This and that

Well I have been busy again. Today I went back to Hadassah Hospital for a private tour which was wonderful. I got to see the Emergency Dept and the critical care areas. It is interesting. The hospital is in the process of building a new wing for the 100 year anniversary. If anyone has a spare $250 million, they could use it. The new tower will hold the surgical suites an an additional 500 beds, giving it 1800 beds in total. They have a new mother and child tower too. I was told that they have 20 births/day there. Judging by the number of pregnant women I see here, I would have thought there would be more births so I am thinking there are other hospitals for this too. The entire emergency area can be closed off in the event of a bombing or chemical attack. Air and water supplies will last 3 weeks.

I also have gone out with some of my new friends several times recently. My new friends are 20 year old girls. I think it is so sweet that they want to include me in their adventures. They are all younger then my youngest child! We have a great time together. Last week Amalia and I decided to explore Mea Sherim, an untra orthodox area of Jerusalem. We dressed for the occasion, both in long skirts and long sleeve tops. The rule is no knees, elbows or collarbones showing. We wandered up and down the street and we both bought skirts. It is the place to buy skirts but if you want slacks- fergetaboutit! We then went into a pizza place for a bite to eat. Typically the ultra orthodox have large families so we entered this restaurant to a huge balagon (commotion). There was a room off to the side, with a sign announcing "for men only" where men sat quietly eating their dinners undisturbed. The main area was packed with women and children. It seemed that each woman had 6 children and so eating there was quite an experience. The place was not particularly clean, the pizza was not so great but the experience- priceless.

Yesterday I got up at 6:00am and went to work. I then came home and soon turned around and went out with the girls again. We went down to the Western Wall. I have been there a number of times since I've come to Israel but never at night. It was a beautiful evening with a warm breeze. The area is lit up and magical. Because it was the start of a new month, there was a celebration going on with hundreds of people singing and dancing. It was special. From there we walked outside the old city and had a bite to eat in a cafe then headed home. It was terrific but this old lady was exhausted when I finally climbed into bed at around 10:30. We are now in the process of planning a Yemen dinner. One of the girls that works at the Bayit Cham with me (one of the paid staff) is from Yemen and we decided it would be fun to try to re-create some of their native dishes so I will let you know how it goes. From the little research I've done, it seems to be close to Ethiopian food which I've had and enjoyed.

Pictures from the top- One of the trauma bays in the ED at Hadassah Hospital, the next 3 pictures are from last night at the wall with the girls and the bottom 2 pictures are of my evening with Amalia at Mea Sherim.