One of my favorite things about this city is that no matter what day of the week, or time of day for that matter, the second you leave your house you can never really expect what you will see. No matter what, I have never returned home without a hilarious story to share or something peculiar that I observed.
Here are a few examples, other than a clown hoola-hooping on road signs. A rabbi in Roller blades, A hairdresser singing karaoke through his window, several come ons by OLD men.. Really? Speeding busses, cars diving on sidewalks- Apparently that is quite acceptable here. I mean who wants to wait in traffic when you can quickly pull over to the sidewalk and skip it. Boys strolling down the street in close to nothing. Girls fashion- pretty ridiculous, although Israel is packed with gorgeous laides. You’ll always see an argument of some sort, someone singing, and someone clapping. Standard. Cafes are packed no matter what time, or how late and people just really know how to kick back, relax and just… LIVE.
One of my favorite things is everywhere you walk you can smell sweet aroma of fresh fruits form the tiny vendors, delicious gummy candy, and well from time to time…a fresh whiff of... cat urine. There’s a serious stray cat problem here, it’s quite sad really, sometimes disturbing.
I’ve come to fall in love with these always packed, busy, loud, narrow streets that run through Tel-Aviv. Walking everywhere is so refreshing, I have a handful of makolet vendors that I know just from passing so frequently, and am always greeted by a smile, wave or on few occasions an embrace. I even have a new homeless man friend named Alex. An American man, seriously a handsome individual, dirty, hairy but has stunning blue eyes and just plainly and simply loves the life of being a nomad. Lindsay and I are still convinced he’s undercover, because he’s just too normal. Or normal enough to not be psychotic.
I’ll leave you all with a few words that I’m pretty convinced are not in the Hebrew dictionary:
Personal space – No such thing here! For example we were shopping today for toiletries, when the lady at “Superfarm” (a tiny little Target) literarily grabs the contact solution out of Lindsay’s hands, looks at it, and says “uh okay” and hands it back. Huh? You won’t walk down the streets without at least 53 people bumping into you. Its something that takes time to get used to, I never thought I would but, I’m.. well you know, pretty Israeli now so beseder. (ok). It’s definitely something I can live without though. I was sitting on the beach the other day when some guy (in boxer-briefs) plops down on my towel and starts chatting me up, literally right next to me. Apparently, “Go Away” isn’t really in their dictionary either.
Service- You HAVE to ask for the check or you plainly won’t receive one. I now understand why Israelis seem so impolite and hard to wait on in the States, forgive them it’s not their fault. It’s just how things are here. You wan something you need to ask for it! No ones EVER in rush. Oh wait that’s a lie. Some man cut in front of us in line one day at the market threw some cash sown and ran out with his Vodka. Emergency Vodka!!
I’m pretty positive they skipped the traffic rule where “Pedestrians have the right of way.” There’s no such thing as looking both ways before you cross the street -you cross the street ONLY when it’s green or you’ll be crushed. Scooters, cars, and even Busses are insane drivers! And I’m pretty sure the horn is used as much as the breaks. True fact.
Lastly for now... you can bargain on everything, no matter where you are.. Even the supermarket.
The one thing I can do without for now is the intense heat, walking outside is as if youre walking into a sauna, no joke. Its getting close to 90 and getting sweaty is something im perfecting quite well. Yummy.
Tachlas, Ani Chola Al Tel-Aviv! – Point is... I’m infatuated with Tel-Aviv.
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