Hanukkah

I am so grateful that I got to experience Hanukkah here. It is such a happy time. All through the city you see Menorahs in the windows. It is hard to describe how pretty it is. There are Menorahs on the sidewalks, in virtually every window and business and on all the streetlights. People have parties and invite their friends. My friend Jackie was visiting and we had dinner together. While eating, the waitress came to our table and told us that they were lighting a Menorah and would we like to join them? When has that ever happened to me before? I am posting that picture, along with Jackie. A co-worker also invited me to her home for dinner. I was one of 3 women she and her husband entertained. The food was delicious and the company very interesting. We sang songs, lit 4 Menorahs and ate and ate. It was such a nice night!

At the school within the hospital where I work, there was a Hanukkah party for the children. A big Menorah was lit, all the children were given gifts and they put on plays. It is a little hard to watch the children on the stage in their wheelchairs with their ventilators strapped on but they all had a great time and that is the important thing.

For Shabbat this week I met Brinda and Ami in Tel Aviv. There is a port with a boardwalk, shops and restaurants. We ate a typical Israeli breakfast (eggs, salads, dips, coffee, breads etc) overlooking the sea. It was very relaxing and we had a great time. After that we wandered through some shops and then stopped at a farmer's market and picked up some fruit and bread. While we were there a storm (predicted) hit. There was thunder and lightening and instead of grumbling, the Israeli's started clapping and cheering. It is hard to describe how important rain is here. There has not been much rain since I've arrived and agriculture is such an important thing here that all rain is appreciated and celebrated. So we ran for the car and I went to their home overnight. I got to visit with Avital (Brinda's grandson) and he helped me with my Hebrew homework. We went to the movies and had a very nice visit.

I am now back in Jerusalem. I had my second Hebrew lesson and things are starting to make some sense. It is worth the money to have private lessons. Tomorrow I am not working. I will be meeting some other friends from Maryland who are here for the month. We are going to meet in the old city area. I am looking forward to the day. Friday evening I am invited to have dinner with some distant cousins of Brinda's. It should be a nice evening. So as you can see I remain busy and happy. All is well and I am thrilled that I am having this experience.

I realized today that Christmas is almost here. There is certainly no indication of it here. For those of you in blogland that celebrate, I wish you a wonderful holiday.