Only in Israel

After living in this country for almost ten months, I really couldn't help but notice how things are made way more complicated than they need to be. Especially with trash removal. It's so ridiculous, the first time I saw it, I laughed. The dumpsters are these huge round containers and when the garbage men come to empty them, they use this huge claw machine type thing to lift the enormous garbage bag lining the dumpster. They attach hooks to the huge bag and lift it out before lowering it into the truck. I guess Israelis really like claw machine.

There are claw machines everywhere, most of which contain only a few toys scattered amongst fake Rolex watches, and packs of cigarettes. I always thought those machines were supposed to be for kids.

But I guess there are a lot of blurry lines in this country, like liquor stores that also sell candy and toys. Fun for the whole family, I suppose.

The public transportation system runs pretty well, except when everything stops for Shabbat. My most humorous bus rides are when I go to Be'er Sheva. As we leave Ashkelon, passing by Palm trees and Date trees that are so tropical looking, we pass a highway sign that says, "Gaza 10 km." I wonder why no one has removed those signs yet. Is anyone actually driving to Gaza? It just makes me laugh. Almost immediately we are in brown farm land and empty fields that remind me of Nebraska. It's just ugly, brown, and boring. There's nothing to look at. Soon after that we are in the desert passing roaming donkeys and camels in the middle of nowhere. And then someone rings the "stop" button. The bus stops in the middle of the desert, and I look out the window looking for something, some sign of civilization, but there's none. And then I see someone get off the bus and just walk off into the desert. Where are they going? There is nothing around for miles, from what I can tell, and how does this person even know that this is their stop? I guess it's the one right by that rock over there.

The teenagers walk the streets with the music from their cell phones blaring. No one uses headphones. I don't know if it's because they can't afford them, or if they just think their music is so good they need to share it with the world. It's usually techno, or that obnoxious song that is everyone's ring tone here, that always gets stuck in my head, no fail. "Stereo Love," I think is the name of it. Look it up, you won't get it out of your head for days, and I fully intend on making that my new ring tone when I get back in the states.

As rude and pushy as Israelis are, parodied to a T on "The Simpsons," people have a strong sense of community. Several times I've been on a bus or on the sidewalk, and a lady has come up to me and asked me to watch her baby for a minute. It seems so contradictory, rude pushy people asking complete strangers to watch their kids. But no one is as rude as the old ladies at the grocery store. So many times while I'm waiting in line at the store, a little old lady comes up with one item in her hand gesturing that she wants to go ahead of me, and being the nice, well mannered American that I am, I let them. Then out of nowhere bags and bags of groceries appear, like these old ladies hide them under their skirts so that they can cut people in line.

There have been so many things to get used to in this country, seeing people walk around with pistols in their belts, adult claw machines, and liquor stores that also sell candy. But I've enjoyed my experience, and have a lot of items to add to my "Only in Israel" list.