Mount Scopus

Mount Scopus, home of Hebrew University, is located right next to us here on French Hill. It has definitely had a significant role in Jerusalem's history, most commonly as the base of attack for Romans, Crusaders, and most everyone else that has laid siege to the city. It's also a great place for Q and I to explore while Kate and Ozzi are napping.

 

 

 

 

Giving Thanks

Thanksgiving Eve

I picked up the magnificent turkey I special ordered at Super Deal. This supermarket tries to cater to the huge American contingent here in Jerusalem without being obvious about it. I did have to special order a whole turkey after all. With the 6.5 kilos of holiday bird loaded into my cart I joined the scavenger hunt already in progress for pumpkin pie ingredients. It's surprising the sense of community one gets gathered around the dairy section trying to collectively determine which little Hebrew laden container is the proper whipping cream for our Dessert Americana. That was one of several shopping excursions in preparation for our first Thanksgiving Feast beyond the land of Pilgrims, Indians, and the NFL.

Thanksgiving Day

We adopted a vagabond IT guy named Cory. He's a great guy from the consulate that arrived only about a month before we did and didn't have any plans for Thanksgiving. With his car still in bureaucratic limbo, I was more than willing to go pick him up at his German Colony bachelor pad Thursday afternoon as the turkey progressed to a glistening golden brown in the oven.

Jerusalem traffic is chaotic in the best and worst sense of the word. There is a degree of lawlessness that provides a driver with the freedom and convenience to, say, make u-turns whenever or wherever it suits you, ignoring other traffic, curbs, oneways, whatever. It's fun and entertaining. Of course, this driving philosophy tends to lead to the other extreme on the driving continuum; traffic patterns, or really, lack there of. Which brings me to my drive across town to pick up Cory. Why, on a Thursday afternoon at 2 pm, the city streets in entirety would be at a complete standstill, I do not understand. I do, however, understand that this level of congestion on old narrow roads is not the best circumstances in which to get a flat tire.

I had suspected something was wrong. The little rental Hyundai didn't quite feel right. But when the dude on the scooter pulls up to your passenger window and pantomimes the universal gestures for "Your tire is flat." you know you have a problem. At that point I was relatively close to Cory's and had no good place to pull over anyway. I decided to just get to his place and deal with it there.

I know how to change a tire. It's pretty easy really. Unless the tools your given don't work. The lug wrench, though the right size to fit the lug nuts on the wheel, was too fat to fit into the holes around the lug nuts. So I call the rental company:

"Sholom."
"Sholom. Hello. Do you speak English?"
"Yes. Of course." seemingly offended that I would even ask.
"I have a rental car with a flat tire and..."
"Flat tire is not insured. It is customer responsibility."
"Ok, that's fine. I'm trying to change the tire right now but we don't have the proper tools here."
"All tools should be there. Flat tires are customer responsibility."
"The wrench here doesn't fit. Do you not have some sort of roadside assistance that could at least bring us the correct tool."
"You should have the correct tool in the car."
"Well I don't."
"I can send someone with the tool but if they see you already have the tool we will have to charge you a service fee."
"Fine."

I then spend 5 minutes trying to explain where I'm at to her after which see just tells me that within a two hour time frame a guy will call me and I can give him directions. We get the car parked in a metered spot nearby. The meter's broken and steals my money. The guy calls and speaks English just slightly better than I speak Hebrew which made for fun direction giving until I mention that we're near the McDonald's. "Oh, the MacDonald. Yes. You go there. I send a guy there. His English not good as me." So I leave Cory watching a car with a flat tire at a broken meter so he can maybe explain away any parking tickets that come by. I meet the guy at the McDonald's and aggressively persuade him to come back to the car to make sure the wrench he's handing to me fits better than the one we already have. As soon as I confirm it fits he takes off, leaving Cory, Q, and I to finally take off the flat and put the State Fair mini-donut spare on. Two hours later we're finally on our way toward Thanksgiving Dinner... except traffic is still at a complete halt. Eventually we do make it home to an amazing meal that Kate made independently. The food was wonderful and it was great to have Cory over. I even got him home without incident.

Eid al-Adha

This morning Kate called Nassar, the motor pool guy, for a recommendation on where we should take the tire to get fixed. It turns out today is a major holy day for the Muslim population here. This made getting a tire changed in East Jerusalem impossible. I spent a good portion of the day following the wonderful local guard staff driving all over Jerusalem trying to find a place that was open. We did eventually find a place way out on the SW side of town.

Oh wait, one more thing

Last night Ozzi had a super-high fever. While I was running all over town getting a tire fixed, Kate was getting Ozzi to a doctor to find out he has a double ear infection... which explains why he was so pissed off on the decent down to the Dead Sea last weekend. He's on antibiotics now and already seems to be feeling better.


So, what am I thankful for this year?

• Nassar, the Local Guard Force, and everyone else here that has been so forcefully eager to help you with stuff that shouldn't even be their problem.
• The opportunity to live in such an amazing city with so many fun quirks, challenges, and new things to discover and learn.
• My wonderful wife that was able to put aside fear of bones in meat and actually carve the turkey by herself.
• Two happy and (relatively) healthy boys.
  

Peace Maker

"Papa, can you walk me all the way into school today?"
"Sure. Why?"

"The big kids were being mean and made me cry."

"Were they teasing you?"

"No, not me. The other littler kids."

"Um, so they weren't teasing you?"

"No. They were saying mean stuff like 'scaredy-cat' to the little girl."

"And that made you cry... them teasing other kids."

"Yeah."

The trick is, how do I toughen him up so he isn't such easy pickings for bullies without discouraging his empathy and compassion which rivals that of Buddha himself. He may not have been the victim this time, but if he's that quick to tears, they'll pick up on that soon enough. Unfortunately, the Gracie Jiu Jitsu class at the Consulate is for 9 and up, because a martial arts class seems to be the best approach. At the very least, I'm glad he told me about it. I did my best to explain to him that it's up to him to be brave and stand up to bullies and tell them to stop... even if they are picking on someone else... even if the ones doing the teasing are his friends.

Besides that little incident before class one day, school has been great for Q. He really loves having all these new friends to play with every day. He even said he wanted to go on Sunday. Instead we visited the Western Wall....

 

 

 

 

 

... and left it standing for this guy who visited just hours after us.

Camera Obscura

I've adopted the nasty habit of leaving the camera behind most any time we go out. At times this is done consciously as I would like to feel more at home and less like a tourist here before I strap on the camera that makes me look more like a tourist.

Tonight was an occasion where we just plain forgot... or not even forgot, but didn't plan on needing it. Lesson learned. You always need your camera when in Jerusalem. We were planning on simply finding a "supermarket" on the other side of town that is open on Shabbat so we could pick up the dryer sheets we now lack. We never found dryer sheets but we did find ourselves wandering The Peace Forest and The Mount of Olives. The views were stunning and I vow to return several times over the next two years to take MANY photos.

What I did take pictures of today was the sights of and from our surrounding neighborhood that Q felt worthy of our lense during a morning walk. Which is to say, views of the West Bank and feral cats.

 

Falafel

Today for lunch we stopped by one of the two falafel joints across the street from our little compound we call home. It was very good though I think the ones we had in The Old City were better (K8 disagrees). We have yet to try the falafel next door to the one we stopped at today. Why there are two falafel places next door to each other I'm not sure... and it sounds like the city is evenly divided over which one is better.

 

Under The Jerusalem Sky

We made it. There were a few bumps along the way (we were delayed a full day in DC, weather in Philadelphia) but we are now all settled into our lovely new home. It is very nice, very large, and in a very nice area.

Most of our time thus far has been either dominated with logistics or hampered by rain. On our first free and dry day here we walked down to the Old City and wandered through the ancient streets. We marveled at the pyramids of spices displayed along side "Uzi Does It! Israeli Army" t-shirts (haven't found that one in kid sizes yet, but I'm still looking). Today we went and visited Q's new pre-school classroom and were thrilled to see the international kaleidoscope of children welcome Q with such warmth and enthusiasm. It was a scene in which, even if you hadn't the vested interest of your own child, you would still feel an undeniable hope for the future... and, really, how many pre-school classes get to go swimming once a week for P.E.?

Obviously we have much more to share, but that will have to wait until another day. On this corner of the world, it is past my bed time.

Valedictory Dispatch

In less than 24 hours we will be on a plane. We are leaving behind our nation's capital which we just began to get to know. Though I'm far from a seasoned resident, I am walking away with a pinch of familiarity and have definitely enjoyed our time here. It has certainly been a learning experience.

D.C. is an ideal training ground for those about to venture abroad. You can't help but gain a swelling of pride as you wander the monuments to our nation's founders and their revolutionary ideas. The diversity of the museums reflect the diversity of our country while they remind us of the complexity that makes our republic so amazing and unique.

Living in America's Mecca also allows you a opportunity to relate to people around the world. I can understand why so many have such negative opinions of Americans as a whole. Stereotypical American Tourists. They are devoid of commonsense and consideration and expect everything to be obvious and on a silver platter. Please, if you plan to visit anywhere beyond our borders, or Washington D.C. for that matter, leave the fanny-packs at home and don't stop at the top of an escalator to look at your map.

Getting Closer

This picture pretty much sums up how we feel right now. We are now close enough to peer into our new life and see some of what's on the other side. There is still plenty hidden in the darker recesses of the unknown, but the prospect of discovery excitedly draws us in further. Our departure for our first official post fast approaches. In two weeks we will be arriving in Jerusalem just in time for the Consulate General's Halloween Party. That's K8's strategic planning skills at work. What better way to meet other families so soon after our arrival.

We have what looks like a very nice, not to mention huge, home waiting for us in a neighborhood near the Hebrew University and not too far away from the Old City. It sounds like we will have fantastic views that on the clearest of mornings will stretch all the way to the Dead Sea. Our neighborhood is even rumored to have a Domino's Pizza that doesn't adhere to kosher rules. Hooray for pepperoni pizza! We haven't quite decided how much of our furniture we want to ship to our new (fully furnished) home. We certainly don't have to bring any of it, but it would be nice to have a few things to make it feel a bit more like OUR home. I do have plans to stock up on all sorts of space stuff from the Air and Space Museum to decorate Q's room. His plans to be an Astronaut when he grows up (and on Halloween) are resolute. I also have plans to do some painting. This should make the house feel more like ours and give me something to do with myself.

The closets here in DC are slowly filling up with things we think we need to stock up on. Not so much because they aren't available in Israel, but because prices there are quite high. We have a stockpile of diapers that we hope will last us up to Ozzi being potty trained. There is a copious amount toilet paper ready for our spoiled American behinds. We have yet to get a few of the essential to survival food items like Mac & Cheese. Unfortunately, it's just not practical to amass a cache of bacon and pork chops then ship it halfway around the planet.

Beyond these more material preparations, I've spent as much time as I can researching all prospective adventures in our next locale. To give you an idea what we have to look forward to, here are a few of my favorite online resources:

• Fun in Jerusalem
  
• The Consulate General of the United States, Jerusalem
• Jerusalem.com  
• Jerusalemite

TWO WEEKS! OY VEY!

Down On The Farm

Today we went to the Agricultural History Farm Park in Derwood, Maryland for their annual Harvest Festival. We met up with our neighbors there and I gotta say, for the 2-3 hours that we were there, it was like being back in Minnesota... well, except for the 78 degrees in October.


Hooligans in the hay.









Candle Dipping.

Diggin' with goats.

Getting lost in the giant corn maze.

Arts and crafts.

Q is no Pele... K8 is no Spielberg...

but 4 year old soccer is certainly one of the more entertaining moments in life.

Bumps in the Night

The last few nights the boys have been waking up around 3 am and we haven't really figured out why... until tonight.

"Quentin, why do you keep on waking up at night and coming into our room?"

"The ghost lemur keeps trying to jump on my head.",  Q says very matter of fact with no fear or stress.

"The ghost lemur?"

"Yeah."

What the hell good is an imaginary friend alligator if he sleeps through nightly attacks from a ghost lemur?

Our Anniversary in D.C.

Over the past week, I had planned out an elaborate scheme to celebrate our 8th wedding anniversary. I wanted to make this one, our first since joining the Foreign Service, especially memorable. My plans involved intrigue, diamonds, the finest dining, mysteriously vague love notes, and a pedicab.

On the morning of, things appeared to be falling apart. Forecasts of rain all day and the pedicab company wasn't answering the phone. But, it seems, Serendipity loves me. The sky cleared up, in fact the weather was perfect, my pedicab guy called me back as I waited for the Metro, and everything else seemed to fall into place just in the nick of time. Our night even had a surprise celebrity guest.

Behold, The Interactive Map of Love!


View Our Anniversary in D.C. in a larger map

السلام عليكم

While K8's brain is being bombarded with daily tsunamis of policies, acronyms, and bureaucracies, the boys and I continue to explore. That is, when we are not occupied by the pool, playground, or new friends.

On the occasion that I am afforded any real time to do so, I've been attempting to learn Arabic. My efforts in Hebrew are less pressing, as most Hebrew speaking Israelis also speak English fluently. Thus far, my success in Arabic has been limited to a few different ways to say hello and about 20 other words that I have bouncing around in my head, of which, I cannot recall the coinciding meaning.

Being in our nations capital has spurred us to bone up on our U.S. History a bit so we've been watching HBO's John Adams series on DVD. It is a fantastic look into the personalities and realities that led to the formation of this country.

The movie, coupled with my labors in language, has produced dreams that are quite bizarre... especially last night. Yesterday evening Q "captured" an imaginary alligator that, according to Q was skilled in automotive repair and medicine. Unfortunately, this new imaginary friend later fell 4 stories down the apartment's elevator shaft along with my not imaginary belt that he was using as a leash. This resulted in a tear filled meltdown of epic proportions until, "Q, what's that noise? Is there something scratching at our door? Let's go see. Oh, my goodness, it's Alligator. He climbed out. YAY!" Crisis averted but a dream about trying to get your oil changed by an alligator that only speaks Arabic dressed in colonial attire makes for a rather restless night.

Playing Tourist

While we've been here we've spent a great deal of time getting acquainted with our surroundings. The boys and I have wandered through many a monument and park, many a museum has been perused, and a slight sampling of restaurants have been... well... sampled. Here are some of our findings:

Smithsonian Air and Space is the bee's knees. Since we visited the location on the mall, Q has been persistent in a new goal of being an astronaut when he grows up. When we visited the Dulles location we were amazed. Not just at all the fantastic and historic planes and rockets but also at Q's unrelenting excitement throughout the entire visit. Hell, even Ozzi dropped a bunch of, "Oh wow!"'s there. Of course we couldn't leave without getting Q his own orange astronaut jumpsuit.

The National Zoo is fantastic!!! Elephants, hippos, giant octopus, and naked mole rats, zoos don't get much better than that.

Visiting the monuments have been an interesting opportunity for me to try and explain aspects of American History to Q, some of which is a bit difficult. It's one thing to tell a 4 year old that Abraham Lincoln was the president a long time ago (and "No he wasn't that big when he was alive.") but a whole different thing to explain what the Vietnam Memorial represents and "Why is that man crying?"

I had to take the boys hiking around Theodore Roosevelt Island, Q being named after TR's youngest son and all. We even got up close and personal with a couple of young deer.

As for restaurants, 2 Amys has easily replaced Punch as my all time favorite pizza outside of Naples... especially with fresh Burrata on the menu.

A few other highlights thus far, Old Town Alexandria with this guy,

The National Gallery with it's underground passageway,

The Einstein Memorial,

And making some great new friends. Including our new next door neighbors who are from the Twin Cities and knew our neighbors in St. Paul and have a girl the same age as Q.

Jerusalem!!!!