[img]96|left|Shachar||no_popup[/img]Dateline Jerusalem — A friend says that she experiences something new or unusual on a daily basis in Israel. I cannot say the same, but definitely there have been a lot of “firsts” for me since I moved here three years ago.
In no particular topic or order, some memorable firsts:
Slow golf cart-like vehicles driven on busy freeways.
Cars driving on sidewalks so that their drivers can speak on cell phones and not be in violation of holding a cellphone while driving on a public street (I guess it is okay to drive on sidewalks.)
People walking down the middle of streets instead of using sidewalks. (I find myself doing this because it is safer than walking on sidewalks.)
The word “lo” (means “no” in Hebrew) is the start of all negotiations in Israel.
Cars parked on sidewalks because there is no street parking in front of a restaurant or store.
No one pulling to the side of the road when hearing an ambulance siren.
Stopping a car in the middle of busy traffic and getting out to help an old lady across the street.
Stopping a car at a crosswalk in order to read a map when there are no pedestrians around but many cars honking behind.
People stopping traffic to sell religious books and paraphernalia at busy intersections.
Sidewalks constructed from different and colorful bricks, asphalt, concrete, marble, tile and other materials that are matched and color coordinated with the building directly behind (which means every few feet the sidewalk changes color, texture, and design).
No garbage disposals, even in the most expensive of homes.
No floor mops, just a stick/squeegee with a towel wrapped around it that takes coordination, and it is an art to master the technique of washing floors.
No closets.
No screens on windows.
Metal bars on windows of tall apartment buildings (not to keep burglars out, but to keep children in).
Bathroom showers distinguished as such by only a drain in the middle of the bathroom floor without a barrier on the floor to keep the water from flooding the bathroom
Laundry hanging from windows, balconies and outdoor clotheslines even in expensive neighborhoods.
Police barriers to prevent cars from driving on streets during the Sabbath (Shabbat).
Men sitting in the front of a bus and women sitting separately at the rear.
Sirens going off to announce the approach of Shabbat.
Cars with loudspeakers driving up and down streets playing Shabbat melodies prior to Shabbat.
Hamburgers in pita and laffa or french rolls, not hamburger buns.
Hummus instead of catsup or mustard on a hamburger.
Home delivery service from most supermarkets.
Gifts of food, household goods, wine glasses, gourmet baskets and various items whenever one shops at the supermarket.
Paying taxes and utility bills at the local post office (nothing is sent by mail).
Signing up for health insurance at the local post office (except when they are on strike — then you have to hope you won't die before the strike ends).
Taxes for owning a television.
Tenants paying the landlord's property taxes.
Taxes and customs’ fees when receiving gifts or mail from friends and relatives abroad (so please don't send me anything because it will cost me more than I can afford to get it out of customs).
Taxes on cars that are almost as much as the cost of the car itself.
Taxes on everything!!!
An occasional Sukkah (tiny hut where people eat and sleep during the weeklong Sukkot holiday) on top of a camel.
Camels and goats roaming in open fields on the outskirts of cities.
All your medical and pharmaceutical records on a computer for all your doctors to see
Prescriptions input into a computer, and if one medication conflicts with another, the computer notifies the doctor of a problem (also prevents pharmacists from not being able to read a doctor's handwriting).
Doors so narrow that loveseats, office desk chairs, beds and many pieces of furniture must be placed on a crane and loaded into apartments via windows
Getting goosebumps and shivers from head to toe whenever I am at the Kotel (the Western or Wailing Wall) in Jerusalem, the last remnant of the Holy Temple after its destruction by the Romans.
People quietly praying at the Kotel while loudspeakers blast (deafening loud) from the nearby mosque calling Arabs to prayer at their mosque 5 times a day
People in shorts and tank tops walking along side people dressed in long black robe-like coats with knickers and fur hats (streimels), dressed in the tradition of the 18th century, and Arab women in long burkas with only their eyes showing.
Dishwashers the size of microwaves.
Washing machines half the width of U.S. washing machines.
Buying clothing, DVD players, ovens, refrigerators, flat screen TVs, washers/dryers, computers, small appliances, microwaves, patio furniture, and specialty sale items from the local supermarket or pharmacy.
Having the trunk of your car or your purse and packages searched every time you enter an office building, go to the mall, go to the bank, go to the market, or go to the local medical clinic.
Finding spleen, turkey testicles, or udders on a menu (enough to make me lose my appetite, and I always have an appetite) at an expensive restaurant.
Watching an American movie dubbed in Russian with Hebrew and Arabic subtitles.
Green oranges and pink pomegranates.
Thirty-four political parties.
Rowing machines, exercise bikes, weights, and various gym equipment along pedestrian and bike paths with benches in between to rest after working out.
And the list is longer, but my memory is shorter by the day.
L'hitraot. Shachar
