Nothing eventful has happened since Saturday. But I did do a bit of thinking of my life here. During Shabbat lunch, Shlomi’s friend asked Shlomi why did he move back to Israel when he had a good life in America. I also met up with his daughter, Anat, and her friend. They gave me some perspectives on the realities of the Israeli life, particularly in Jerusalem. I am also still thinking about how much Ruhi, an old friend from Smith College, changed when I ran into her last spring. She had gone abroad to Israel in the previous fall (2005) and it was very odd. Before going, she was so excited at the idea of returning to her homeland and to be around other Jews. When I saw her, she really sobered up and would not talk very much about Israel. She went to Beersheva though- very different from Jerusalem.
Life is very hard here. You can’t argue with me over everything because those matters have become trivial. They are not as important as other issues. The most important thing to the Israelis is that they are alive each and every day. The country is still very much a third world so a lot of things that came easy to me in America have become frustrating to deal with. For example, my bone scan is impossible to get done. Linda gave me the correct medical terminology and I told the x-ray people what I exactly needed before my appointment later in the day. They told me that I was at the wrong place and would need a doctor’s form. I could not believe it. A hospital, attached to the medical school, has no bone-scanning technology. I did receive a number to the place with the technology somewhere else in Jerusalem. By the way, it's for my stress fractures that I got from my marathon training.
It’s just not medical technology that’s sporadic but simple things that we take for granted such as the Internet. It takes the company over a week to get their customers registered. Additionally, any technology help for my computer seems to take forever. Israel is certainly not technologically advanced as one might expect from its powerful Army’s tools. People also conserve power because back in the 1970’s, according to Anat, the government imposed a million little rules about what people could do and could not do in terms of using water and electricity. Nowadays, people foot their own bill in which they have full control over. When I was at the Bachs’, they kept their lights low around the apartment, leaving the only light over the dining table on. Also, their apartment was not as warm as one might expect in on a rainy night. The source of electricity tends to be gas. I do not think I’ve been in a warm place since I left Spain.
When I travel through Jerusalem, I often think about how I am not enjoying it as fully as I expected. I would certainly compare the environment to New York City back in the early 1990’s before the city really cleaned up in the last five or so years. The city, particularly East Jerusalem (which I had go through a bit of it for my trip to the U.S. Consulate), is not clean. But unlike New York, it does not stink, fortunately. The dirt and the fumes from the traffic penetrate into the old stones all around. You would need a very strong power hose to make the stones on Agrippas Street very clean and beautiful. The city is not lovely to walk around but its winding streets do make it interesting to explore. Once you move out of the arteries of the East, the West, and the Old City, you do come face to face with beautiful scenery and more green, open spaces.
The whole city is filled with the Army guards doing security check, particularly for cafes and restaurants. Wendy and I were even stopped for jaywalking on Jaffa Street by two guards. So with the huge security presence, environmental and conflict issues, and the general attitude of the people, this is certainly a country in a state of war and still struggling to move out of its third world status. Anat said that her international relations major would not let her to study Israel until her final year because it is such an emotional and heated topic. I suppose that for the best comparison to this would be America and the war on Iraq. Same idea even though the Americans do not exactly live in the same kind of state of war but there is still the same amount of intense frustration towards the government. Even personally, I have such strong feelings towards my country’s president that I cannot speak of it in a debate in a rational manner. Being a centered person, this is one of the reasons why I cannot imagine myself taking such an emotional international relations course. I did take a history course on international history with the U.S. as its focus but we never touched upon the current events in a serious discussion. I liked it that way- be able to study my country in an international perspective when things are done and over like the Vietnam War.
I think that Ruhi was probably mostly disappointed by the fact that 60% to 80% of Israelis are secular, not religious (if they were, it’s usually orthodox). Israelis either keep Shabbat or kosher, or both. I do think that the Shabbat practice is more prevalent since it pretty much governs the country’s Friday night/Saturday. I am really surprised by this fact too- this certainly made the American Jewry appear more religious!
It is not to say that I don't regret coming to Israel. But this is a warning that the birthright Israel program really does shelter its participants from the country's difficulties and realities. It's marketing, after all. At the same time, I don't regret going on that trip- it's made me more adventerous!
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Ruhi was in Beersheva
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