Early Days Still

Went to meet Ian in Jerusalem for lunch on Thursday. The bus trip over there was really hard. A really really really fat man sat next to me and I was squashed against the window with my breasts elbowed for the whole 55 mins... And I was reading my book, 'She's Come Undone' where the protagonist is really fat and people don't like her and I was trying to sympathise for her at the same time whilst hating the man next to me for spoiling my trip....

Anyway, it was nice to see Ian. And nice to be back in Jerusalem. We went to a cafe and then after 2 hours he had to get back to his class. I then found my way to the old city and the kotel. Wandered through the markets. Sat at the wall and prayed for a while. Observed everything and everyone around me for ages. Contemplated how rich the 2 old beggar women were becoming... making lots of money off every single woman who passed them by, unable to say no infront of such a holy place... I really enjoyed myself there. I like Jerusalem, but I think I have to say I prefer Tel Aviv. The cities have a very different feel. I heard more english than hebrew around Jerusalem.

Everyone complements me on my hebrew. I swear this didn't happen last time I was here! It must be the blonde...

The guy that owns the laundromat around the corner from us, where I did our laundry last week- was chatting with me and when I told him I was from sydney, and i learnt hebrew at school, he said "ah, at Moriah?" Turns out he was living in sydney for 1 yr just working for his brother's removalist business. He was living in Vaucluse. Small world. He then gave me a discount on the laundry :-) As I understood, I was able to do my own laundry at his laundromat, but as it turned out, there was a self-service laundromat around the corner, which charges 12 shekel, but because he does the service for you, he charges 20. But because he had a spare machine he wasn't using at the time I came, he let me use his machine and pay 12 because he said he' rather I do business with him, and besides, he was happy to chat with me. Sooo Israeli. He told me to come back in an hour, and even though I came back 55 mins later, expecting to unload everything and put it back in my trolley, (In found one of those old grandma shopping trolleys. I take it everywhere with me! It's my new {albeit rally old} accessory!) -he had beaten me to it and folded everything nicely for me. Very nice.

In Jerusalem, I made the mistake of wearing my nice-fitting dark green slacks with my hiking boots. The green pants are almost identical to the army uniform for some of the units here. So everyone thought I was a bloody soldier! At every bus station and shopping centre check point I was asked whether I had my gun on me. I guess wearing the with my hiking boots didn't help matters. I brought these as my 'nice pants'. I think this means I'm going to need to buy new 'nice pants'. Damn....