12/10 to 12/12 | Dinner with Yaeli and Class

The past few days have been particularly brutal due to a rescheduled four hour Hebrew class on Sunday in addition to today's regularly scheduled four hour Hebrew class.  Besides Hebrew, I have been working nonstop on my paper entitled "Business Ethics within the Israeli Diamond Industry," which is taking me longer than expected to write (most of the research is done).  I have yet to start my paper on the relationship between China and Israel, though, so that is next in the pipeline before exams start.

Fortunately, after a stressful couple of days, I had the pleasure of meeting up with my second cousin Yaeli tonight.  I have been meaning to see her since I got here in August--she also lives in Jerusalem--but we never managed to work it out until now.  I last saw her during Birthright in December 2010 (a trend?), so it was nice to see her again after so long.  This time, I was able to use my Hebrew, too!  After meeting her at the hotel she works at in the Old City, we walked to a restaurant in the center of the city.  It was a pleasant evening and a great time to catch up on all the going-ons of the two branches of the family.

Walking through the Mamilla shopping mall to get to the Old City, where Yaeli works.

There was a festival atmosphere in front of Jaffa Gate in celebration of the Night Run in Jerusalem.

 Jaffa Gate with a structure marking the start and end of the Night Run.

The holiest city in the world featuring the song "Love Today" by Mika.  Out of character much?

The beautiful courtyard of the hotel in the Old City where Yaeli works.

Yaeli--my second cousin--and I after dinner.