I've now been here for two weeks and I wanted to share some of the experiences that I have found interesting and curious. When you spend time in a different country it's hard not to compare the practices of that country to your own. Sorry - no photos today.
1. Movie theaters - I've been to the movies twice since I've been here. It's not like I have the most active evening social life! (Although a cab driver tried to pick me up tonight) At least at the theater I've gone to, the Cinematheque which is close to my apartment, the seats are assigned. Last night I saw a wonderful movie, "Dancing in Jaffa". It wasn't crowded when I entered the theater and I sat where I like to sit - center / center. Soon people were sitting all around me. A woman entered the row and just stood there staring at me. She didn't say a word - just stared. Then I remembered - I moved to my assigned seat, which was not center / center.
2. Traffic lights - There are two interesting things about traffic lights. First is the order of the colors. in the US the order is red-yellow-green. Isn't that one of the first things we learn as children, even before kindergarten - red=stop, yellow=wait, green=go. In Israel the order is red-green-yellow. I can't come up with a good reason to have yellow after green. Maybe you wait to be sure the other driver actually stops?
The other interesting thing about traffic lights is that there is a different one for each lane of traffic. So if you're accustomed to looking at the light all the way across the street to know when to cross, that light might be green but the one in the first lane may still be red. So you might do what I've done more than once, start crossing on red, have multiple cars honk at you, then return to START.
3. Bikes and bike trails - I bought a used bike today. It's a lot less expensive than renting for two months and I can sell it back at the end, which I did. I did a lot of research and found NO road bikes to rent in Jerusalem. There was a guy that brings bikes in to the city and he brought me a road bike that was 19 ½" - the center bar came about 2-3 inches higher than my crotch. No way that bike was going to work. So I found a bike shop in my neighborhood that gave me a great deal on a trail bike.
Most people ride trail bikes in Israel because long distance riding here is on unpaved trails, and the roads in the city are not very bike friendly. The drivers do not accommodate for bikes and the roads have glass and other types of sharp objects, so road bikes with thinner tires tend to get flat easily. So now I have a trail bike.
I went for my first ride this morning - a short one, 6 miles each way, on a relatively new (former railroad) trail which does happen to be paved. The guy in the bike shop told me this would be a good trail on which to try out my "new" bike. He told me the trail was flat - he said "no ups and downs" and showed me with his hands - flat. Here's what flat meant to him - It meant all downhill in one direction and all up hill coming back. So 6 miles up hill was a good day's work.
This new trail is actually 2 separate trails - one is paved trail for bikes, and one lovely trail for walking. On the trail itself there are pictures of bikes on the bike trail and of walkers on the walking trail. The trails are constructed from different materials and they are separated by a grass strip - hard not to notice the two separate trails. However, the walkers seem to be confused; most of them walk on the bike trail. And most of them are walking with just one or two friends, spread 2-3 across the trail. Most of them are NOT listening to music with headphones as in the US, but they still don't move when you're yelling out "Slicha, slicha" (excuse me, excuse me). There's no "on your left" here - and somehow I don't think it would matter anyway.
(Post script: I did later find out that the reason walkers prefer the bike trail is that the walking trail is made from uneven slats of wood and they are easy to trip on, resulting in lots of falls.)
4. A visit to the doctor's office - At the goat farm I was bitten by some random bug. The bug bite turned into cellulitis and got red and swollen and started to streak down my neck. So I went to a family practice clinic in my neighborhood where the doctors all speak English. The reception staff were very nice, and had me sit and wait until my name was called. Within a relatively short time, less than 10 minutes (that's different in itself), they called my name and directed me to a room. When I entered the room the doctor was sitting at his desk which was facing the door and he was just staring at me. I did not expect to see anyone in the room, let alone the doctor. I was so flustered that I just started babbling "uh, I have this bug bite on my neck that's getting red and swollen and has streaks, and …." The doctor then said "Hello, my name is Dr. xxxx. Would you like to sit down?" He was very nice, checked my neck and prescribed an antibiotic for an infection, from which I quickly recovered. But it was very different than a room with an exam table and chairs where you wait for another 15-20 minutes before the doctor comes in.
When I was finished and asked him if I could have a form to get reimbursed by my insurance company, he said the lady at the front desk would get a code from him and give me the paper. I left the room and another patient walked right in. I proceeded to check out and was curious to see how the receptionist would get that code now that another patient was in the room. The woman got up from her desk, knocked on his door, walked in and asked for the code - while he was seeing another patient. Can you imagine that happening in our health care system?
Each doctor has his one office with an exam table. One crowded waiting room. They collect the payment at the time of the visit unless you have a card. And NO FISH TANKS! Maybe this is the model we should try in the US to reduce the cost of health care.
Tomorrow - off to Tel Aviv for a few days.
1. Movie theaters - I've been to the movies twice since I've been here. It's not like I have the most active evening social life! (Although a cab driver tried to pick me up tonight) At least at the theater I've gone to, the Cinematheque which is close to my apartment, the seats are assigned. Last night I saw a wonderful movie, "Dancing in Jaffa". It wasn't crowded when I entered the theater and I sat where I like to sit - center / center. Soon people were sitting all around me. A woman entered the row and just stood there staring at me. She didn't say a word - just stared. Then I remembered - I moved to my assigned seat, which was not center / center.
2. Traffic lights - There are two interesting things about traffic lights. First is the order of the colors. in the US the order is red-yellow-green. Isn't that one of the first things we learn as children, even before kindergarten - red=stop, yellow=wait, green=go. In Israel the order is red-green-yellow. I can't come up with a good reason to have yellow after green. Maybe you wait to be sure the other driver actually stops?
The other interesting thing about traffic lights is that there is a different one for each lane of traffic. So if you're accustomed to looking at the light all the way across the street to know when to cross, that light might be green but the one in the first lane may still be red. So you might do what I've done more than once, start crossing on red, have multiple cars honk at you, then return to START.
3. Bikes and bike trails - I bought a used bike today. It's a lot less expensive than renting for two months and I can sell it back at the end, which I did. I did a lot of research and found NO road bikes to rent in Jerusalem. There was a guy that brings bikes in to the city and he brought me a road bike that was 19 ½" - the center bar came about 2-3 inches higher than my crotch. No way that bike was going to work. So I found a bike shop in my neighborhood that gave me a great deal on a trail bike.
Most people ride trail bikes in Israel because long distance riding here is on unpaved trails, and the roads in the city are not very bike friendly. The drivers do not accommodate for bikes and the roads have glass and other types of sharp objects, so road bikes with thinner tires tend to get flat easily. So now I have a trail bike.
I went for my first ride this morning - a short one, 6 miles each way, on a relatively new (former railroad) trail which does happen to be paved. The guy in the bike shop told me this would be a good trail on which to try out my "new" bike. He told me the trail was flat - he said "no ups and downs" and showed me with his hands - flat. Here's what flat meant to him - It meant all downhill in one direction and all up hill coming back. So 6 miles up hill was a good day's work.
This new trail is actually 2 separate trails - one is paved trail for bikes, and one lovely trail for walking. On the trail itself there are pictures of bikes on the bike trail and of walkers on the walking trail. The trails are constructed from different materials and they are separated by a grass strip - hard not to notice the two separate trails. However, the walkers seem to be confused; most of them walk on the bike trail. And most of them are walking with just one or two friends, spread 2-3 across the trail. Most of them are NOT listening to music with headphones as in the US, but they still don't move when you're yelling out "Slicha, slicha" (excuse me, excuse me). There's no "on your left" here - and somehow I don't think it would matter anyway.
(Post script: I did later find out that the reason walkers prefer the bike trail is that the walking trail is made from uneven slats of wood and they are easy to trip on, resulting in lots of falls.)
4. A visit to the doctor's office - At the goat farm I was bitten by some random bug. The bug bite turned into cellulitis and got red and swollen and started to streak down my neck. So I went to a family practice clinic in my neighborhood where the doctors all speak English. The reception staff were very nice, and had me sit and wait until my name was called. Within a relatively short time, less than 10 minutes (that's different in itself), they called my name and directed me to a room. When I entered the room the doctor was sitting at his desk which was facing the door and he was just staring at me. I did not expect to see anyone in the room, let alone the doctor. I was so flustered that I just started babbling "uh, I have this bug bite on my neck that's getting red and swollen and has streaks, and …." The doctor then said "Hello, my name is Dr. xxxx. Would you like to sit down?" He was very nice, checked my neck and prescribed an antibiotic for an infection, from which I quickly recovered. But it was very different than a room with an exam table and chairs where you wait for another 15-20 minutes before the doctor comes in.
When I was finished and asked him if I could have a form to get reimbursed by my insurance company, he said the lady at the front desk would get a code from him and give me the paper. I left the room and another patient walked right in. I proceeded to check out and was curious to see how the receptionist would get that code now that another patient was in the room. The woman got up from her desk, knocked on his door, walked in and asked for the code - while he was seeing another patient. Can you imagine that happening in our health care system?
Each doctor has his one office with an exam table. One crowded waiting room. They collect the payment at the time of the visit unless you have a card. And NO FISH TANKS! Maybe this is the model we should try in the US to reduce the cost of health care.
Tomorrow - off to Tel Aviv for a few days.
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