Transportation

In Boston, when you get on a bus, you have to either beep the CharlieCard or get a ticket to scan before entering the bus. You enter in, well, the front of the bus and you pay. For the train, you buy a ticket before going through the turnstiles. The common thread between these modes of transportation is that they wait for you to sit down (or to hold onto something before moving).

The Light Rail--
You're supposed to by a ticket or refill the "Rav Kav" before boarding the train. When the train first started running in September it was free. They said it would be free for a week. But they couldn't figure out how to get the beepers on the train to work. So the train was free until mid-December. However there were many people who would sneak onto the train without paying and so they put officials on the train to check if you paid for your ride or not.

However, if I'm riding a train, I expect to be taken from point A to point B with only the necessary stops. It should not take me just as long to walk as it does to take the train. But half the time that's what I do anyway because I would rather walk for 45 minutes than ride for 20 mintues in a sweaty sandwich of people. The train, at least at first, arrives every 12 minutes. If you're lucky. I understand that there is traffic, but the point of the train was that it is faster than the busses because it's on its own railway. But it does not have the right of way so, during traffic hours, the train stops at every single light. In addition, there have been multiple times when I have taken the train and it has stopped for more than the allotted time for no apparent reason. Despite all these complaints, it's still faster than the bus.

The Bus--
A single ride around the city costs 6.20 shekels. But since it's rare that anyone has agurot (like pennies), most people do not give the exact change. This means that the driver has to give them change thus a line ensues to get on the bus. If you are one of the last people to get on, you're in trouble. The driver will go as soon as everyone fits. The only thing to hang onto during a rush hour mass is that old religious woman in front of you that is haggling the bus driver on whether or not she can receive the senior discount.

The bus is a good use of transportation. If there's no traffic and if you know where you're going. Otherwise you're screwed. During traffic, a pedestrain moves faster. So, while the bus might be ideal after a long day's work, in reality walking towards your destination is a better option. Example: Last year when I lived on Har Hatzofim, it took fifteen minutes in the morning to ride the bus to work. In the afternoon, it would take over an hour.

The Sherut (aka the shared taxi)--
The Sherut is generally used instead of the bus to get to different cities in Israel. The car can hold ten people plus the driver. Because this isn't a mode that requires tickets, the cab needs to be full in order to go. Therefore, I usually have to wait for the cab to fill. Generally, I have taken the sherut on a Friday and I have never had to wait more than five minutes for the cab to fill. When I came home from Tel Aviv on Saturday, I thought I would have to wait longer for the cab to fill because it was Shabbat. However, the cab was filled in a matter of seconds. I like this mode of transportation because, although it's few shekels more, it reduces the hassel of going through the security of the central bus station.

The etiquette of the sherut is important. You don't pay as soon as you get on, although that is the logical thing to do. The etiquette allows you to sit down and get settled before handing the money to the person in front of you to hand to the driver. Most drivers are nice and if asked, will let you know where to get off. Others are like the bus drivers and know only central bus station to central bus station. The one thing to know though, is that if you want to get off at an exact point, you don't ask at the point or they will drive way beyond to a place they can stop. If you want to get off at an exact point, you ask as soon as it's in view.

Otherwise, you'll end up on the other side of the city.

Birthdays

Birthdays in America. It's a simple celebration outside of a child's birthday party. There's a cake, you sing "Happy Birthday", and the person with the birthday receives the gifts. In school, the class will sing and cupcakes will be handed out. A total of 15 minutes, if you include eating the cake.

In Israel, the songs take 15 mintues just to sing. While most Israelis are familiar with the copyrighted tune of "Happy Birthday," it is not one of the songs that is included in the sing-a-long. It starts with "HaYom Yom Huledet" (Today is Your Birthday), an upbeat melody and continues with "Yom Huledet Chagigah Lachmedet" (A Nice Birthday Celebration).  There are a few other songs that are included for kids (but the titles sound stupid in English. "What a Happy Day") The singing ends with "Where is the Cake?" It sounds like a greedy song, but it's fun to sing. The translation of the words are "There no celebration without cake so where is the cake?" Everysong that is sung has a happy tune associated with it. People clap and bang on tables or shake tambourines. The birthday girl/boy wears a crown, or a lei, or sits in a special chair to signify that it's their birthday.

Recently at the kindergarten, we've celebrated 2 birthdays. A boy turned 2. And a girl tunred 1. It is absolutely adorable seeing the kids with their families. (The only thing is that afterwards the child becomes confused on why mommy was in school and now she's not there).  The parents are good sports and dance with kids. You can truly see the love in the mothers' eyes when they are with their children and you can't help but smile.

There was another birthday a few ago also. Israel turned 64 on Yom Ha"atzmaut. What really surprised me here was the Yom HaZikaron (Memorial Day) literally goes into Independence day. On Yom HaZicharon, many stores were closed and schools were released early. At 11:00am the city was silent for a full 2 minutes. No movements. No horns. Just the wind and the birds. It looked like a living museum. Cars stopped in the middle of the road. People stopped in the center of the crosswalk. Conversations halted. The country was quiet. There was a ceremony at Har Herzel and because we live so close to it, we walked there. I think all of Jerusalem and the surrounding cities were there. Luckily it's a big place, though the downside is we couldn't find where the actual ceremony was. Just the speakers that were hung on the trees throughout the cemetery.

For Yom Ha'atzmaut, the whole country was decorated in blue and white. Flags hung from buildings and waved hello in the breeze. Flags were connected to cars, to balconies, and to trees. Mostly everyone was wearing blue and white to show their pride for Israel. The evening of Yom Ha'atzmaut we watched a celebration that took place at Har Herzel. It was similar to every other celebration. Bands, dancing, army personnel. One of the personnel from the army has been invited to come since anyone can remember. He's now in his 80s and still in the army. At the end, they shot fireworks into the air and because the apartment is so close, we could see the show. (No, not as good as Needham.) With a celebratory barbeque (and parks that looked like a dump everywhere in the country. Literally trash everywhere. It was disgusting) Israelis celebrated the 64th year of the establishment of Israel.

pictures!