Happy Thanksgiving!!

Happy Thanksgiving from Jerusalem! Sadly, there's no Macy's Day Parade, Westminster Dog Show, or Black Friday here but there is a lot to be thankful for anyway. We had a great celebration at HUC tonight with Ethan's classmates and Grandma Audrey. The turkey was delicious and so were the other sides, minus our contribution of roasted vegetables (our beets didn't go so well).


I started work yesterday and already can tell it's going to be a great learning experience. I am interning at the Myers JDC Brookdale Institute in the Smokler Center for Health Policy Research (http://brookdale-en.pionet.com/default.asp). I am starting out on a project to create a nationwide hospital patient survey in conjunction with the Ministry of Health. Initially, I am conducting a review of other countries' findings from similar surveys looking at substantive foci, methodology, reporting, etc. I may also assist on a project on mental health reform for children in Israel. My boss is an American trained health policy researcher and made aliyah 24 years ago. He is really into the Oxford system of tutorials between professors and students, and he is assigning me reading on the Israeli health care system and a response paper each week that we will then discuss. Since I don't have too much else on my plate yet, I think this will be really fun. He made a point to introduce me to everyone in our division and include me in meetings. I feel like I have gotten so lucky with this.

In other news, Ethan and I are now the proud owners of Shmuli the Shuk Cart. This is going to make our market experiences so much better!


I also went to Ethan's flag football game on Tuesday night...they lost by the least number of points compared to their previous games. Maybe next time, HUC.

Go Big Blue!




Ethan, Jon, and Josh debrief the game

I met a cat on the way to the market. Really, they are like squirrels here.


This week, I also joined a gym and went to Zumba class with a friend. It turns out she's a classically trained dancer and I am not!!! I think I'll stick to spinning.

My gym (note the Jerusalem stone...all buildings in the city must be built using this limestone.)

Next week, I'll be able to report back on how cooking my first turkey goes. We are hosting post-Thanksgiving Shabbat tomorrow night and having a full Thanksgiving feast. I am grateful Grandma Audrey is here to show me the ropes so that the turkey doesn't go the way of our roasted vegetables!


Happy Thanksgiving!
Love, Arielle