I Love Heather (Shabbat Continued)

So Dennis, my flatmate's boyfriend does exist. I know this because I had to ask him to be quiet when he came in at 4 am last night and began to cook fish. FISH. 4 AM. If the pots and pans didn't wake me the smell would have, or the radiating heat from the kitchen in the airless apartment. As lovely a person as Nataliya is, I am more excited for her to move out and hopefully take him with her.

Having gotten no sleep, I was not as put together as I wanted to be when I met Heather at 8:30 at her hotel. Heather is a very good friend from T-baum, where I worked for a year, and we had talked so much about this trip that I was just so thrilled to see her. It was just really special to be a part of her first time to Israel, and to discuss her adventures and experiences. I am only sad that as a working trip she wasn't able to be a full-on tourist, but on the plus side that just means that she has to come back, and she already has plans to! It was also a wonderful trip because she was able to meet with incredible people who work in religious conflict resolution all around the country.

We walked around Jerusalem on Shabbat, meaning it was deserted and I was so frustrated that I couldn't find an open cafe. Finally we found a very unkosher spot off of Ben Yehuda to share an ice-cafe and cappucino. I also gave her a mini-tour of the King David Hotel and the YMCA, two of my favorite buildings, before we headed back to her room to pack. Even though we were only able to hang out for a few hours, it really made an impact on me and I'm still a bit overcome by it all.

After I saw Heather and Joyce off to the airport, I walked down to Emek Refaim to Hanna's house for Shabbat lunch. This lunch lasted the rest of the day and well into the night with various family members joining throughout. It began with challah and Arab salads, then on to a half dozen main courses, when we went outside fruit was brought out, then beers, later popcorn, eventually wine, and we ended with cake. Tamar, Hanna's niece, was the entertainment, and it was all pretty hilarious. First we went outside to take her for a swim in a small tub, then her aunts and uncles took turns feeding her watermelon juice, after which she needed another bath in the tub, then she was fed a mix of sweet potato and mashed chicken which she hated, and that called for another outfit change.... it went on and on.

We capped off the evening by watching the news. Since I didn't understand most of it I took what words I did understand and made happier news stories than what I suspect was actually being shown. The President of Iran has decided to make peace with everyone! Hurrah!