1. everyone in israel smokes. no lie. they smoke after exercising. they light up while drinking, talking, eating, walking, photographing... the list goes on. i think i saw a kid who looked no older than 14 years smoking in the old city. what's up with that? moreover, the packs here are emblazoned with caution signs. so much for that, right? because of this, the most common question is יש לך אש? (do you (f) have fire?) the cigarettes here from what i've gathered are not cheap but they are also primarily bought by people who are rolling their own cigarettes and/or hash. fun times.
2. this is by far the most disgusting one. women and men alike don't seem to realize their asses are hanging out of their pants. literally. there is nothing like getting mooned in daylight. once when i was waiting for a bus after shabbat ended, this guy was opening up his stall across the street. when he squatted, his whole butt hung out. ew. in class, the pants just doesn't seem to stay on. this girl was shoving a pen into this guy's butt crack during a lecture. what the hell. this is just not cool.
3. furthermore on lack of respect of others in public spaces, people pick noses everywhere. on the bus, standing on the street, whatever and whenever. it's like they're thinking, 'oh i have nothing else to do so i'm just going to pick my nose.' what's worse, those boogers don't end up on a kleenex. they end up on the table at a cafe, seat on the bus, window, stone wall, etc. you name it and it's quite possible there is booger residue.
4. being a foreigner is hard, especially when i don't look white. because of this, i've been constantly stared at. quite rudely, actually. i was coming back from the שוק and this orthodox woman was blatantly staring at me, making me uncomfortable and unwelcome. i stared at her but it didn't seemed to matter until my friend, arielle, glared at her. i don't get this staring business. sure, i don't look jewish or israeli or even american for that matter. but the staring? unnecessary! i'm scared to venture into mea shearim because of this. we'll see.
5. haredi jews speak yiddish. when you ask for direction in hebrew or english, both of which they understand, they look at you condescendingly and shove past you. ohhhhkaayyy.
6. israeli men do not know how to keep their hands to themselves.
7. most people drink coffee all times of the day, from morning to late night to early morning. cafes are extremely crowded, more so than a popular starbucks during a busy time. if not coffee, it's tea. the most popular being תה נענע, a black tea with fresh mint leaves. it's incredibly delicious!
8. there is nothing to do from friday sundown to saturday sundown. unless you want to shell out money for a taxi and go to some arab places.
9. american jews (i really don't want to generalize but it's what i've noticed) fear the arabic people. they are afraid to get on arab buses or go into arab neighborhoods. it's rather frustrating at times and annoying. they also seem to think the worse before actually experiencing what it's really like instead of what they've been told. oh, and they also travel in packs.
10. falafel really is the cheapest meal you can get. it's vegetarian and can be healthy depending on the sides you pile into the pita or lafah bread. i've had it so many times, i'm actually getting sick of it. the best one i've had to date is served right outside damascus gate for 6 shek.
11. there is no "true" israeli cuisine. israelis have come from all over the world: europe, asia, northern africa, other middle eastern countries, and america to date. so each culture shows up on the menu. most people think of gefilte fish or matzah ball soup, which is only true to eastern european jewish cuisine. there is malewach, tabbouleh, couscous, etc. if anything, falafel might be heralded by all as a national food.
12. instead of saying 'um', israelis say 'ehhh'. it's actually way more annoying than 'um'. very nasally and obnoxious.
13. i'm picking up the mannerisms of my peers in the exchange program. i will be saying things like an elongated "yes" or "no" for every question. meanwhile, i'll be translating the sentences in my head into hebrew and spewing out random words like בסדר, בדיוק, באמת, לא!, מה?, tzebabah, and i think the list does go on for a few. i really do hope to improve my hebrew while here. but that's hard going!
that's all that i can think of right now.
on a different note, i baked cookies for the first time since i've gotten here. they were pretty successful. three ingredient peanut butter sandies: creamy peanut butter, dark brown sugar and flour. yum. i also started soaking the kumquats in vodka, in hopes that it turns into kumquat liquor. *fingers crossed!*
2 comments:
"american jews (i really don't want to generalize but it's what i've noticed) fear the arabic people. they are afraid to get on arab buses or go into arab neighborhoods."
most israeli jews feel the same way. i do not, but i understand why they do.
hrm. israeli jews seem more willing to take the arab buses or neighborhoods than american jews. this has been my experience. but i guess it is a fear shared.
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