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.