Sunday = Monday, part II

By: Rebecca

Several months ago, I wrote a post about some of the major differences between life in Israel and the US. Though I have gotten used to many of them, some of them are still hard to understand, and there are some new ones we have discovered. 

• Seasonal produce. Still awesome, but sometimes frustrating. I missed lime season completely. How am I supposed to make Mexican food...or a decent gin and tonic?
• There are large containers of yogurt - made from goat or sheep milk. Cow milk yogurt, as far as I can tell, only comes in single-serve containers.
• It gets dustier. April brought an unusually high number of dust storms. They are as awful as they sound. Picture thick fog, but instead of water, it's made out of very fine dust. The storms are accompanied by a hot wind that blows the sand everywhere. There is really nothing to do except close all the windows and stay inside.
• People are not very good with the concept of lines, or waiting in them. Thankfully, at places like the post office, there is a number system (similar to the deli counter at an American grocery store). In a moment of genius, someone also decided that you should be able to enter your phone number and get a text message when it's your turn.
• No doesn't mean no. At least not usually. If you play the game, there is usually a way to get around the rules (a kombina). 
• Drivers are crazy!! People drive like they are in a race to be the first car to anywhere. On the other hand, most Israeli's make parallel parking look effortless. They can park a car in a space I wouldn't try to park a bicycle. 
• Don't order drip coffee. Since most people drink instant or Turkish, the drip coffee is terrible. The cappuccino, on the other hand, is delicious and usually the same price. Even the bus station kiosk makes a decent cappuccino. 

Cappuccino from Aroma - the Israeli equivalent of Starbucks

• Everyone wants exact change. Even when there's a drawer full of money in front of them (like at the grocery store), you are still expected to hand over whatever amount means they have the least counting to do. If something costs 51.20 you should either give exactly that, or 101.20 so they can give you a 50 as change. 
• You can find a good hamburger. It took some time, but with the help of good friends, we finally found a good burger place in Haifa.
• People are very creative and resourceful. On our recent trip to Tel Aviv, we saw a huge billboard tied down with zip-ties. 
• I still don't understand the mops!