A few days before we left beloved Madrid, I was sitting in my favorite coffee shop attempting to order a filter coffee. I knew this place didn’t sell filter/drip/pour-over coffee, but still I liked to ask because how else will they know there’s a demand for something other than bitter espresso drinks? A guy sitting nextContinue reading “To Live in Jerusalem, Have Sharp Elbows”
Category Archives: Cultural Differences
Easter and Passover in Jerusalem
Jews around the world say “Next year in Jerusalem!” at the end of the Passover seder. I know because, while I’m not Jewish, I’ve joined Mr. Em in Jerusalem’s family seders pretty much since I’ve known him (and we even co-hosted a particularly interesting one at our hotelpartment in Yemen). I’ve now spent two Passovers inContinue reading “Easter and Passover in Jerusalem”
There are Two Sides to Every Hike
On the first day of Passover, a group of friends and I went on a hike. Our plan was to start just outside of Jerusalem in an Israeli National Park and end up in the Palestinian town of Jericho. We figured it would take us about six hours, because some ultra-fit friends said they ranContinue reading “There are Two Sides to Every Hike”
The Transient Nature of Perception
We recently wrapped up a three-week stay in Washington DC. And man, was it hard to leave (even though I was heading to Paris, oh beloved Paris). The three weeks was filled with catching up with good friends, family, cocktails, dinners, strolling the beautiful DC streets, museums visits, a ballet, a musical, and lots of yoga.Continue reading “The Transient Nature of Perception”
The World Beyond the Grocery Store
Every grocery store here seems to have “Super” in its name, like Super Deal or Super Sol. I don’t read Hebrew, so I’ll just go ahead and assume the grocery store closest to my apartment is called Super Sad because everyone in it wears a frown and if it was sunny when I entered the store, nine timesContinue reading “The World Beyond the Grocery Store”
Seeing What You’re Eating
First, I’ve more or less recovered from my everything is broken phase. Fixed my bike brake, swept up most of the shards of glass, and recovered much of my novel (in earlier drafts anyway, but a little rewriting can only be a good thing). I did shatter my iPhone in Ikea the other day,Continue reading “Seeing What You’re Eating”
Searching for Christmas in the Holy Land
Last weekend, hoping to catch the Christmas spirit, I went on a tour of Bethlehem (which is just a 15-minute drive from Jerusalem, a fact I was totally oblivious to until arriving here two months ago). While my new city is the place where Jesus is believed to have died and been resurrected, JerusalemContinue reading “Searching for Christmas in the Holy Land”
Fear Itself
One time I was walking on U Street in Washington DC, holding hands with my boyfriend, when an older black man said to us with a smile, “It’s just so good to see a man and a woman holding hands in this neighborhood, you know? I still think about my lack of reaction and wishContinue reading “Fear Itself”
Our New Home, Jerusalem
We’ve been in our new city for 10 days now and each day I decide to put off blogging a little longer until I get a better feel for the place that will be our home for the next three years. “Jerusalem is a complicated place,” everyone keeps telling us. I’m already seeing a bitContinue reading “Our New Home, Jerusalem”
Searching For My Perfect Coffee Shop in Madrid
For the better part of my twenty-one months living in Madrid, I visited heaps of coffee shops in the hopes of writing a blog called “Madrid’s Top Five Work-Friendly Coffee Shops” And as I finally write this post from one of Washington DC’s dozens of coffee shops (where everyone is engrossed in either a businessContinue reading “Searching For My Perfect Coffee Shop in Madrid”