Taking City Buses

It's now Thursday afternoon in Jerusalem. I didn't blog yesterday but will try to catch up today. Before I do that, though, I want to write about the experience of taking city buses in Jerusalem. There have been periods, particularly during the first and second intifadah (1987-93 and 2000-05), when many thought it might not have been wise to travel via city buses. I initially was going to list some Google references about the intifada, but decided not to do so. Every reference had a political spin and a "simple" analysis would be impossible. Anyway, although there is certainly political instability and Operation Protective Edge is not over, Pentheus and I discussed whether the WK and I would be taking buses in Jerusalem. We decided we were not worried about the buses, so the WK and I have been taking them. We even had a few bus fares left on the old rav kav (literally "many lines" but think along the lines of a bus pass or a Charlie Card in Boston)! By the way, bus fare is almost 7 shekels (about $2).

After a lot of shopping downtown, the WK and I were waiting at a bus stop to take a bus back to the hotel. We were sitting on the bench at the stop with a few other people, most of whom were older women. An elderly man walked by holding out an empty can of Coke Zero (not important to the story, but I figured people might be interested to know that there is Coke Zero in Israel, too) and begging for money. When he asked one of the elderly women for money, she responded, "Lama," meaning "why"? His response back to her, "l'ochel" ("for food"). Her final retort, "Ayn l'cha yeladeem?" ("don't you have children")? The whole conversation took about 1 minute, but it really struck me. First of all, I've not heard someone question a beggar as to why he/she needed the money (although I guess if I am honest with myself, sometimes I think that when a beggar asks for money, I perhaps inappropriately wonder if the money will be used for alcohol or cigarettes.) And, the fact that the woman inquired about the beggar's children meant to me that helping the man was the responsibility of his children, not her responsibility. It just made me think about the mindset.

A few minutes later, when the #77 bus arrived, the WK and I boarded on the bus. We were struggling to carry our packages (I did write that we did a lot of shopping!), and I had a hot, full cup of natool to manage as well. I had a lot of coins in my pockets (Israeli shekels come in 1, 2, 5, and 10 shekel coins). I tried to navigate getting the WK and me on the bus. While carrying the packages, shifting the natool from hand to hand, and after giving the bus driver the money, I needed to get some change from the driver. The WK put his hand out to take the change from the driver to help me, and I put my hand out as well. The driver didn't see the WK's hand, and when I took my hand away, the coins fell on the bus floor while other passengers were still getting on. I said to the bus driver, "ayn ba'aya" ("no problem"), meaning that I would lean down to pick up the change because I knew I had made him drop it. The bus driver looked straight at me, and said to me in not a very pleasant voice, "Gveret, yaish ba'aya! Ba'aya gadol!" ("Lady, it's a problem! Big problem") The driver was not very happy with me. Not sure why but the WK and I both thought it was hilarious, and the bus driver liked us even less when we burst out laughing!

The WK and I made it back to the hotel (with only minor burns to my hand because of the natool!) around 1 or 1:30. We ate a small snack and watched a bit of television while we rested a little. We spoke to Pentheus and the CK for a few minutes, and it was great to hear their voices. (We have really missed them this trip. The WK and I keep remembering things that happened when the whole family was here, and we're sad that we are reminiscing without them.)

We're going to leave the hotel in a few minutes to arrive on time for our 4 pm English tour of the Begin Center (as in Menachem Begin, a former Prime Minister of Israel).The Begin Center, located near Gan HaPa'amon (Liberty Park), a public park just at the end of Emek Refaim, is kind of like a President's Library (think Bush's Library in Texas or the JFK Museum in Boston). The Begin Center has an educational center, a museum, and a place for lectures/events. We are looking forward to going there.

After the Begin Center tour, the WK and I are meeting my friend, Jessie. who recently left her position as the Executive Director of B'tselem (http://www.btselem.org/), and her twin sons at Sushi Rehavia for a sushi dinner. Jessie and I have known each other since I was 16, and we were roommates when I was on an Israel program in 1985-86 (between high school and college for those of you who are trying to do the math!) Jessie and I have stayed close friends, and I saw her a lot when we were here in 2012. I am looking forward to this evening! More later!