criplomats

DC has really felt the heat this past week…have I mentioned that I have been too lazy to get the air conditioner in the Volvo fixed? Ouch!

The highlight of my week was having dinner out on Thursday with my good friends TFran and Pam, both friends from Juarez. We had a great time at a little Mexican place.

Last Sunday, we had some excellent ribs at Whitney and Ale’s, and also got to see more old friends from Juarez, Ryan and Joanna. Afterwards, I took our friend Della to the emergency room with her sick baby, Indy. The doctors said he was going to be OK and just needed time to let some antibiotics kick in. He’s such a happy little fellow, even when he’s not feeling well. We were in A-100 with Della’s husband in 2007, and now Della is an officer, too.

The other good thing that happened this week was that John and I got placed in our own Hebrew class. It’s nice to just have the two of us in class, and it should help us reach our goal more easily.

John was in training on Friday for something unrelated to Hebrew, so I had the teacher to myself for all four hours, which was good, but intense! My brain hurt by the end of the day.

We’re trying to get our travel arrangements to Tel Aviv get worked out, so we also spent a lot of time in the Travel office trying to figure out logistics. We thought we had to stop over in New York for consultations, but that plan changed; it’s good because now we can just leave from DC, then catch a direct flight from NY. From NY, it will be about 11 hours.

Saturday we studied, and I went to the mall to try to find some lightweight suits for work – with no luck. Everything is made of polyester – hard to find natural fiber. I’ll keep looking.

Miguel and Jasper

We’re so happy to have our good friends from Juarez back in DC! TFran and Michael (aka Miguel) returned this week. Although we aren’t neighbors with them, like we have been since 2007, it’s nice to have them in the same town again!

We met up with them at RT’s for a great Cajun dinner (she-crab soup, BBQ shrimp and shellfish in parchment), then went to their apartment afterwards to sit on the balcony overlooking Pentagon City and see their (grown up) puppy Jasper.

We also went out Friday night with our good friend Richard, who passed his Spanish test that day. We started out with drinks at Ris, then ended up on his balcony with a bottle of wine; our friend Carolyn joined us. It was lots of fun.

We started the week with a fun brunch last Sunday with our friends Mary and Tony – they had a big get-together, a great way to start (or end?) the week. We got to catch up with our friends Jim and Kellee, who are just back from Panama.

We pretty much just kept our heads down the rest of the week for Hebrew study. I also took Flavie back to the vet for her follow-up blood test, poor girl. She was quite brave.

I’m sad for my good friend Pam – her black standard poodle, Boo, passed away this week. She had him for 14 years, since he was a puppy. He would always sit in the front seat of the car and was so big he looked like a person! We’ll miss him; he was a great companion for many years for her.

Flavie wants to learn Hebrew, too!

A-100 girls at brunch

My good friend Pam from Juarez got back to DC today, so we met for dinner, then walked down to the Iwo Jima Memorial to watch the fireworks – they were really fantastic! It was great to get caught up with Pam, too, and will be fun to have her in town.

In fact, she and I went to see Joan Armatrading at The Birchmere Music Hall on Friday night – it was fantastic! I went after class to wait in line, since it’s first-come, first-serve. I had a nice shady bench to sit on with some other fans, did my homework and was rewarded with the perfect seat at the show. It was wonderful to hear so many of her old songs – her voice is just incredible.

Monday was a holiday and I took it easy with a pedicure, a little shopping and a nice steak while John and I watched an Israeli movie. We have to use sub-titles, of course, but it’s fun to pick up on some of the dialogue.

Hebrew was a little rocky this week, but we just have to hang in there with it and keep studying.

Saturday morning we met Richard for a nice brunch and conversation at Kramerbooks in Dupont Circle. It was rainy, which was nice because it cooled things off a bit. We spent the rest of Saturday afternoon studying, then watched “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo,” based on the novel by Stieg Larsson. We loved the book and really enjoyed the movie, too.

With Richard

This week wasn’t so hectic, which was nice, and, mid-week, the weather took a break from being really hot and humid.

We went out for a short bike ride last Sunday morning, although we went a little too late and it was already sweltering outside, so we cut it short after about six miles.

Friday night, we had a going-away dinner with Michael, Suzanne, and their two kids at a kabob restaurant – we worked with them in Juarez and Michael was one of my favorite officers there.

Saturday night, we met up with our A-100 friend Carolyn at Harry’s, who is just back from Kathmandu. We had dinner with her and two of her friends from New York who were really fun and interesting.

The rest of the week was pretty low-key. We watched an interesting documentary in Area Studies called The Oath on Tuesday; the director was there for Q&A afterward. That night I piddled around with my new camera, learning how to use it, while John went to a magic lecture in Maryland.

On Saturday afternoon, I test drove a Cooper Mini, which was a lot of fun. I need to find a new, small car to take to Tel Aviv. Suggestions?

Speaking of Tel Aviv, John and I got our housing assignment and we are very happy. We’re across the street from the beach and just a few blocks from the Embassy. The apartment is tiny, but the location is fantastic! Click here for a photo of the building.

This week, John and I started using Hebrew for most of our discussions at home, which makes it interesting – and also makes for rather short conversations!

With Michael, Suzanne and family