"Squeeze the World"
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
ha'otobus
Due to various transportation issues, my trips on the bus have become more regular. This has given me more opportunity to read, study or simply observe. Also, it forces me to walk around town for half an hour which makes for great contemplation. The bus is the main form of transportation for the typical Israeli, and here are some reflections of it.
There is a religious man riding the same route who never fails to entertain me. He's older with a long white beard and the ubiquitous black hat. I'm pretty sure he's mizrakhi (Middle Eastern) and another religious man who usually talks to him often slips into Arabic. Their accents and speed make it impossible for me to even catch words, but his tone always sounds like he's complaining about the local government official. This is pure speculation. Actually, I'm sure that he says everything in this tone of voice. One stop is always coated in swarming school girls, also religious, and they usually go directly to the back and play with their cell phones. Today, a boy who looked like Perchik from the old Fiddler on the Roof movie was hanging around the bus stop in half a uniform (as in the other half was civilian). I was really confused until I saw him stand next to each bus that was loading. This isn't common, so I wonder what's up... The security here is so thorough that they don't usually need to be obvious about it.
Tomorrow I'm going on a bit of a day trip which I will report about later. It should be good fun and quite an experience! Hopefully I'll return with loads of pictures. Yom tov!
There is a religious man riding the same route who never fails to entertain me. He's older with a long white beard and the ubiquitous black hat. I'm pretty sure he's mizrakhi (Middle Eastern) and another religious man who usually talks to him often slips into Arabic. Their accents and speed make it impossible for me to even catch words, but his tone always sounds like he's complaining about the local government official. This is pure speculation. Actually, I'm sure that he says everything in this tone of voice. One stop is always coated in swarming school girls, also religious, and they usually go directly to the back and play with their cell phones. Today, a boy who looked like Perchik from the old Fiddler on the Roof movie was hanging around the bus stop in half a uniform (as in the other half was civilian). I was really confused until I saw him stand next to each bus that was loading. This isn't common, so I wonder what's up... The security here is so thorough that they don't usually need to be obvious about it.
Tomorrow I'm going on a bit of a day trip which I will report about later. It should be good fun and quite an experience! Hopefully I'll return with loads of pictures. Yom tov!
A, 10:40 AM
