Honoring a Fallen Friend

I post a lot about my travels around the world…so much so that I (and most likely anybody reading this) sometimes find it hard to believe that I do anything but travel.

It's important to remember that the entire reason I am able to do this is because my husband is a Foreign Service Officer.  That job comes with many perks, but those perks often come with great risk.  Even with the current, ongoing conflict between Israel and Gaza (which I will discuss in depth someday soon, once I've been able to fully process my feelings), we have been afforded a relatively safe environment in which to live and explore.

Not everyone is so fortunate.  

On Sunday, April 6th, 2014 we joined colleagues in honoring Anne Smedinghoff, who lost her life one year ago that very day in service to her country.

Below is the text and accompanying photograph that I posted to the consulate's Facebook page the following morning.

On Sunday, employees of the consular section joined colleagues from Consulate General Jerusalem and US Embassy Tel Aviv to donate books to Pioneers Baccalaureate School in Nablus. This event was coordinated to honor US diplomat Anne Smedinghoff, who was killed on April 6, 2013, while delivering textbooks to a school in southern Afghanistan. The school, less than a decade old, features a mix of Palestinian and international educators and has a strong focus on bilingual studies. The donation will be put to good use by a student body that has enthusiastically read through the current literary offerings on campus. Pictured: Children eagerly line up between classes to check out books from the school’s small but growing library.