Secretary Christopher visited Tel Aviv's consular section during W's first tour.
He was the only Secretary of State who cared enough to visit one of her offices.
La Caja Magica -- Madrid, May 2013
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Saturday, March 19, 2011
GOOGLE EARTH--Sendai Area Before/After
Before-After Japan Earthquake-Tsunami views from Google Earth, thanks to the Australian Broadcast News Internet site.
Kuwait -- 50/20
As the crow flies, Kuwait is about 2 hours' flight from Tel Aviv. Since a direct flight isn't possible, I flew to Kuwait via Amman. The head-shaking part of this trip is the less than 20 minute flight from Tel Aviv to Amman--and a bit of that is spent turning around over the Mediterranean Sea...
Special Year for Kuwait: 2011 is their 50th anniversary of independence from Great Britain and the 20th anniversary of their liberation from the Iraqi invaders. Kuwaiti roads have circle-shaped signs everywhere commemorating the special 50/20. In February, the Kuwaitis invited the U.S. military to participate in a huge celebration parade.
Kuwait is all desert, with warm days and cold nights and, from what I saw, is rather flat geographically. Our Embassy is a beautiful compound that has literally everything, housing, tennis court, swimming pool, etc--amazingly, the Embassy cafeteria is a Ruby Tuesday--you really do order from menus and they serve the food. :-) One "prize" it displays is a T 54/55 army tank that was captured from the Iraqis, driven to the Embassy a few days after Kuwait's liberation, and presented to Ambassador Edward "Skip" Gnehm from TN-based National Guard troops--the tank's gun barrel reads "To Bulldog from Rockytop." The mascot of the University of Georgia, in Gnehm's home state, is the Bulldog and a nickname for TN is Rockytop. Click here for tank photo.
For American fast-food, Kuwait literally has it all: Chili's, Ruby Tuesdays, TGI Friday's, Starbucks, Hardees, KFC, McDonalds, Burger King, Auntie Anne's, Johnny Rockets, Dunkin Donuts, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, Haagen Dazs, Baskin Robbins, etc....and Dean & Deluca. As I have long been partial to B&R Mint Choc Chip, I had to have a scoop at Kuwait Airport; Dean & Deluca, which sells gourmet/fine foods, was a great surprise as I didn't know they had an overseas presence--was so delighted that I selected veal picatta, vermicelli rice, tabbouleh and a chocolate cupcake to go, and other assorted goodies to bring back--my hotel room had a full service kitchen--quite easy to assemble a "Dean & Deluca" dinner. Yum, yum.
Kuwait is more liberal than Saudi Arabia--women drive, vote (first time: 2006), serve in parliament, work as immigration officers, shop at the mall alone with their children and have varied levels of 'hijab' coverage, such as abayas, or modest western clothing. Somewhat disconcertingly, I saw several women attired in full niqabs covering the entire face, including their nose, with only eye-hole "cut-outs," simultaneously driving (solo or with children) and texting!
Kuwaitis still love to drive big, American cars--I vividly remember the line of Chevy Caprices making their way to the Saudi border just as the Iraqis invaded--the Emir even had one back then.
Alcohol is illegal in Kuwait, so was strange to see people in the hotel bar areas chatting and drinking only orange juice, cokes and water. In the outside lounge areas overlooking the beach and Kuwait Bay, a cultural past-time for both men and women is to smoke "liquid" tobacco (the tobacco smoke is filtered through water before reaching the smoker via a tube), from shishas (see photo link below).
Xray-land: Before exiting Kuwait airport after arrival, they x-ray all of your luggage (presumably to check for alcohol and other banned items). Departing Kuwait: just before entering the glassed-partitioned check-in counter area, they x-ray all your luggage; after exiting the check-in area, in front of you is the security-line for access to the "inner terminal," where they x-ray everything again. To enter your gate's boarding area, there is a third, and last, x-ray procedure.... Interestingly, Amman airport has special rooms for female pat-downs as part of the gate security process; Kuwait does not.
The Avenues: Kuwait's largest shopping mall with 400+ shops, located about 1/2 hour from Al Bida'a, where I was staying. It includes an Ikea, Carrefour and many, many recognizable chain stores. They are building Phase III now.... Reminded me very much of the Kuala Lumpur Commerical Center (aka KLCC mall), with Westerners and Arabs meandering through the mall. Service industry workers in Kuwait, as in other Gulf Arab countries, are mostly imported from India and Asia.
Kuwait Photos: click here.
Special Year for Kuwait: 2011 is their 50th anniversary of independence from Great Britain and the 20th anniversary of their liberation from the Iraqi invaders. Kuwaiti roads have circle-shaped signs everywhere commemorating the special 50/20. In February, the Kuwaitis invited the U.S. military to participate in a huge celebration parade.
Kuwait is all desert, with warm days and cold nights and, from what I saw, is rather flat geographically. Our Embassy is a beautiful compound that has literally everything, housing, tennis court, swimming pool, etc--amazingly, the Embassy cafeteria is a Ruby Tuesday--you really do order from menus and they serve the food. :-) One "prize" it displays is a T 54/55 army tank that was captured from the Iraqis, driven to the Embassy a few days after Kuwait's liberation, and presented to Ambassador Edward "Skip" Gnehm from TN-based National Guard troops--the tank's gun barrel reads "To Bulldog from Rockytop." The mascot of the University of Georgia, in Gnehm's home state, is the Bulldog and a nickname for TN is Rockytop. Click here for tank photo.
For American fast-food, Kuwait literally has it all: Chili's, Ruby Tuesdays, TGI Friday's, Starbucks, Hardees, KFC, McDonalds, Burger King, Auntie Anne's, Johnny Rockets, Dunkin Donuts, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, Haagen Dazs, Baskin Robbins, etc....and Dean & Deluca. As I have long been partial to B&R Mint Choc Chip, I had to have a scoop at Kuwait Airport; Dean & Deluca, which sells gourmet/fine foods, was a great surprise as I didn't know they had an overseas presence--was so delighted that I selected veal picatta, vermicelli rice, tabbouleh and a chocolate cupcake to go, and other assorted goodies to bring back--my hotel room had a full service kitchen--quite easy to assemble a "Dean & Deluca" dinner. Yum, yum.
Kuwait is more liberal than Saudi Arabia--women drive, vote (first time: 2006), serve in parliament, work as immigration officers, shop at the mall alone with their children and have varied levels of 'hijab' coverage, such as abayas, or modest western clothing. Somewhat disconcertingly, I saw several women attired in full niqabs covering the entire face, including their nose, with only eye-hole "cut-outs," simultaneously driving (solo or with children) and texting!
Kuwaitis still love to drive big, American cars--I vividly remember the line of Chevy Caprices making their way to the Saudi border just as the Iraqis invaded--the Emir even had one back then.
Alcohol is illegal in Kuwait, so was strange to see people in the hotel bar areas chatting and drinking only orange juice, cokes and water. In the outside lounge areas overlooking the beach and Kuwait Bay, a cultural past-time for both men and women is to smoke "liquid" tobacco (the tobacco smoke is filtered through water before reaching the smoker via a tube), from shishas (see photo link below).
Xray-land: Before exiting Kuwait airport after arrival, they x-ray all of your luggage (presumably to check for alcohol and other banned items). Departing Kuwait: just before entering the glassed-partitioned check-in counter area, they x-ray all your luggage; after exiting the check-in area, in front of you is the security-line for access to the "inner terminal," where they x-ray everything again. To enter your gate's boarding area, there is a third, and last, x-ray procedure.... Interestingly, Amman airport has special rooms for female pat-downs as part of the gate security process; Kuwait does not.
The Avenues: Kuwait's largest shopping mall with 400+ shops, located about 1/2 hour from Al Bida'a, where I was staying. It includes an Ikea, Carrefour and many, many recognizable chain stores. They are building Phase III now.... Reminded me very much of the Kuala Lumpur Commerical Center (aka KLCC mall), with Westerners and Arabs meandering through the mall. Service industry workers in Kuwait, as in other Gulf Arab countries, are mostly imported from India and Asia.
Kuwait Photos: click here.
Thursday, March 17, 2011
48 Hours in Kuwait
W just returned from her first Gulf state trip -- Kuwait. Stay tuned for pics and Koala Munchies....
Saturday, March 12, 2011
Japanese Tsunami -- Our Thoughts Are With the People of Japan
W, through the Japan-America Student Conference, met many Japanese college students in 1988 and 1989 through two separate, month-long trips through rural and urban areas in Japan and in the United States. One of them, Mihoko K., lives in Sendai. She is one of many special people she knows -- We can only hope she and her family and friends are survivors--our thoughts are with them and the people of Japan. We cannot fully comprehend the scale of damage that we have been watching on TV--horrific.
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Religious vs Secular Tensions at Nursery School Playground
In this blog, we will try to give you a balanced flavor of Israeli life, which is comprised of a diverse, complex, fascinating mix of people and historical events/places. So much has been accomplished since 1948!
Jerusalem has a more religious flavor than Tel Aviv, which is largely secular. Of late there have been many news articles on the ongoing secular-religious tensions.
Jerusalem has a more religious flavor than Tel Aviv, which is largely secular. Of late there have been many news articles on the ongoing secular-religious tensions.
Monday, March 7, 2011
Gone Up the Hill....
Israel has so much history--never ceases to amaze. Wine has been made in Judea for thousands of years--even during the Roman Empire and put into specially marked amphorae and shipped off to Rome. We tried again to go to the Ella Valley winery--but for the 3rd+ time, didn't make it as we ran out of time. Ella Valley is also an eponym for the area where David slew the Goliath--not that there's an "X" to mark the spot, mind you. :-) We visited one of our favorite wineries first, Clos de Gat, then went to Tzora for tasting of wines and cheeses. Unfortunately, the wind was not blowing at Kibbutz Tzora that afternoon, so the air outside the wine center smelled of dairy cows.... Anyway, now loaded with more goodies for our picnic, we drove up into hills leading up to Ramat Raziel. Nothing beats good food, wine and laughter among friends. On the way back to Tel Aviv, by chance, we were able to have a tasting with Flam as we were intending to go next door to check out the Spice Farm. The Spice Farm has hundreds of spices, salts and homemade foods--the place is aroma-full! Going back up to our tree for a munch and a nap....
Check out our day on the link below--as always -- enjoy!
Check out our day on the link below--as always -- enjoy!
Saturday, March 5, 2011
Ketchup on Eucalyptus Leaves?
Need destination ideas? Got a rainy day? Climb our Eucalyptus tree and catch up on our leaves....
USA:
Australia-South Pacific:
Asia:
Friday, March 4, 2011
Spring In Israel!
We kicked off the spring season last Thursday when we went to the Holon Dog Shelter with half of the consular staff for our annual Consular Leadership Day (the other half visited a home for the elderly).
It was a beautiful, very warm day during which we petted/walked dogs and painted the shelter with bright colors. We also donated various items to the shelter. Last, but not least, W saw an adorable puppy--and no, she didn't come home with us. :(
The day was full of smiles--below are the latest pictures of our life in Tel Aviv (albeit some are not right-side up--have yet to figure this blog design thing out).
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