I left Jordan, returning to the vibrancy of Jerusalem. Meeting a new hostel friend, Dan from Australia, in the lobby of Abraham Hostel, I used my newfound knowledge of the city to guide him through Yehuda market and the Old City.
A cousin to the falafel, "sabich," is stuffed with all the goodness of tahini and tabbouleh, but instead of falafels it has eggplant and egg. Dan and I feasted.
Wandering through the old streets I had explored with Kelsey, I returned to meditate no less than three times at the Western Wall during the 24 hours I was in Jerusalem. Catching a bus to Tel Aviv the next day, I met up with Dahlia at her place off the chic Rothschild Street, and laughing through our adventures of the past couple of weeks, we walked to Old Jaffa to have dinner with two of her friends.
The next day I indulged in good food with Dahlia and her father and uncle, Bob and Rich, (twins that went to high school with my dad!) and also in some retail therapy. After months of wearing the same clothes, no makeup and just my trusty Hawaii ring, I treated myself to mascara, a new dress and earrings. After all, I had my next adventures in Europe to dress up for.
I stayed with Dahlia two days, embracing her incredible energy and adventurous spirit. She is on to Dublin for 11 months to work for Google, and I so hope my travels will cross paths with hers before I return to the U.S.
Bright and early on May 21st, I flew to Frankfurt, Germany to visit one of my dearest of dear friends, Maria.
Words cannot begin to describe the unique and blessed relationship I have with Maria. Outwardly, we are so very different. Where we are from, our religion (although, I do not claim one), our families, etc. And yet, she is a source of wisdom, and strength from which I draw so much reassurance. We met years ago, stationed on our first ship, USS PORT ROYAL, out of Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. We survived the most stressful years of our lives together on the ship as roommates and confidantes. To witness her growth into a beautiful soul, mother, friend, woman...I am so very proud of her. As it happens, Maria's husband Nicholas, is on a long deployment and it came at a wonderful time that I was able to travel to spend nine fabulous days with her and her girls Genevieve and Evelyn.
I felt rather mom-esque, helping with everything from bath time, making lunches (cutting everything into toddler sized pieces), grocery shopping, and playing baby catch at the bottom of slides. I have never considered myself great with kids, so to have Genevieve snuggle up to me, and Evelyn stop crying when I held her felt truly magnificent and magical. Ahhhh, so this is that motherly instinct.
Maria and I spent countless hours discussing life, love, loss and the search for all that is good. Despite our best efforts, we never did manage to end our conversations until midnight or one in the morning. Often it was little Evelyn, crying in the night, who forced us to shut up! The freezer was stocked with ice cream, the pantry with chocolate, and sipping wine we caught up on the last few years of our lives.
Purchased from a Jamaican man in the old city of Frankfurt.
After the simply perfect transition of crazy go-go adventure, to the slow gentle pace of Maria's, I headed to Paris to meet my parents, and embark on my next adventure: life in the City of Lights.
And a couple of additional developments:
I found out that, unfortunately, I was not accepted to U of Michigan's Ross School of Business. This year there were record high number of admitted candidates that accepted their offers from the first two rounds of applications, and there were only a few spots for third round applicants like me. I was given some encouraging words from the Admissions Office, and will look to reapplying this coming year for a dul degree.
With that, I have decided to start grad school this Fall at U of M's School of Natural Resources and Environment for an M.S. in Environmental Justice. After some soul searching, an enlightening and life affirming conversation with my brother, Ethan, and the advice of a few wise people in my life, I am ready for the next epic chapter in my life.
Life is sweet.
No comments:
Post a Comment