The Last few Days

It has been a mad few days of packing, souvenir shopping and goodbyes. 

Yesterday, we made one last trip to Tel Aviv and the flea market in Yaffo. We didn't get what we thought we were going for, but came home with some other unexpected treasures. I also got to walk on the beach and have another plate of yummy shakshuka. 

It is 11:30 in the morning on my last day in Jerusalem. James is asleep since he worked from 1:30 am to about 8 this morning. I have been cleaning up from last night's dinner party with Max and Noa followed by a general clean of the the kitchen and the fridge. 

I feel unsettled and anxious, which is getting to be par for the course around here with the months of job upheaval for both of us and not knowing where we are going to be in six months.

When I think back to my first nights in Jerusalem and how ill I felt with the knot to trepidation in my stomach, this pales in comparison. When I told people I was moving to Jerusalem, I got one of two responses. "Is it safe?" was the most common and "You will have a great time" came from the few who had been to the Middle East. As promised, they were correct. 

I did have a great time. And a great adventure.  

There was a big dinner the other night with my lab and every one came. James and I showed up at the appointed time at 7. Everyone else piled in at 7:30. "Haven't you learned that about Israelis yet?" they asked. "We are never on time for dinner. " After over two years, James and I still haven't mastered even some of the obvious nuances of the culture. And as you folks keep reading, wacky thing just kept happening almost every day. 

It was sad to say goodbye to all my friends. I think they think I am a little cold or glad to be leaving since I didn't tear up at the farewells. It is not a sense of relief or gladness that I am leaving, but rather that it is a timely and necessary change. Or at least that is what I have been telling myself. And I am sure we will be back for visits. But I know it will never be quite the same. 

I survived all the speeches at the big dinner. I survived the hugs and final farewells. To laughter, Yossi and I shook hands by each grabbing one of James and giving him a good shake. 

At some point in the evening, my protégé Katy handed me a bag with the instructions that this was a private gift for me to open at home. When I got the chance and opened the card, my resolve finally shattered. She had such nice things to say about working together in the last year that I got all teary eyed. As for the gift, she said in the card that after two whole years in the Middle East I needed to go home with this appropriate gift. It was a push-up bra. 

Then I started crying in laughter.