Every now and again it hits me. I’m in Israel. The holy land. A foreign country. A place I didn’t grow up in. A place with a unique blend of cultures.
A few of those ‘WOW’ moments over the last week or so.
- A young girl waiting at the bus stop, dressed to the nines, carrying a rifle.
- The religious Jewish man sitting next to the religious Muslim man on the bus, having a chat.
- The shopkeeper and the customer having a full on screaming match over the price of something (I think) and then hugging each other good bye like best friends.
- Getting on the bus covered in glitter, wearing wings and carrying washing up gloves and a dish washing brush ‘wand’. And no one so much as batted an eye.
- Seeing a man stop his car at a road side farm stall overlooking a gorgeous valley, put on his {tallit} and say his morning prayers.
- Walking Aaron to school this morning and seeing all the families (moms and dads too) dressed up for Purim.
- Watching Aaron walk on his own to school most mornings.
- Walking to the local supermarket at 9pm to pick up some milk or a choccie just because.
- Hearing someone speak with a South African accent at the bus stop and practically throwing yourself at them and playing ‘Jewish Geography’ to see if you ‘know’ them.
So many more special little moments and they each bring a smile to my face and quite possibly a tear to my eye. Although I will deny that last bit to my dying day!
*Photos taken by {Paul Jacobson}
Its weird how the internet makes the world so small… Every now and then when I’m reading one of your blog posts I realise just how far away from JHB you all are now!
I do hope you’re going to blog about Purim!?
Will definitely do a Purim post/ Purim is actually only from tomorrow night and Thursday. But there are celebrations for the week before as well as on Friday so will do a post over the weekend. (also then Paul would have edited more of his photos)
Oh wow – it all looks so very festive! And ja, I can’t imagine walking to the shops at 9pm, it’s too weird.
Do you still find yourself guarding your handbag on the bus / in restaurants? I find that if my bag is out of sight I can’t relax. Does that wear off?
Hey Sheen,
I’m much more relaxed about things like that.
Although it does depend where I am. In the big mall in Tel Aviv I’m more aware/vigilant.
In Modi’in I’m more relaxed. I even fall asleep on the bus with my bag on my lap 🙂
I do still pop my bag on the floor between my feet when we are out but its more out of habit than fear.
My cousin once lost his cell phone on the bus (fell out his pocket) and it was on a Friday afternoon so his mom had to wait until Saturday night to call the bus depot place. Someone had handed it to the bus driver and he had taken it to lost and found! People seem to be much more honest with things like that here.
Ha ha ha ha at Jewish geography !!! The pictures are stunning! Looks all so festive.
And it must be a sight to watch people haggling and then hug like best friends
Being able to do my grocery shopping at 21:00 or sometimes even later is one of the things I miss most about living in the Middle East. I think it would solve so many issues in South Africa if retailers did that here. It could mean so many more jobs for unemployed South Africans and would strengthen our economy tremendously…
Looking forward to reading your Purim post. I have no idea what it’s all about. Looks like fun, though!