They say the natives here are like prickly pear cactus--prickly on the outside and soft and sweet on the inside. I have encountered both. Grocery shopping yesterday was quite an experience. I never saw so many rude people in my life. I thought for a minute I was in New York. Maybe I should develop a few prickles myself--provided I am truly soft and sweet inside--that might be harder to accomplish. It makes you appreciate the other kind, who are soft and sweet on the outside, which makes you optimistic about what's inside. Just the look in their eye says, "I realize you are another human being just like myself."
I bought a carton of milk. Out of five words on the carton I could read "milk"and "vitamin D." One of the other three apparently means "vanilla," because it is sweet, vanilla-flavored milk. No wonder my coffee tasted like chocolate this morning.
Ah, yes. I commented on the milk elsewhere. It is sweet.
ReplyDeleteOur landlords came by this morning. They were saying that it is unseasonably warm here right now. Usually, this time of the year, Jerusalem is about 30 degrees Fahrenheit during the day, and there is often snow. And Houston is usually about sixty degrees.
Well, Houston just came out of a cold snap, and it has been in the seventies here over the last few days.
I think there are different sorts of rude people. Some people are rude because they really think they are better than you--those are hard to take. Others are rude because they are overly expressive--i.e. they feel mildly irritated about something, so they say so immediately, rather than keeping it to themselves as another person would. Does that make sense? What kind of rudeness are you encountering?
ReplyDeleteSharon,
ReplyDeleteThe kind of rudeness we're experiencing is, "Get out of the way! Me first!"
Apartments...we did look at other apartments. One I liked better...but it was pretty expensive (about $1100 a month, with furniture). But Mom didn't like it. It was beautiful...but...it's on top of Mount Scopus, in a eight story apartment building, on the seventh floor. You look out the kitchen window, and you can see fifty miles into the distance, almost to the Dead Sea. But Mom is deathly afraid of heights! On the one side of the apartment, you look out over all Jerusalem over into the Dead Sea; on the other side, you look out over the east side of Jerusalem into the desert in Jordan. It is beautiful! It would be such an inspiration to work in. But Mom was afraid the wind was going to blow out the windows, and suck her out into the air - or blow the apartment building down. Was she scared.
ReplyDeleteThe landlady, a real nice lady named "Ettie," told Mom: "I can take you up to the roof, and show you where you can hang your clothes on top of the roof," and Mom said, "NO THANKS!"
Sigh. It is right next to the Hebrew University...
MORE ON JERUSALEM RUDENESS:
ReplyDeleteOK, Sharon...here are some specific examples. When you walk down the street, a busy street like, say, Derek Hebron, all you hear is BEEP, BEEP!!! HONK, HONK, HONK!!! Everybody honks at each other all the time, and everybody pulls out in front of everybody. Every now and again, a big truck will back out of his lane, blocking both lanes, with cars backed up for a mile, while he does a U-Turn in the middle of the road.
One time, I was running down the sidewalk next to Derek Hebron, and the traffic was thick. The light turned red on Derek Hebron. This one lorry driver (driving a lorry about the size of the dump truck), who had already honked his horn three times in about six blocks, landed on his horn when the light turned red, and held it, for about three solid minutes, until the light turned green again. What was everybody supposed to do? Run the red light?
In a way, one can't but find it a little amusing. They're rascals in a way...
Another time, I was jogging down the sidewalk on Derek Hebron, and a motorcyle came driving down the sidewalk, no less, and missed me by about six inches.
They say that your greatest danger in Jerusalem is in traffic. When the terrorists were conducting suicide attacks in Jerusalem about five years back, if you added the fatalities from the attacks into all the other murders, the murder rate was still far lower than Houston. Jerusalem is actually a really safe city. A really nice lady, the wife of a retired rabbi from St Louis told me she felt safe walking alone any hour of the day or night in Jerusalem.
But now, watch it when you cross the street!!
Dad
In answer to your question, Sharon, I'm not sure what kind of rudeness it is. I don't really know these people, and it's hard to guess what they're thinking. But some of them have a look on their face and a way of walking that to me says, "I know who I am and I know where I'm going. Are you in my way?" The others are more like, "Well, I happen to be here but I'm not making a big deal out of it. Will you go first or will I?" My upbringing (or my response to it), causes me to be inobtrusive, non-expressive and more or less polite, and no one knows whether I intend to be friendly or not. It's a lonely life. Maybe that's why I like dogs and cats. We're more on the same level.
ReplyDeleteDad's evaluation of my fear of heights is a bit off. It is not just a matter of fear. I could get used to it. It's a matter of having the cozy, secure feeling that is what a home is supposed to be all about. I want to be part of the land and my house to blend in with the landscape. I don't want to stick up into the sky. I want to snuggle into a low place somewhere.
ReplyDeleteI stand correct on the heights issue.
ReplyDelete