Happy New Year!

It is the time of the high holidays in Israel now. Seriously, the month of September is FULL OF HOLIDAYS. That means a lot has happened since my last blog post. We're continuing to explore the city, finding new restaurants, grocery stores, and street markets. I'm happy to report that we're making good friends already. And I am finally starting to get the hang of my job. I'm getting faster and asking my colleagues less annoying questions throughout the day. We've had some pretty exciting moments over the past two weeks, which include:

1. Attending my first "national day" as an official American diplomat. My husband and I went to a celebration for the independence of Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras.

2. Sitting on the port and eating brunch for literally three hours. It was so relaxing, I think I could have stayed there for days. In fact, we have had several great dining experiences and are itching to get the rest of our cooking supplies so that we can have friends over for home-cooked meals.

3. Walking in the streets of the city... literally walking in the middle of the street. Today was Yom Kippur when the Jewish community fasts and dresses in white. No one is allowed to drive a motorized vehicle and everyone goes out into the streets walking, roller blading, and riding bikes. What an eerie and peaceful atmosphere!

So much is happening so fast! I had a dream last night that all my friends from DC showed up unexpectedly for breakfast and we sat on my porch drinking coffee. What a wonderful thought...