Someone much more wise and poetic than me once said “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times”. This essentially sums up our time in Israel (and the fact that I always have one eye on Melbourne).

Israel is truly incredible – it is vibrant, rich in culture and incredibly fast paced yet also beautifully slow paced. Young soldiers with their guns cross the road to help you onto the bus while old women close a door in your face when you follow them into a store. People understandably have very different priorities here as a result of their life experiences and this comes through in every facet of their interactions. I’ve been so lucky to have spent time seeing so much of every day life in Jerusalem, and I couldn’t give up the opportunity to try to describe what I’ve seen – the good, the bad and the ugly.

Every cafe is a buffet – ordering food in a cafe is interesting. The health department in any another country would shut most restaurants down but hey, at least I have stories to tell! A line is merely a suggestion – those who arrived first are not usually the first served, it is those that have the sharpest elbows or the most chutzpah that enjoy their food while us polite ones are still waiting to order. Moreover, if they truly have Israeli culture down pat they will help themselves to chips, felafel balls or anything else they desire behind the counter as a sample because their meal is obviously taking too long to prepare!

One person’s opinion quickly becomes a group discussion – the weekend in Israel is Friday and Saturday – Sunday is a work day. Friday is usually spent preparing for Saturday and stores and roads are usually chaotic! Milla has gone through a massive growth spurt and none of the clothes we brought from home fit her anymore, so we went to the mall to buy some new clothes. Waiting in the line at Zara I managed to fend off the people trying to be polite to me so that they could push in the queue, but after about 30 mins of waiting with only one sales assistant working at the registers, people both in front and behind me were getting very impatient. The customer behind me muttered something under her breath about the ridiculous waiting times and the lack of sales assistants on the registers… before I knew it there was a full screaming match at all staff members. One whisper was enough to create a group discussion and almost-revolution… wasn’t enough to get served any faster though!! And trust me, there will be no follow up post about where to shop for kids clothes in Israel because I am yet to find anywhere that even comes close to what we have in Australia!!

Everyone is an expert – there are some things I love hearing about, such as the best doughnuts in Jerusalem, expected weather forecast, Black Friday sales… random strangers, you’re welcome to impart as much local knowledge as you want! But… I don’t want to hear that my child isn’t dressed warmly enough, that the hand dryers in the bathroom have too much bacteria and cause cancer and that hot chips are healthier for kids than the vegetables in Israel. Apparently if you leave your house you are saying that you want to hear random advice from random strangers.

Israelis make the most of time and space – they generally live in small places, so take their usually private behaviour out with them. I’ve had the pleasure of many of these surprises on buses. Instead of watching Netflix or reading many passengers are praying while on public transport. The guy flossing on the bus is common. The man filing his nails while he waits for the bus is apparently totally normal. Nose picking, ear picking and inspection… personal hygiene is slightly different in this country. Even more scary though is that these things used to be totally gross and disturbing but after almost 2 months I hardly even notice!

“Sun’s out, guns out” has a new meaning – it still shocks me when I scan the market, shopping centre or street and see so many weapons! I haven’t managed to decide if it’s comforting or shocking to see so many guns in everyday places – I feel safe that if G-d forbid something did happen there would be people who could jump into action to protect us but at the same time it’s a sad truth that so many of the country’s resources are spent on defence and weaponry. I prefer the Aussie version of the “sun’s out, guns out” saying.

There are more cats than people – truly, they’re everywhere! Right at the beginning of our trip I was wondering where our wheelie bin was for our apartment so I could take the rubbish out. My lovely landlady almost laughed at me and explained that there are dumpsters at each corner and you take your rubbish here. Big adjustment to begin with (I’m obviously a bit of a pampered princess!) but the biggest shock (once you master Jerusalem’s steep hills!) was that there are cats living in these bins! They watch you as you approach and they run out as soon as you throw your rubbish in. It’s quite an ordeal!

But, through the rudeness and the hilarity there is also the undeniable fact that this place is fun! They eat incredibly well (the diet starts when I get off the plane back home), they’re sociable and value friendships and family, they’re strongly communal with lots of kids events and they appreciate the smaller things in life. They have been kind to Milla and I – she is known for getting more free food at the market than I actually purchase (bananas, chocolate and hot chips oh my!). Yes, I am generalising from the small sample of the population we have met and the postage stamp sized part of the country we have been lucky to explore but we have been lucky to feel immediately as though we are home away from home. In trying to cope with homesickness I play a fun game where I find Israeli versions of people we know from home – it keeps me amused but despite the similarities people here really are different. So what is the point of this post? It’s not my way of telling Mr V. that we are enjoying life here so much that we aren’t coming home because as fun and special as Israel is I don’t think at this stage we could live here. It is more my way of making the most of the time away from home and all the people we love and appreciating the opportunities found in this fun and crazy place that’s giving such an invaluable gift to one of the most precious people in my life.

Now that my elbows are slightly sharpened and I’ve gotten the hang of this place I’m counting down until we are back home! Not long now.

J x