Globalization is great

Today, I met a Palestinian presidential appointee who got his MBA from my current school and whose son is considering getting a communications degree from my undergraduate school.

I bought earrings designed by a Yemeni from an Irishwoman named Claire who owns a jewelry boutique in Jerusalem. I also quietly negotiated a great price with her for this fabulous Roman glass ring - never thought I'd own a piece of excavated history! She made me promise not to tell my travel companions about the bargain.

And I took a ride with a local taxi driver whose nephew is rated as one of the top DJs in Miami.

So sad to leave Israel already, but Nashville beckons!

Things You Learn When Traveling to Ramallah

1. Government employees get full security detail. It's way cooler than a taxi. But the backseat of the armored SUV is surprisingly cramped, even for a small Asian woman.

2. Israeli checkpoints are still kinda scary even when you're traveling among a security detail caravan and security men in your car with ear pieces, flak jackets and an M-16 tucked under a blanket in the front seat.

3. The Israeli-constructed wall made some concrete manufacturer really, really wealthy.

4. Israeli homes have white water tanks on their roofs and Palestinian homes have black water tanks.

5. Practically every office of Palestinian Authority officials has a framed portrait of Yasser Arafat and Mahmoud Abbas on the wall.

6. The traffic between Ramallah and Jerusalem during evening rush hour is hellish.

7. The espresso is potent. And that's an understatement.

8. I'm an idiot for forgetting my camera.

I still can't believe I'm really here. This has been the most amazing business trip EVER. Not only have I sat in on meetings with the Central Bank of Israel and top ministers of the Palestinian Authority, but meetings don't get started here until well after 10 a.m. How great is that?!

Shalom

Currently in Israel, traveling with the government. And let me tell you, your tax dollars are well at work! I'll be running about Israel and the West Bank for the next few days, sitting in on meetings with investors and banks, doing my best to look moderately important and informed. U.S. Government employees may not be paid much (I think the agency I'm interning with only received a 2.3% pay raise last year) but they sure do travel well. Once Dulles Airport opened up again after a brief shutdown following a security breach that left me standing in the security line for 30 minutes, the trip has been smooth sailing. Not only did we travel business class, but the U.S. embassy in Tel Aviv sent a driver out to meet us at the airport and we cut past everyone in the passport line. SO great! I also sat next to a very charming Israeli doctor whose ear size was astonishingly disproportionate to his hearing. We talked about U.S. foreign policy and he firmly believes that we need a woman in the White House to set things right. It was refreshing to hear after I endured a cab ride with a Pakistani driver who adamently argued that women have no business running countries. I pointed out that it's been men driving countries into the mess we see around the world today, but, big shocker, he didn't concede.

I return to Washington on Thursday, immediately change planes to Nashville for the Net Impact conference, get back to Washington on Sunday and drive to Virginia to help my sister move into her new place. Can't believe it, but she gets married next weekend -- which also means I'm back on a plane next Thursday, this time to Houston. Meanwhile, I'm still trying to keep up with five classes, two internships, and the Boy I'm Dating the Most (who is quickly moving toward the title of The Boy I'm Dating).

I think I'll hop into the jacuzzi for a bit before our dinner with the biggest bank in Israel. Somehow I ended up in a suite at the Hilton, overlooking the ocean. And a parking lot but I try not to look down.

The Gang competes!

After 51 grueling hours of business analysis and case competition craziness, with just smattering of sleep, my team -- the one and only Team 10 -- emerged victorious! In the words of one of my teammates, I think our collective reaction was: "Holy hell!" We won our way out of the final 20-page paper and took home winnings of $900. I still can't believe it.

We had to fight with the security guards to let us stay in the school building after midnight. (And seriously? What school says to its tuition-paying students, "no, you absolutely cannot stay in this building willingly in order to do schoolwork.") Our sustenance for two days came from pizza, Thai food, Snickers bars, and gallons of Starbucks coffee. A random CVS shopping cart became our only source of entertainment. But those things were merely crumbs under the table compared to the overwhelming talent of the Gang of 100. If you know the Gang, then you know what a tough competition it truly was.

What an honor to compete with these amazingly people! I'm so proud of all of us -- I know there were some judges who were just blown away by the presentations the teams gave. Our little Gang is going to go off and do great things, I just know it.

Now, while I'm convinced that the balanced nature of our team, coupled with the mind-blowing intelligence and chemistry contributed to our success, I have to share the true secret .... Paul Potts.

Thanks to a Team 10 member, we discovered Paul Potts, a shy, unassuming, and rather awkward mobile phone salesman who wanted more than anything to sing opera. Somehow he made it to the auditions for the TV talent show, "Britain's Got Talent." Just watch.

Adventures in the Video Store

Last Thursday was date night -- dinner and a movie at my house. The boy I'm dating most (BIDM) came over around 9pm and we decided to grab some Thai food and support the local neighborhood video store rather than the Blockbuster. (I think he's an even bigger do-gooder than I am). So we ordered food and wandered down to the store -- quickly realizing that the selection was rather limited. I think the new releases section took up about two walls.

We finally settled on a movie and went to check out, chatting it up with the employees. I was doing my usual uber-social thing, joking around and playing up the fact that getting a membership card truly made me legit in the Eastern Market 'hood. As I was filling out the membership form, another customer came to check out ... and I noticed out the of corner of my eye that the DVD he was renting featured a very large and nearly naked woman. With a sinking feeling, I tried to get a better look at the cover without being too obvious ... and the elbow jab from BIDM confirmed what the sinking feeling was telling me.

I was in the process of becoming a member of the neighborhood porn store.

Sure enough, the employee proceeded to give me the lay of the land -- old videos $3.50, new releases $4.50, and the adult room in the back had the $5.50 videos.

Suddenly, everything made sense. The shady exterior, the limited selection in the front, the fact the employees could brag about being in business for 20+ years despite the arrival of Blockbuster, the older gentleman in a suit who came in right after us, plopped his briefcase on the counter, and with a nod to the employees, walked straight through the door in the back of the store.

And we were renting Children of Men.

But we had reached the point of no return. My contact information was entered into the database and I was the owner of a newly laminated membership card. I looked toward the back and realized that the back "wall" was only a makeshift structure that didn't reach the ceiling and clearly the back room went a whole lot further back.

After we paid, the employee put Children of Men into a blue bag that concealed its contents and we were on our merry albeit stunned way.

So, armed with Thai food and a blue bag that proudly proclaimed "Rent movies of all ratings," we sheepishly walked back home, laughing the entire way, and knowing full well that everyone else in the Eastern Market 'hood knew what was in the bright blue bag.

Do I know how to show a guy a good time or what?

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Now playing: Kanye West - I Wonder
via FoxyTunes

You go, Jimmy!

Our 83-year-old former president got into a shouting match with Sudanese security officials yesterday. AWESOME. They wouldn't let him into a town where he was supposed to meet with people in a town in Darfur and when they refused to let him pass, he shot back with what amounts to "I'm gonna tell the President on you!" The President of Sudan, of course.

I heart Jimmy Carter.