the ipod in my ears means i dont want to talk to you
I had a very "strangers feel it's okay to approach me" kind of day today. I am on vacation from the army pending my discharge on the 7th. I went to Jerusalem and walked through the Har Herzl Cemetery. It is where many of Israel's great leaders are buried as well as a military cemetery and one of the most beautiful places I know. I wanted to be there as a soldier before I am no longer one, it kind of helps me put the last six months in perspective.
After the cemetery I continued to the Ein Kerem neighborhood of Jerusalem. Nothing beats Jerusalem in autumn, a sunny, breezy, comfortable autumn. Then I went up to Mount Scopus through most of the city and enjoyed the view of the Old City and the Dome of the Rock. On one edge of the Hebrew University atop Mount Scopus one has an amazing view of the dome (hence the name Mount Scopus) and on it's eastern edge is the natural demarcation between relatively green Jerusalem and barren but beautiful Judean Desert. Ever since I studied there in 2003, I enjoy the look-out spots atop Mount Scopus, it's a special place for me, and I visited it.
On my way home, I stopped for a bite to eat at the bus station in Jerusalem. I am sat there eating my shnitzel sub, with headphones on, and an asian lady asks if she can join me. I nod and smile and continue doing my own thing. She then begins to speak with me, at which point I remove my earphones and engage in 10 min of awkward small talk. She is a Taiwanese tourist who has run away from her evangelical conference to "look for asian food and see the real Israel". She lives in Princeton, NJ and has never been here before. She said she was scared at being the only asian persn around. When it seemed like she was going to take it too far, I politely got up and found my bus to Tel Aviv.
At the gate for my bus, there were two female soldiers who wanted advice on which Tel Aviv bus to take. I suggested the one I was taking and they accepted. Then when we arrived in Tel Aviv, they asked me to help them find the city bus they needed, which again was mine.
On this final bus home for the day, a strange man was sitting across from me in one of those, two people face forward two people face backward kind of arrangements city buses tend to have. At first he wasn't sitting directly across from me, but then he moved, telling me that my face seemed more "cordial" than the other man who was across from him. I nodded and looked out into the window. Again, I had my headphones on, I didn't make any eye contact, I am not interested in small talk damn it. He continues to talk to me, until I have to once again remove my headphones. He asks me questions about the army, then rants about its lack of preparedness ahead of future wars. Then tells me that once he went to Egypt to see the Pyramids. This trip inspired him to draw pictures of pharaohs. He then proceeds to show digital photos of his child-like retarded drawings of pharaoh inspired items and portraits. These pictures were drawn in magic marker. I got off the bus before my stop. The lady sitting next to me, kept whispering in my ear "He is such an idiot, he is so weird"
He was there harassing me with his Egyptology and she was whispering things about him. It was weird! sort of amusing... anyway, I came home and made some apple cinnamon muffins.
After the cemetery I continued to the Ein Kerem neighborhood of Jerusalem. Nothing beats Jerusalem in autumn, a sunny, breezy, comfortable autumn. Then I went up to Mount Scopus through most of the city and enjoyed the view of the Old City and the Dome of the Rock. On one edge of the Hebrew University atop Mount Scopus one has an amazing view of the dome (hence the name Mount Scopus) and on it's eastern edge is the natural demarcation between relatively green Jerusalem and barren but beautiful Judean Desert. Ever since I studied there in 2003, I enjoy the look-out spots atop Mount Scopus, it's a special place for me, and I visited it.
On my way home, I stopped for a bite to eat at the bus station in Jerusalem. I am sat there eating my shnitzel sub, with headphones on, and an asian lady asks if she can join me. I nod and smile and continue doing my own thing. She then begins to speak with me, at which point I remove my earphones and engage in 10 min of awkward small talk. She is a Taiwanese tourist who has run away from her evangelical conference to "look for asian food and see the real Israel". She lives in Princeton, NJ and has never been here before. She said she was scared at being the only asian persn around. When it seemed like she was going to take it too far, I politely got up and found my bus to Tel Aviv.
At the gate for my bus, there were two female soldiers who wanted advice on which Tel Aviv bus to take. I suggested the one I was taking and they accepted. Then when we arrived in Tel Aviv, they asked me to help them find the city bus they needed, which again was mine.
On this final bus home for the day, a strange man was sitting across from me in one of those, two people face forward two people face backward kind of arrangements city buses tend to have. At first he wasn't sitting directly across from me, but then he moved, telling me that my face seemed more "cordial" than the other man who was across from him. I nodded and looked out into the window. Again, I had my headphones on, I didn't make any eye contact, I am not interested in small talk damn it. He continues to talk to me, until I have to once again remove my headphones. He asks me questions about the army, then rants about its lack of preparedness ahead of future wars. Then tells me that once he went to Egypt to see the Pyramids. This trip inspired him to draw pictures of pharaohs. He then proceeds to show digital photos of his child-like retarded drawings of pharaoh inspired items and portraits. These pictures were drawn in magic marker. I got off the bus before my stop. The lady sitting next to me, kept whispering in my ear "He is such an idiot, he is so weird"
He was there harassing me with his Egyptology and she was whispering things about him. It was weird! sort of amusing... anyway, I came home and made some apple cinnamon muffins.