It's Shabbat and I finally have a chance to update and send you all a message about my adventures here in Israel. It has been a busy, introspective and personal time for me here in Israel this week on the Wexner program. I am learning a lot and meeting some really interesting people. At the same time, I miss being with my family and experiencing israel with them. We see each other periodically during the day but it's strange having a separate experience from them. But I do feel blessed to have my family here with me and greeting me with big hugs and kisses when we meet. The program began Tues. evening with a magnificent cocktail reception on the balcony of the David Citadel, overlooking the Old City. Many of my classmates and their spouses had just flown in that day so I felt very lucky to have been able to jump into the program, full on, in Israel time. The David Citadel is gorgeous, very upscale. (This is not the way the Dollingers are used to traveling, but hey, when someone else is footing the bill, we'll take it!) We have a larger room, with an alcove for the girls. It's large, on Israeli standards. After the reception, we had an amazing buffet dinner. (All meals are covered and very fancy.) I can say that I am finally getting tired of eating here in Israel. I never thought that day would come. but I look forward to my bowl of cereal for breakfast when I get home! The next day we had an opening plenary about maps and creating our own personal maps of our time here. We then embarked on a round robin Navigation of Israel. We first went to the security barriers around Jerusalem (in Ramallah and near Bethlehem) to learn first hand about the geopolitics of the area. Because of security reasons, we were briefed on the bus, and not allowed off. By the way, we have a security guard with all of the groups at all times. This is a very well orchestrated trip. We had a family style meal at a great restaurant in Talpiot and then went to the Van Leer Institute for a lecture on the demography of Israel by a very prominent researcher. Can't recall his name right now. From there, we went to the City of David to explore and talk about the archaeology of the city. One of my Wexner colleagues is Tony Smorgan, the son in law of Mem Bernstein. Mem has a beautiful home in Yemin Moshe and had all of us San Franciscans over for an incredible meal. She included many of her local friends as well. Her home is filled with beautiful art and it was such a lovely evening. We celebrated Jen and Tony's 6th wedding anniversary. I walked back by way of Mamilla, an incredible upscale mall that has opened adjacent to our hotel. Not having my family to contend with, I spent the evening browsing the shops, and not buying a thing. Came back to a quiet and restful night without my family. I missed them! The next day was our Yom Gibush. I was selected as a facilitator for this program and had a group of 7 Americans and 3 Israelis to spend the day with. We were sent to Yad Vashem for lunch and conversation and then to the neighborhood of Ein Kerem for coffee. It was a very interesting day. We were also given a camera to record the day. Remember the name Gidi Grinstein. Apparently, they have him pegged for the next prime minister. He was one of the Israeli's Wexners in our group and a brilliant speaker. He is an advisor to many in the Israeli government right now. We had a dinner with them as well and then an Israeli performer sang and got us all up and dancing after the meal. It was big fun and a great evening. Shayna and I went out for a late night walk on Ben Yehuda. Of course we stopped for waffles and card shopping for Marc for our anniversary. We are headed out now for dinner so I'll finish updating later....
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