Happy 64th

Wednesday has come and gone, and look at that, no new post! That, my friends, is because Wednesday night (when I usually write these things) was taken over by a community wide celebration of Yom Ha'atzmaut, or Israel's Independence Day. As a tribute to its 64th birthday, I'm going to tell you this week about some experience I've had with buses in Israel.

Israeli drivers are crazy. My teacher (who shall remain nameless unless he asks me to credit him) once joked that the Israeli car is built around the horn, and then parts are added until it moves. The same is true for buses. On TRY (high school semester abroad program. Definitely check it out: here) we rode around in a tour bus.  To start with, the buses there are so much cooler than the ones here. They look like bugs, and they're colorful, which is fun. Speed limits exist in Israel, but I've never known what the standard is, because no one pays attention to them. 

Once, we were in the North. We were going to a kibbutz on a mountain that shared its border with Israel's national border with Lebanon. We were in the region of the country that used to be in Syria, and there were still land mines in the fields on either side of the road. It was absolutely beautiful. At this point in the trip, we had already been there for three months, so we were pretty used to going much faster than is safe. What we weren't used to was doing switchbacks up a mountain in a tour bus at 100 kilometers per hour.  People were holding on for dear life. I thought it was fun. 

Another time we were coming back from Gadna. Gadna is a simulation of what basic training in the IDF is like. For five days you work with your tzevet (troop), learn about IDF ideology, and how to handle weapons and the responsibility that comes with it. At the end of the 5 days, you get to shoot an M16 at a target about 70 meters away. There is an hour of free time every day, where you can shower, grab a snack, get ready for bed, etc. The guys on our trip decided not to shower at all over the course of the week, and most of the girls only showered once or twice. Basically, the trip back home was not the most pleasant thing my nose has experienced. Naturally, we got stuck in traffic. Israel being Israel, many people on the highway got out of their cars and went to the bathroom on the side of the road, a few from our bus included. Some drivers had the brilliant idea to turn around, and drive the other way on the shoulder of the road, causing another traffic jam going the wrong way. after about an hour of beeping and confusion, we finally got going, and about two hours later, we were home and in the showers. 

Public transportation is a whole other story. Maybe I'll talk about it next year. Until then, happy birthday Israel, and may you have many more.