One thing I’ve learned about living in non-Christian countries is that if you want Christmas, you have to create it for yourself. In Algiers, come December, there’s no “All I Want for Christmas” blasting from grocery store speakers, no twinkling lights on street poles, and certainly no falling snow. But all those cozy and fun […]
Jews around the world say “Next year in Jerusalem!” at the end of the Passover seder. I know because, while I’m not Jewish, I’ve joined Mr. Em in Jerusalem’s family seders pretty much since I’ve known him (and we even co-hosted a particularly interesting one at our hotelpartment in Yemen). I’ve now spent two Passovers in […]
Last weekend, hoping to catch the Christmas spirit, I went on a tour of Bethlehem (which is just a 15-minute drive from Jerusalem, a fact I was totally oblivious to until arriving here two months ago). While my new city is the place where Jesus is believed to have died and been resurrected, Jerusalem […]
The Next Dinner Party 