stains are less noticeable. So, now the matador will proceed with several 'passes' of the cape. "Skillful" passes receive an 'Ole' from the crowd. During the final few 'passes,' the matador attempts to maneuver the bull into a position to stab it between the shoulder blades through the heart.
The sword is now through the shoulders and the heart. As if it's not enough, the bull is then subjected to another stabbing through the brain. This act is called the Estocada. A bad estocada that fails to give a quick and clean death raises loud protests from the stands. Those protests actually defined the bullfights we saw. If the estocada is not successful, the matador must then perform a descabello (which we witnessed on the second fight) in which he cuts the bull's spinal cord with a second sword to kill it instantly.
Finally, the slaughter is over. From beginning to end, each bullfight lasts no longer than 15 minutes. Now, the ceremonial horses come and drag Mr. Toro away.
Commentary: This is a tragically disgusting and horrifyingly sick 'sporting' event. To hear the crowd cheer on and on, with the band playing in the background and people celebrating with jugs of sangria while dancing around, completely grossed me out. You have never, in your life, seen a more unfair fight. This should be one-on-one, brains vs braun... but, instead, it's 7 against 1 and the people have places to hide (those little barriers I pointed out at the beginning of this posting). The only thing that makes this even remotely okay is that the bull is butchered and the meat given to the local poor people.
Anyhow, following this, we decided that we'd only "Run with the Bulls" in Pamplona rather than attend the nightly slaughter of the very bulls we were going to run with.
So, onto more uplifting things: Jumped on the Madrid Sightseeing bus the next day and started hopping on and off. This is the Royal Palace with the beautiful gardens flanking the right side.
A guy painting the gardens.
I love the architecture and colors!
And, here I thought that crystal glass song-playing was a thing of the past.
After a long day of sightseeing, we stumbled upon a hole-in-the-wall club in a crappy part of town... And, it just so happened that James Blunt (a native of England but now resident of Ibiza) was playing that night. It was awesome. Even if you don't know who James Blunt is (and shame on you if you don't because he's one of the only current recording artists whose voice is not digitized or cleaned up in any way), I'm sure you've heard his song 'You're Beautiful' hundreds of times. There were no seats in the club... in fact, there weren't even that many people which is why we could get so close. As soon as the concert was over at 11, people started flooding in and the techno music kicked off.
The next morning, we took a daytrip to Toledo for no other reason than because Madrid was super big and congested and we wanted to get out of the city for awhile. What was particularly interesting about Toledo was the co-existence of Christians, Muslims, and Jews alike. The influence of all three was very obvious; however, they seemed to make it work. I think J-town could learn a few things from them. Anyhow, Toledo is special in that it was one of the former capitals of the Spanish Empire as well as the hometown of El Greco. The above picture is the Cathedral of Toledo. Entrance fee was almost 15 bucks... so, we took a picture and wikipedia'd it later (Yes, most of the info above is compliments of Wikipedia... you think I would know this much info? History was not my strongest subject in school).
View of Toledo, sort of. You can vaguely see castle walls in the background. It was pretty cool.
El Greco's home, currently undergoing renovation.
After our trip back from Toledo, we stopped off at a local Churreria for some real churros... They were good but, to be honest, I like the way we make 'em in the States a whole lot better.
Wow, my Sean's eyes are blue...
Moving on... one of the local wackos. He and the homeless clown are best buds.
Went to a Flamenco show that night. It was pretty amazing although we couldn't use a flash so the pics are pretty blurry.
The next day we took it easy, sleeping in and starting our own little tapas and wine tour at around 2 in the afternoon. Our tour took us all over beautiful back alleys in Madrid.
On our way to the next stop. Have definitely never seen this in Israel.
Cute little plaza we found on our way to the next tapas/wine place when we stumbled across...
A little nunnery in the middle of an alleyway. The nunnery just so happened to be a cloister so, even though they sold cookies and other pastries, we couldn't see them. Our adventure into the building went something like this: Rang the doorbell. A nun answers, speaking only Spanish, through a speaker... I said something back that made no sense but she buzzed the door for us. We opened the ginormous wooden door, it slammed behind us, and we walked into this open courtyard, completely alone. We hear a little yell from across the way... and stumble across this turntable. "Half Kilo de Galletas, por favor." We put our Euro down on the turntable, spun it... and, within 10 seconds, the little nun on the other side spun the cookies to us... we never saw her, barely spoke to her... Then, we turned around and walked out. Very odd... but, by far, the best moment of the day.
Our last and final tapas/dinner place ended at Jarritos, the oldest restaurant in the world. Apparently, Hemingway wrote about it in some book. That's all I know. Best meal we had in Spain the entire time, though.
And, now, we're finally off to Pamplona. Took a 3.5 hour train ride there.
Okay, that's Madrid. I'm tired now and got nothing done today. Check back in a few days for Pamplona updates.
For the second time in a month, the weapon of choice has been a bulldozer... and, for the second time in a month, the bulldozee was shot and killed. Here's the thing: The bulldozer isn't what surprises me (because you can't walk a block in this city without running into some kind of construction.. or destruction). What surprises me is that the method was used for a second time... after it didn't really work the first time. There are much more efficient means to whatever crazy end they're going for... and, I think it's been proven that the bulldozer just isn't that means. Also, 90% of the local population (if not more) carries a handgun... so, you're not gonna make it very far in a beat-up piece of junk going 5mph when civilians are encouraged to take down 'outlaws' as needed.
Anyhow, we're safe and sound. The impromptu joyride/shooting took place directly behind the Consulate, in front of the hotel where Obama will be staying when he arrives tonight.... or not.
I should let my new secret service friend know that we have an extra bedroom in our apartment that Obama is more than welcome to crash in. We just got a new netflix movie, Bucket List, in the mail today. I think our future President would love to watch the movie and curl up with some good old-fashioned movie theatre butter popcorn, don't ya think?
So, we're back from Spain which I'll write a novel about later. I still have several trips (Africa, Venice) and events (Meeting the President, etc) to journalize but, I can only keep in control of everything by starting with the most recent and working backwards...
Just like last year, July 4 is a whirlwind of parties. This year, we had the official Consulate event on a Wednesday. The official Consulate event (since we're the 'unofficial' Embassy to Palestine), includes all of the Palestinian heads of state (well, I guess that implies Palestine is a recognized state)... okay, we'll call them Heads of Occupied Territories... although, Israel would disagree with that seeing as, according to our Hebrew-speaking folk, land can't be 'occupied' if the Jews are the rightful owners. Okay, we'll just call them the Palestinian Dignitaries. Anyhow, nice party. I decorated the area... that was my contribution.
On Thursday, July 3, we headed to Tel Aviv for the official Embassy July 4 party. Since they are the Embassy to Israel, the party consisted of droves of typically rude Israelis, cutting in front of everyone they could to get their free piece of pizza or basket of Hooters wings (yes, it's true... Hooters was one of the sponsors... It ,as well as dozens of other American companies, set up camp in the Ambassador's ginormous backyard). Estimated number of attendants: 3000. Our contribution: Nothing... other than taking lots of bottles of beer off their hands.
Finally, on Friday, July 4, my party-prepping skills were once again put to the test as I had to organize a community Consulate July 4 event for families, etc. It was a lot of fun. Due to the generous donations of a local Palestinian brewery (Taybeh), we were all set up in the beer department. I brought in a few local companies to set up a big bouncy castle and cotton candy machine... the highlight of the day was a balloon twister named Assaf... who stole the show and kept all of the kids in total awe... adults too. I mean, any guy who can put himself inside a balloon is worth all 1502 shekels.
Greek Patriarch and his entourage at official July 4 Consulate event (on the 2nd).
Members of Sean's team (General Dayton second from right).
Where I set up camp the majority of the evening... good beer and good company: one of our local national staff members, Nabil
My favorite people at the Consulate: Also termed FSN, they are the backbone of our organizations... and, honestly, a lot of fun.
Community event at the Consulate: .
Holding down the Taybeh tap fort.
Kids, waiting impatiently for the balloon twister to start his show.
Balloon Orchestra
Yes, that's his head inside of the balloon. The kids went ape s&*t when he jumped inside.
The post-party crew.
Shot of tequila, compliments of the Marines, to celebrate the day's success.
Okay, maybe not so celebratory shot.
Spain is next!!! Then, Munich for Oktoberfest, Sarajevo, Cruise down the Nile, and South Africa. Stay tuned!
Team RSO.... Tournament champions
Team Bodyguard...
Mighty Sean
Celebrating victory
Dodgeball Champions
So, 3 months later and I've finally uploaded all of my Athens pics. The end of March, the government actually paid for me to go to Athens for a week to learn more about planning parties... it was awesome. We spent the days 'working hard' at the Athens Embassy and the nights soaking in the local scene.
Our hotel in Athens. The rooftop bar/restaurant was amazing. In fact, I spent 3 or 4 nights there because of the view.
Other CLOs
CLOs everywhere.
VIew of the Parliament building from our hotel.
Every hour, the changing of the guards took place outside of the Parliament building. I've seen as many changing of the guards as I have cathedrals... but, their costumes were so ridiculous looking, I couldn't help but watch it 3 times. I actually caught myself laughing in the middle of it because it was so silly.
More silliness and foot pompons.
At a local Greek dive bar (after a few too many carafes of wine) with Georgia, the CLO from Bishkek. I bet you're wondering where Bishkek is. Me too. It's in the Khyrgz Republic (I so spelled that wrong)... we also had CLOs from Eritrea (it's one of the newest, if not the newest, country in Africa), Djibouti, and Gabon (Western Africa). I may not have learned much about party planning more than I already did but I definitely brushed up on my African geography.
Greek dancing in the bar. Georgia is originally from Athens and speaks Greek... and dances Greek... and looks Greek... I, however, don't... especially when she pulled me up throughout the night to try to dance...
The flower lady. Greece has outlawed the smashing of plates and so local bars/restaurants sell pie pans full of flowers to throw on the ground instead.
At the US Ambassador to Greece's house for a CLO reception.
Kim from Djibouti, Djibouti.. it has such a nice ring to it.
Georgia and some of our new Greek friends at the Greek bar... they tried to convince me to stay up all night and go straight from the bar to work. I told them 'no way' but compromised instead by drinking the last drink in everyone's wine carafe... Very bad idea... I had a roommate. I woke her up several times that night running back and forth to the bathroom.
Dancing... on tables. Not I, however. I watched for most of it...
Until Georgia made me.
Great trip all around. I enjoyed Greece much more this time. They cleaned it up for the passing of the Olympic torch and I didn't spend my days doing any exhausting sight-seeing like last time in Athens. So, good week... and, made a few friends.
A few pics from our friend, James Curtis' (aka Charlie Brown), birthday while Brig was here:
Lila, Curtis, and Paulina
Yay!!
We kept forgetting how much the white wine in the bar sucked... so, we kept ordering glasses of it.
Cody and Keren
A little 'Like A Prayer'?
Strange photo of Metro and me... looks weird but not.
Sean and beautiful Brig
Sean, are you drunk?
More Madonna, please!
Up close and personal with Raul.
"People say that what we're all seeking is a meaning for life... I think that what we're really seeking is an experience of being alive, so that our life experiences on the purely physical plane will have resonance within our innermost being and reality, so that we can actually feel the rapture of being alive."
Speaking of the rapture of being alive, this is just a partial view of the Old City that we see from our rooftop. This, along with a great bottle of Bravdo Cabernet, is what 'rapture' is all about :)
A less dramatic but just as meaningful expression of the life we lead here is a comment made by one of our friends, Matt, at a farewell party last night. Someone asked Matt the very harmless question of: "So, how have you liked your time working at the Consulate?" His response, with a hint of sarcasm, "I've enjoyed it... I talk to settlers."
Funny to no one but us... and, really funny. More rapture of life.
So, we're serious this time... we're finally going to make writing in livejournal a priority. We were lucky enough to have Brigid come visit and had a fantastic time seeing parts of Israel we hadn't yet visited. Here's a few pics we took throughout the last week.
Dome of the Rock
Dome of the Rock up close
Sean and Brig on Temple Mount. Poor Brig... I think she was yelled at 3 or 4 times for her attire in each of the Old CIty Quarters throughout the week. Apparently, this shirt was too low cut (I know... crazy) for the Muslim Quarter much like her shirt didn't have enough sleeve in the Christian Quarter's Church of the Holy Sepulchre the day before... "If you do not have a shawl... YOU MUST LEAVE... IMMEDIATELY!.. IMMEDIATELY!! NOW!! Go!! Before the Lord strikes you and your naked shoulders DEAD!! Immediately! Leave Now!!
Who knew? Barmitzvah Day every Tuesday/Thursday at the Wailing Wall. The men and women are separated at the Wailing Wall (and at every Holy site, large event, celebration, etc). Actually, it's a wonder Jewish people procreate given the amount of time they spend in gender-separate situations.
Brigid going into area where Jesus was crucified... or, so they say.
Entrance to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre (where Jesus was crucified, buried).
Meet Sushi... the camel who hangs out with his owner (a surprisingly skilled photographer) under the SEA LEVEL sign on the way to the Dead Sea.
After Brig's ride on Sushi, the sea level camel, we headed up to the Galilee and stayed at this Bed and Breakfast. IT was absolutely beautiful... no honking, no pollution, no nasty street cats.
The first day in the Galilee, we headed East from the B&B to go winetasting at the Golan Heights Winery. This winery produces 6 million bottles of wine a year with their 3 main labels: Yarden (top quality), Gamla, and Golan. If you see any in a store at home, give it a shot. Even the very young Golan wine is delicious.
Our wine teacher and very generous wine-pourer, Shlomi. Actually, I don't remember his name... blame it on the wine.
Following the wine tasting, we headed East again to Mt. Bentar which overlooks Syria from the border.
Us in front... Syria behind. Weird.
Capernaum: This was a settlement on the shore of the Sea of Galilee and was inhabited from 150BC-750AD. Supposedly, Jesus sought refuge here and preached from the synagogue. In addition, this was also the home of St. Peter.
St. Peter's home over which a church was built.
Front of the church marking the Mt. of Beatitudes where Jesus delivered the Sermon on the Mount. The sermon included the Beatitudes, Jesus' version of the 'Golden Rule,' and the Lord's Prayer.
Brig and Sean on the backside of Mt. of Beatitudes overlooking the Sea of Galilee.
Tabgha/ Church of the Bread and Fishes (Multiplication). The rock you see under the altar is where Jesus supposedly multiplied the loaves and fish to feed 5000.
After the Galilee holy sites, we drove up to the northwestern corner of Israel on the Med to a town called Rosh HaNikra. This is an Israel/Lebanon border town in addition to the site of a cavernous tunnel system (Grottos) carved out by the Med over the years.
The Israel/Lebanon border in Rosh Hanikra. The fence on the rock formation and barely visible buoys in the water mark the dividing line between the two countries.
At border.
Border crossing... probably hasn't been opened since the Lebanon War in 2006.
Following Rosh Hanikra, we headed down to a tiny coastal town called Akko for lunch.
After our lunch stop, we drove a short ways to Nazareth, the childhood home of Jesus. Surprisingly enough, Nazareth is also considered the Arab capital for Israel's Arab citizens.
Church of the Annunciation in Nazareth. This is supposedly the site where Angel Gabriel announced the future birth of Jesus to Mary.
Mass inside the Church of the Annunciation. The gated off room in the back is where Angel Gabriel is said to have broken the news to Mary about her new little tyke.
Church of St Joseph. This altar marks the place believed to be Joseph's carpentry shop. Hmmm... coincidentally enough, Joseph's shop is literally just a few hundred feet from the Church of the Annunciation... I'm not so sure the Immaculate Conception is actually immaculate :)
We finally ended our trip in Tel Aviv to enjoy the beautiful weather for a day and a half. This is the view from our hotel room and also the same view Sean had when he first arrived in Israel. We had a great time with Brig and look forward to more family coming to visit.
We promise to keep up with livejournal from now on and will finally get around to filling in the gaps over the last year.
Lots of love to all of you.
December 1 we finally got our chance to break through the security checkpoint and venture into the forbidden land of the West Bank, fully surrounded by a fleet of armored vehicles, an arsenal of weapons, and all of our security friends whom we love so much. In Bethlehem, we visited the Church of the Nativity (where Jesus was born), Shepherd's field, and then ended the day at a schwarma shop where the whole crew busted open a few beers and celebrated our first and, probably, only time in the West Bank. Enjoy the pics. Lots of love to all of you.
Sean and I in front of the Star of Bethlehem (where Jesus was born).
Jon getting ready to roll out for the trip.
Inside Church of the Nativity
Outside Church of the Nativity. Lots of big cars, big guns, and big boys.
Lighting a candle in Church
Friend of mine praying in front of Star of Bethlehem.
Inside of wall dividing Israel and Palestine (from Palestinian side). Our camera died on us right before we could get a close up but this wall is one of the most heart-wrenching testaments to the conflict here that I've ever seen. It's completely covered with graffiti on the West Bank side. What you can't see through the bushes is a huge mural that says, "To Exist is to Resist."
David and Joan, who work at the Consulate, arrived in Jerusalem just before Halloween. They did not have a Halloween costume for their 16-month old son, Elijah, so they got creative and stuck a pillowcase over his head. Just watch it. It's funny.
So much has happened in the last 5 months that we haven't posted...so, here goes. This was my first official event to plan... The Secretary of State Meet and Greet in October. Below are a few pics. I'm in the green top on the right. Sean is on the left, looking very dapper. We're not standing together because I was at the back of the pack, frantically trying to get those Consulate members, who had fallen behind, in the pic. Awesome experience. We were about 15 feet from her, front row, during her speech... and, we got to shake her hand.
Just about got our Bethlehem pics ready to be sent out. Can't wait. May give you a better idea of who we spend 90% of our time with here... the boys we love so much... the people without whom we wouldn't have made it even one year.
Good news today... I've been upgraded in the Consulate/State Dept books from non-existent to MOH (member of household). Movin up in the world. As always, aim for the stars.
According to livejournal, it's been 20 weeks since I last updated this blog... wow, it seems like just a few days. In fact, Sean and I were just commenting on the fact that nearly 1 year has passed since we went to India. Damn... I can still smell Delhi on my clothes. Can't believe it's been a year. I now believe my folks... time really does fly when you get old (yup, Sean turns 30 in 3 months. I finally enter my late 20's (29) in less than 3 weeks).
Anyhow, you may wonder what my inspiration to write is after such a long sabatacle (that's so not spelled right). Well, we've reached a crossroad... one of those bittersweet kinds. Whichever guardian angel got us to Jerusalem is apparently keeping us here. I'm happy because we can see into the future for at least another year and a half. I'm not because I'm worried. Have you ever been somewhere, having the time of your life, when you think to yourself "Nothing can ever get better than this.?" Sean and I have. It wasn't high school. It wasn't even college. It was, strangely enough, Jerusalem.
Anyone who reads this blog will never understand what we experience, feel, see on a daily basis. We are (straight-up) in the very center of a world of people who hate each other because of religion and land... because of reasons that, as Americans, we don't understand. Why can't everyone just get along? We are here fighting a fight that's not ours but a fight worth fighting because of the innocent people who can't fight for themselves. In any case, this is a small place.... a very small place... Jerusalem proper is upwards of a million people... but, as for Americans.... we are a small group...we all know each other. And, within the American population, we’ve created very definitive families.
Within our small family, we hit our 'nothing can get better than this' peak in the summer. The honeymoon period has passed. Our best friends have been promoted and are busier than before...The winter is here, making the idea of even a simple 10 minute walk to spend time with friends a completely unattractive notion. Sean and I just got extended another year... and, we’ll still be living in a hotel. The dollar is plummeting. Annapolis didn't fail but it didn't succeed.
And, people here are still crazy... myself included on occasion. Everyday, I sit out on our balcony, stare at the Old City... the fantastically gorgeous Dome of the Rock all lit up with the Wailing Wall to the right and Church of Holy Sepulchre to the left... and, I think to myself: "We all believe in the same thing.... just different versions of it." Yet, here, everything is black and white. Either you are or you aren’t. Either you’re good enough or not even God can save your soul.
Working here, however, has kept me reasonably grounded (at least during daylight hours). I organized a trip this past weekend to Bethlehem and it was awesome. Honestly, what made it great wasn’t the holy sites we visited... It was the group of people we went with. Since Bethlehem is in the West Bank, we all piled into huge armored vehicles and, for the first time, saw our security friends in action...Pretty cool and a bit odd, considering we see these boys every night acting silly...but, when it came to work, they’re damn good at what they do. The trip was great... and, when we got back, they left their serious work faces at the Consulate and joined us at our favorite local American bar, Mike’s Place, for some food/drinks and good laughs.
So, I guess things aren’t all that bad. In a strange way, I was a bit looking forward to leaving in March just to move on, experience something different, and get away from the, at times, unhealthy environment that we’ve latched onto... because it’s all we have. But, at least we know what we’ll be doing this next year...2 more Christmases/New Years, both of our 30th birthdays, one more great summer with lots of trips to the Dead Sea, a tentative trip to Australia, another year and half with great friends, and a lot more time to re-live our early youth... but, this time, making a lot more money.
Stay tuned for Bethlehem pics.
So, we've had lots of questions about what we had planned for July 4th since Israel doesn't exactly celebrate it. Well, we celebrated... big. Go big or go home, right? The party started on Tuesday night at the US Ambassador's house in Tel Aviv. Actually, it wasn't so much a house as it was a compound. 3000 people showed up and filled his backyard which included a swimming pool (complete with speedboat plopped in the middle of it) and a view of the Med that made you want to cry. The prime minister of Israel, Ehud Olmert, gave a speech and Benjamin Netanyahu made an appearance as well. As for fireworks? Well, once again, our taxpayers dollars were hard at work. Set up in the Chinese Ambassador's backyard next door, the fireworks show lasted at least 20 minutes and put most US towns' shows to shame. It was quite an experience.
For the actual 4th of July, Sean and I headed back to Jerusalem for the Consulate 4th party. Although there were no fireworks, we had a great time now that we're, at the very least, acquaintances with everyone who works there. What we thought was going to be a shmooz fest was actually just a great party. Fayyad, the new prime minister of Palestine (and my students' father) was present as well. Anyhow, we booked it out of the Consulate function around 8pm and headed to a friend's house, where we both got into comfortable clothes and started the real party with really great friends. About 10pm or so, Sean and I headed to a tattoo shop to root on a friend of ours who was inking herself up... Then, we made our way back to the party where the night led to the most fun 15 minutes of our entire last year in Jerusalem... that's right... the most fun 15 minutes... that came in the form of the most fantastic food fight ever... nothing in the fridge was off-limits...it was a bit like revisiting our elementary school years except we didn't have parents yelling at us.. So, here are our pics from the 4th. Enjoy. We sure did.
CONSULATE JULY 4TH PARTY IN JERUSALEM
AL (WORKS WITH SEAN) AND I ENJOYING THE DAYS' EVENTS
TIM (GENERAL'S AIDE-DE-CAMP). HE'S THE COOLEST DUDE EVER. WAS THE ORIGINAL TOMMY BOY, WORKING IN A CAR BRAKES FACTORY. NOW, HE'S THE GENERAL'S RIGHT-HAND MAN AND OUR OCCASIONAL WINE DRINKING BUDDY.
TISH (ODIE'S WIFE OUT VISITING UNTIL THE END OF JULY) GETTING HER FIRST TATTOO
SEAN AND I HANGING OUT IN THE TATTOO SHOP LOBBY. IN THE MEANTIME, TISH IS SCREAMING SO LOUD IN THE BACKGROUND, YOU'D THINK SHE WAS IN LABOR.
SEAN, CHRIS (THE BIG GUY IN THE BACKGROUND) AND ODIE.
KENNY (WILL BE TRAVELING WITH US TO AFRICA) AND KEVIN GETTING STARTED EARLY.
DAVE, SEAN, AND JON
AND, SO IT BEGINS... THAT WHITE STUFF ON THE GUYS WOULD BE SOUR CREAM AND THE SMEARS ON THE WALL IN THE BACKGROUND, BARBECUE SAUCE
ME, JON, KEVIN... AND A BOTTLE OF ORANGE JUICE
FOR THE FINALE, ALL THE BOYS (PRIMARILY KEVIN) DUMPED ANYTHING AND EVERYTHING ON MY HEAD
THE MORNING AFTER. EVERYONE HEADED TO WORK AT 9AM AND I SPENT UNTIL 3PM CLEANING THE PLACE UP. WITHOUT A DOUBT, THOSE 15 MINUTES THE NIGHT BEFORE WERE WELL-WORTH THE 6 HOURS OF CLEANUP THE NEXT DAY.
ALL IN ALL, BEST 4TH OF JULY EVER... WELL, MOST OUT OF THE ORDINARY, I GUESS... KIND OF LIKE EVERY DAY IN JERUSALEM.
Hello All. It's been awhile since we last updated our journal but, with the summer in full force, I should be adding almost daily. I forgot how wonderful summer is. Yesterday, Sean, Jon, Kenny, and I sat outside of a sushi restaurant for 3 hours until 830pm or so, talking about who-knows-what, wearing shorts and tank tops, enveloped in perfect 75 degree weather. Haven't seen a cloud in the sky in almost a month... and, that's the way I like it. We sure are a long way from Washington.
Anyhow, we finally have sent along our Cairo pics and will post a few here as well. We had a great time, although the tour company we went with was a bit on the shady side. Here's our trip in a nutshell:
Hopped a quick 45 min flight from Tel Aviv to Cairo at 1am Friday morning of Memorial Day weekend.
Drove to our hotel. Met the group at around 9am to head out to a HUGE museum holding King Tut's remains.
Sean and I are NOT museum people. Loved the Louvre. Enjoyed the Statue of David museum. Can tolerate 'in moderation' most art museums as long as we're in and out quickly. Our personal favorite: the Heineken brewery museum in Amsterdam. However, we were in this particular museum for 3 HOURS, listening to a diatribe in broken English about thousands of years of history neither of us are too interested in. So, we broke off from the group, went and said our 'how-do-you-do's" to the man (King Tut) and wandered aimlessly around, checkin out the 100's of mummies piled high throughout the building. As a side note, couldn't even take pictures inside which was a bit silly. I mean, what harm is a flash going to cause a bunch of mummy remains/ 2000 year old dirt?
So, we finally booked it out of the place.
But, instead of going to the pyramids, we headed to a restaurant that OVERLOOKED the pyramids.
After posing for pics with the pyramids in the background, we ate lunch (which consisted of only beer, bread, and hummus to avoid the food bugs - yup, we drank a lot of beer that weekend) ... Then, took a one hour "cruise" up the Nile.
VIEW OF NILE RIVER FROM HIGHWAY
This "cruise" was our first intro to the world of kickbacks. Basically, for 5 bucks a head, for one hour, we went from one shore to the other (maybe 300ft)...
and back again... and again. And, then we stopped for about 20 min in the same place...
"Oh Dios Mio!" Can't we see the Pyramids already? Answer: In Shala ('It's in God's hands' in Arabic).
So, around 3pm, we FINALLY made our way to the Pyramids... they were cool. But, not what I imagined. They reminded me so much of the Old City here: Really, really, really, really old structures plopped in the middle of a modern metropolis with indescribable congestion, noise, and unhappy people who have long-forgotten the history they're surrounded by.
RICK, PHIL, SEAN AND I IN FRONT OF PYRAMIDS
We did get to walk into one of the pyramids once we begged our tour guide to wait an extra 20 min before heading out. Little did we know that he had his own agenda. The next logical stop after the pyramids should have been the Sphinx (which is amazing, by the way)... but, no. Apparently, we had found ourselves in a bit of a time crunch (due to our walk into the pyramid) and, gosh darnit, we were late for a very important date at the papyrus store. So, instead of getting out at the Sphinx (and skipping the papyrus store), we did a slow drive-by of it, snapping as many pics as possible through the bus windows.
You'd think that 15 adults (2 of whom were FBI, 2 Marine Corps) could stand up to a weasel of a tour guide and insist we get up close and personal with the Sphinx... but, no...
Instead, we rolled right on by the Sphinx and into the papyrus shop where the workers there all coincidentally resembled our tour guide.
OUR DEMO GIRL (TOUR GUIDE'S COUSIN?) AT PAPYRUS SHOP
Anyhow, got a good night sleep that night. Woke up and went on a camel ride the next day along with a tour through Saqqara (to see the Step pyramid) and Memphis (the first capital of Eqypt).
MY 8-YR OLD CAMEL GUIDE
STEP PYRAMID IN SAQQARA
STATUE OF RAMSES II IN MEMPHIS
Still had yet to stop at the Sphinx... but, luckily, we had enough time to spend hours on end at a carpet store (which was actually a cover for a child-labor sweat shop) and perfume place.
CARPET SWEAT SHOP. BROKE MY HEART.
Oh, oh, oh. As a side note, despite our tour guide's recommendation that we not leave our hotel at night, Sean and I had some serious hankering for some Indian food. We found a place at a nearby hotel that supposedly served the best Indian food in town... so, for a mere 5 bucks, we paid off some cabbie to take us to the restaurant, wait for 2 hours, and drive us back. Unfortunately, though, his muffler blew up on the way to the restaurant, the cab filled with smoke, we had to walk the rest of the way... And, to make matters worse, when we reached the restaurant, we were turned away because we were wearing shorts. (We're stupid... there we were in Muslim-ville and we walk into a restaurant in shorts and short-sleeved shirts.) The whole situation was hilariously dumb. But, we ended up having a great dinner somewhere else, nonetheless.
Keep in mind also: We're in Egypt and Sean and I still aren't sick. But, there are 15 people on the tour and still 2 days of the trip left.
Next day (Sunday), we wake up early and jump on a bus for 9 hours to the Sinai. Long bus ride but pretty neat, nonetheless. Drove under the Suez Canal on our way.
SUEZ AND SINAI SIGN
CRAZY BEDOUIN LADY AT A COMMUNITY WE STOPPED OFF AT ALONG SUEZ CANAL
For those of you whose Suez Canal history isn't on the up and up, here's its significance in a nutshell: Opened in 1869, the Suez runs about 100 miles long and allows for transport between Europe and Asia without having to go around Africa. Control of the canal has changed hands a few times, due to its importance and its ability to literally sustain or suffocate an entire region, with Egypt ultimately privatizing it when all was said and done.
Moving right along... we arrived at our hotel at the base of Mt Sinai in the early evening, following a tour through St. Catherine's monastery. The monastery is maintained by Greek Orthodox monks and has just as fascinating of a history as Mt Sinai itself. Just the simple fact that it has survived hundreds of years in a predominantly Muslim area is amazing enough; however, the monastery is also home to the supposed burning bush where Moses was instructed to take the Israelites to the Promised Land. Although originally being home to just a chapel, the monks also built a mosque within the walls in order to appease the local Muslim citizens.
BURNING BUSH IN ST CATHERINE'S MONASTERY
CHAPEL IN ST. CATHERINE'S WITH MOSQUE RIGHT BEHIND IT
VIEW OF MT SINAI AND MONASTERY
After our walk-through of the monastery, we headed back to our hotel, got a good night sleep, and woke up at 1:30am on Monday to start our 6K trek up Mt. Sinai (where Moses received the 10 commandments) to see the sun rise. (As a side note, we lost one member of the tour that night who ended up falling victim to the not-so-sanitary food in Egypt). The hike was long and cold (not to mention very dark) and the trail lined with camel poop (which my shoes and bare calves became very well-acquainted with). At the top, we made friends with a shopkeeper who offered us strong coffee and extremely stinky 'camel hump blankets' to wrap ourselves up in... all for a mere 30 Egyptians pounds (a couple bucks).
At around 5:45, the sun finally made its first appearance and, with the exception of some girl on our tour who wouldn't shut her mouth, nothing could have been more perfect.
We hung out on the top for an hour or so before deciding that it was time to beat the rush of people on the way down. Phil, Rick, Sean, and I all took off at a sprint, down the 750 very well-worn steps. I made it down in record time, doing a decent job keeping up with the boys. In fact, I was so excited about momentarily returning to my elementary years when I could do anything the boys could do, that when I reached the bottom, my enthusiasm carried me a bit farther than expected, causing me to trip over the last stair, and sending me 5 feet in the air (in a classic Superman pose) and at least 15 feet along the ground. When I stood up and looked at my bloody knees, I had flashbacks of being a kid and falling off the playground 'spinner' (the twirly thing resembling a horizontal ferris wheel that you pushed, jumped on, and held on until either you or one of your friends puked).
Anyhow, I tripped about 4 more times down the mountain, thanks to my loosened kneecaps that were now lodged somewhere below my knees but, at least now that the sun was up, I could dodge all the camel terds along the way.
By far, climbing Mt. Sinai was the best part of the trip. We were back at the hotel by 8:30am, stuffed down some food, and headed back to Jerusalem by bus that morning. We lost two more members of our tour that day whose immune systems couldn't fight the food bugs any longer. Lots of bathroom stops along the way. We learned later, that of the 15 people who went on our tour only 2 of us (Sean and I) didn't get sick. Perhaps, our previous trips to Egypt, Jordan, Turkey, and most notably, India, broke us in. Survival of the fittest, baby.
So that's our trip. Lots of fun. Whirlwind of a trip in only 4 days. Now, just chillin out, enjoying the Jerusalem summer until our big trip to Africa with Kenny in July.
Anyhow, things at work are slowing down quite a bit for me. School is over in 2 weeks so I just have a final exam to prep and grade before summer is finally here. Can't wait.
We're headed to Cairo tonight for the holiday weekend. Will be staring at the Pyramids in less than a day. Can't believe it.
Below are a few random stupid pictures we've taken recently. Will have much better ones in just a few short days when we get back from Egypt.
Summer is finally here... and, so is watermelon.
Hard to see in this picture but Israel is the Land O' Stray Cats. If you look closely and count, this man has 12 stray cats just hanging out around him.
So, up until about a month ago, we had planned on going to Austria over Easter just to get away from Jerusalem. You might ask why. I mean, here we are in the Holy Land and we decide to leave for the second most important day in the Christian faith. Well, very simply, Easter coincides with Jewish Passover. In other words, half of the world's Jewish population is in town... and I'm pretty sure that they're all staying in our hotel. In addition to the crowds being out of control, Passover's main drawback is the rule against consumption of any food or beverage containing yeast. Can't buy it in any grocery stores. Can't order it in any restaurants. No bread. No beer.
Anyhow, while vacationing down in Eilat a few weeks ago, some friends of ours from Germany gave us a call and insisted that we meet them in Florence over the holiday... so, we quickly changed our plans and off we went.
Now, this trip was a huge deal to me. Italy has been #1 on my list of places I wanted to go since I was a little girl. Sean and I had thrown around the possibility of going to Italy on several occasions; however, we always put it off because we wanted to 'go big' and spend a long time travelling around. But, when Easter in Florence popped up and we could meet our very wine-obsessed friends there, we were in.
The trip was fantastic. Just 4 days, in and out. A tease for me but, just as I thought, I'm hooked and I can't wait to go back.
The landscape is beautiful as well as the architecture, 2 things that seem to define Europe no matter where you go. What made Italy special for me was the people. They absolutely love life. They smile in conversations, laugh outloud, make out in public, are openly affectionate... and drink wine before, during, and after work. Quite a change of pace from the States and Israel. So, here are our pictures from the weekend. Next trip is Cairo in May.
My first glass of wine in Italy!!!
Ponte Vecchio bridge in Florence. Only bridge not to be bombed by the Nazis in '44. Some people claim it was spared as a direct order from Hitler. Others think that a General disobeyed an order from Hitler and spared it. The inside of the bridge is lined with old shops and restaurants.
View of Florence from an overlook. The big dome is a cathedral called the Duomo.
Stations of the Cross
Side of the Duomo close-up
Santa Croce. This building is at the top of a piazza where they used to execute heretics back in the day. Now, the building houses tombs of artists and scientists.
Galileo's tomb
Michaelangelo's tomb
So, this is the sign painted on a wall leading the way to the Statue of David. Whereas we left Jerusalem to get away from the billions of American Jews, we soon learned that the entire American Christian population was in Italy. I bring this up because, on Saturday, we had decided to go quickly to the museum housing Michaelangelo's statue of David, take some pictures, and then jump in the car with our friends and go on a tour of Tuscany. But no. 4 and a half hours later, we finally made it into the museum. Spent 20 minutes there and then took off. Actually, we would've left the gallery after 5 minutes but, little did we know we couldn't take pictures once inside. Luckily, though, our new Canadian friend in line with us had a great camera. So, while Sean and I pulled a few distraction maneuvers with security, he was able to snap some good photos. Will update our journal as soon as we get them from him.
At dinner with Tammy, Zeyn and the chef.
Sunset from Ponte Vecchio on Easter
This is super hard to see; however, it's quite amazing. Just goes to show how much the conflict here in the Middle East affects everyone all over the world. The grafitti reads: Palestina Libra... Viva Iraq... Sharon + Bush = Merda...
My bad Spanish and Sean's broken Italian translate this as: Free Palestine... Long live Iraq... Sharon + Bush = SH*T
City of Pisa
So, a quick rundown on the history of the Leaning Tower of Pisa: The tower began to lean after the architect had finished only 3 tiers. It continued to lean an average of 1mm every year since then until the late 90's when the incline finally reached 5m. Worried that the tower might finally fall, workers began removing soil from the side opposite the lean to bring the tower up a bit. Surprisingly, it actually worked and the tower tipped back up and now rests at an incline of only 4.1 m.
The base of the tower. This is where the lean is most obvious.
View of Italian Alps from plane.
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