Two Momentous Events

Hi everyone,

Two big events to tell you about --

1. Alyson's Birthday!
We won't dwell on how old she is, but let's just say that she's getting a little long in the tooth :-) For her birthday, she received a very nice bouquet of flowers from her loving husband (it's the only thing I know how to order, and can be sure that I'll get it right!). But, more importantly, she received a huge care package filled with goodies, sent over by her parents (love you guys!). You'll see in the picture all the products we can't find here in Russia (also included were English reading materials, pictures, and books...a total of 40 pounds worth of precious Western treasures!). And if you should get a hankering to send us a care package, please know that we're here and will love you forever for your kindness!

2. We've Been Really Busy!

We've been working our tails off on a wide variety of different projects. Each morning except Fridays, we spend from 10:30 to 12:30 in Russian language classes. Then, we come over to our office and work on whatever needs to be done that day. These past few days, an important mission of European delegates has been learning about and seeing firsthand the life-sustaining work the JDC is doing with Blockadniks. This group of people, who survived the 900-day siege of Leningrad, aren't typically considered Holocaust survivors or victims of Nazi persecution. Even though they were cut off from the outside world for two-and-a-half years, forced to eat meager rations and fight harsh Russian winters, they've been mostly ignored by the outside world. So this JDC mission is trying to change that, and take care of these heroes in their old age.

This is a wonderful picture of Alyson and me with two of our heroes. On the far right is Ralph Goldman, whose work with global Jewish communities has made him nothing short of a hero (not just my words) in every respect. Next to him is Amos Oz, Israel's preeminent author, who was in town speaking about his new book. Thankfully, after five years, the Hebrew I've learned on OTZMA is still pretty strong, and I was able to translate his speech for Alyson. To be honest, I've only read one of his books, and that was only because it was the only thing available at the time, but it was really good. Plus, his discussion that evening of the place of argument in Jewish society was very powerful, so I'm looking forward to reading more of them in the future. This was definitely the highlight of our work here so far!