Executing exact money in shuk

I'm pleased to report that I can process verbal numbers well enough to either give the exact amount or know that what I'm giving is as close as I can do with the change in my pocket.  Yeah!  So now, I really know how much my produce costs.  The last couple of trips I did the cowardly thing of just making sure I gave the vendors more than it could cost.  Actually, that lengthy wait in the post office did a lot of my listening comprehension, because I was listening for my queue number.

 

A good report

My second functional visit to the Post Office was very smooth.  I had, indeed, saved the queue slip from the last trip, so I knew which queue to enter.  Surprisingly, it was easier to recognize it from the Hebrew than English.  I must be getting better at this.  I needed to pay ~$32 in excise tax, which didn't surprise me because this is my box of gifts from Kansas City (UMKC and Wizard of Oz things) to give my colleagues and hosts.  So, they're not wrapped like birthday gifts, and there are redundant quantities (like 10 yellow UMKC kangaroos).  The customs slip categorized it as "souvenirs," which is correct.  I'm so glad this box is here - I don't want to be a boor.  Only one casualty in the box - a Scarecrow statuette broke, but if I can find some Superglue, it's an easy fix.  All that remains now is the bag of books.  When that comes, I'll probably have to take a cab back from the post office.  It's heavy.  But, who knows when that will arrive?

A little progress in the grocery store, too.  I found the express check-out lines (10 items or less).  Used it today.  Good to know.  And I stumbled through a little conversation with a Russian immigrant woman, who spoke only Russian and Hebrew, so I feel just a little better about my listening and spoken ability.  And you might be vaguely interested to know that whole-wheat pita is about $3/bag, but white pita is about $0.50.  But whole-wheat is better for my waistline.

And, if I needed more evidence to support the decision not to drive here (the cost, the parking, the traffic (which moves very quickly - a great entreprenuerial idea would be to open a chain of brake shops.  These people are all about jackrabbit stops and starts.  But they don't seem to run red lights, like we do.), the repairs), when I saw a really odd thing.  (Phew, long sentence)  A small car like a Cooper mini hopped the sidewalk, and drove slowly across the grass.  There was a truck unloading, and I thought the truck was blocking a curb cut, but there was no curb cut.  The little car moved down a paved ramp, but it was a pedestrian ramp, with a bollard in the middle, which the car negotiated around, and came out in the back of the store to the parking.  My, my.  No, I'm not driving.  I sure didn't like driving in Boston, and this is worse.

A new phone, at last

What an ordeal.  Buying a phone is difficult.  Not only do you need an Israeli national id #, but I guess you have to use an Israeli financial instrument, too.  Who would've thought that American Express would be denied as a payment source to a place like Amazon.com!  But my friend, Beni, bought it for me, and I will pay him back in shekels.  Ugh.  Of course, it's been shipped to his apartment in the Jerusalem area. But the end is near and I'll have an Android smartphone with all the apps that will be very useful.  There are apps for the train schedule, bus schedules, currency conversion, and of course, there's the GPS.  Pretty amazing talk from such a slow adopter of technology innovations.  Guilty as charged.

Nice addition to my little kitchen

I found the store in the Negev mall that has small appliances.  My  apartment came with a full-size refrigerator, a decent size microwave, a one-burner hot plate, and hot water kettle.  I really wanted to find a toaster oven, so that I could do oven-type things, and so I bought same today.  Getting home on the bus was dicey, not that it was heavy, but the bus was full of old people with their groceries, so I eventually gave up my seat and put my big box on the floor.  Grey hair, but still young.  Since I actually exited safely at my bus stop, I have no complaints.  Now that my landlord has okayed it, I can heat some burekas or do a little light cooking.  Yeah!

And I also found the Naaman housewares shop, and they had small quantities of stainless silverware available (as well as big sets).  Yeah.  I really didn't need many, so that was perfect.  "Isn't it great when a plan comes together" (source:  A-Team)?  I'm happy to buy mismatched things, and pretty cheap things that are serviceable, but decent silverware will be appreciated.

Today's musings

Here's just a bunch of odd bits:

• Our Chabad friend Ze'ev said Beer Sheva is "a G-d-less city."  But on Shabbat it's pretty quiet.  I live near a big, busy street, like Metcalf or Broadway in NYC, and the traffic is <5% of normal on Shabbat.  The sidewalks mostly have families out for walks.  It's not ~100% like Jerusalem or Tsafat, but much more observant than I would have thought from Ze'ev's comment.
• Laundry-drying takes 36-48 hours.  That's not too bad, since I'm not hanging them outside.  The quick-dry clothes I invested in are working out well.
• One odd observation from the big shuk, is that they sell brassieres!  That is one item I don't want to purchase there.  It seems especially odd because most of the Bedouin women are orthodox.
• And, I know that Jaffa oranges are really famous, but I haven't looked for them yet.  Oranges are year-round here.  I bought navel oranges at the shuk for a good price:  they're pinker on the inside than US oranges.  Not quite as pink as pink grapefruit.  Slightly different taste from US, but definitely an orange.
  
• And I really like my Kindle.  It's so nice that it is self-illuminated.  I've already read 3 books!  I usually only get to read in airports.  So maybe all the books I loaded on the Kindle will be read!
• I found the mysterious location of the Structural Engineering department.  It's in the old campus, in the downtown business district.  I will post photos later.  It was a rather Sherlock Holmesian search for that location, because the faculty on the main campus couldn't have been more vague about where the structural faculty were located.  It's actually really close to my grocery store.

Palmach Negev Brigade Memorial

I thought I would wander over to the Palmach Negev Brigade memorial today for my Shabbat walk - it's a little further than a stroll. But I had water, it was nice and I walked there and back.

As you can see, it's also designated as a scenic overlook.  Most of Beer Sheva is flat, and this is up on quite a rise, so I was looking forward to the vantage point, as well.

Smart people drive there, but I'm still up for a good walk.  It has a typical uphill, rocky approach, reminiscent of many sites on tours in Israel and Turkey (isn't everything uphill in Israel?).

This next photo up on the site shows Beer Sheva in the background.

Well, the view is spectacular.  I think you can see Jordan in the distance (what other mountains are east of Beer Sheva?).

The photos were just with my phone.  Next time, I'll take my camera and take proper pictures.  Anyway, it was a good Vitamin D day - got a little sun.

Scouting the Negev mall

I thought this morning would be a good time to do a walk-through of the big Negev mall.  Not so different from US malls, which I don't usually go to.  But I found a store a lot like Crate & Barrel, which I'm fond of frequenting.  So I bought some blue (dairy for me) ceramic coffee mugs at Fox Home.  There's another housewares place like that called Naaman, which also has a separate small outlet store on a different floor.  The mall has a food court, like home, and had a little shuk on the first floor.  I don't know if the shuk's an everyday thing or not, but it was odd to see fresh cilantro for sale in the mall.

Finding a place for my laundry to drip dry is a bit of a topological challenge.  Thank goodness my bathroom has a tile floor, so the drips are fine.

Shabbat shalom.

First trip to the Old City

Shlomo's mother has a live-in helper, Sinitra, who was available to help show me around today.  She was actually glad to get out and about herself.  I had a weird list of things I didn't know how to solve, so she helped me cross a bunch of things off:  buying stamps at the post office (just get in the general queue), buying Turkish coffee demitasse cups (done at a little shop in the old city), and a few other odds and ends.  She also showed me where I will need to renew my tourist visa in April (I was delighted to learn that I could do that here in Beer Sheva).  We took a more thoughtful walk through some of the downtown section.  It seems that there are cookies and pastries everywhere, and I saw this shop:

I didn't expect to see the Pillsbury dough boy.

The Post Office

Two of my packages (of five) arrived yesterday.  Shlomo had been nice enough to pick up the first package in December with preceded my arrival (thankfully).  The next two are my personal files for some manuscript work that I hope to finish and an assortment box of absolutely necessary stuff.  Asked Shlomo what do when I got to the post office - he shrugged and said to get your packages.  Could it be that easy?  Of course not.

I wandered around for a minute, and then realized that there is a formal queue, which is handled beautifully by a very cool, high-tech system.  There's a kiosk right by the door where you get a number in line for the right catagory.  There was an English option, and in perusing the choices, I chose "general services."  I was #225 and if you can see in the photo, that was at #136.  I found a seat and people-watched.  It's amazing seeing the collision of cultures and technology, like Bedouin women with cell phones.  The queue was moving along slowly, had gotten to about 190, and then the computer crashed.  It went "old school."  Now it suddenly looked and sounded like the floor in the New York Stock Exchange.  Everyone had a number, but no one knew who was up.  Luckily, the computer rebooted, and we were back in order soon.  My number came up (after 1+ hour total), I went to the window, and she told me I was in the wrong line!  Of course I was.  So I went back to the kiosk, and tried again.  I still didn't find a category that fit, but a nice woman found it for me (in Hebrew).  Now, to another line, which moved very quickly (about 10 min).  The woman didn't collect my queue number and I saved the paper so that maybe I can sift through the queue choices better when packages #4 and #5 show up.  The packages appeared, I signed for them, hefted them up and headed out to the bus stop in from of the post office.  I originally thought about getting them one at a time for the sake of propriety and ease, but I now had them both.  A manageable weight, not too much volume, but I'm sure I looked a sight with the grey hair and these boxes.  The book box is a little worse for wear, but nothing fell out.

I got a bus pass at the obscure building in the bus station, but it has no shekels on it yet.  All the cash transactions happen on the bus, so that is how I will load (and reload) the card, but I was too chicken to do it because it was too crowded.  Next time.

And someone of you are asking for more photos.  Here are two photos taken looking west from my apartment building entrance.  There are cranes and construction everywhere in Beer Sheva.  It's great (Isaiah 11:12).

The two buildings in the background are Soroka Medical Center.  Ben Gurion University's medical school is part of that.  And it looks like the left is soon to be in construction, too.  Don't worry, my apartment has no view to lose - it looks south at the next building.

An all-university day

This morning I got to meet Dr. Amir Karmiel (biomechanics) who had helped me immensely on my Fulbright application.  He advised me on next steps, and restated that the Dean and President were both very interested in developing their women faculty.  And I learned why the Structural Engineering faculty are not easily located - they're in temporary quarters near City Hall.  That's in the opposite direction from my apartment, but about the same distance.  That's the host faculty for me (ironic, huh?).

And in the late afternoon, I expected to participate in an NSF graduate fellowship application review which was totally online this year, but it's rescheduled to early Feb.  I guess they got some snow in Washington....

Plasticware!

Today's job was locating some plasticware.  You know, garbage cans and food storage, etc.  I started on the south side of the shuk.  There's actually a little food there - a couple falafel stands, some nuts, cookies and candy.  Oh, and there would be some spice vendors.  I so enjoyed the Spice Market in Istambul.  My Hebrew needs to get better before I buy spices (unless there's a cooking emergency!).  That side of the shuk has lots of clothes and shoes.  I didn't see much in the way of housewares, except for some sheets and towels.

So I walked back up to the bus station where I had seen a housewares-kinda shop.  It was a lot like the Dollar General.  Which was fine.  I got a vegetable peeler, a lemon juicer, some bins for my cabinets, and a little set of plastic containers for food.  I also got a Turkish coffee (קפה טורקי) pot for NIS10, although I may trade up in quality later.  It'll do for a start.  I'll have to double-check my coffee recipe with Ceki.  All their ceramic stuff had old-fashioned roses on it.  I'll look around at the canyon (קניון) - the shopping mall - first.  But a great place to buy incredibly adequate stuff.

 And I saw a sign on the wall of the קניון for a SuperPharm (סופרפארם), so I went in. That was the perfect place to get toothpaste, etc.  They even have Clinique and Estee Lauder, so it's more uptown than Walgreens.

Sunday - internet was installed

As you now know, the internet was set up on Sunday.  After a bit of confusion with my password, my US phone lit up and the laptop was communicating with the world.  The man from Bezeq (בזק) actually showed up during the time they said he would (I was dreading the whole waiting for the cable guy situation).

Friday - more explorations

Friday morning I found my way to the Supersal (סופרסל) (like Price Chopper), where I could, and did, buy some supplies.  Thank goodness for pictures on items, or at least simple labeling, like "חלב (milk)."  And I can use my debit card there, so I don't have to use up my precious shekels.  Just as you'd think, the shuk is strictly a cash transaction.

I did a test walk over to the university train (רכבת) station, which looks really close on the map.  It's not.  It took every bit of 25 minutes, which would be a drag with luggage.  So, I think since the train stops downtown right next to the city buses, that's what I will do when I take the train.

Thursday - to the shuk!

So now that I knew where the shuk was, it was time to go!  I took the #12 bus right to the shuk, and proceeded to look around.  It's big.  And wonderful.  And I thought Thursday would be a little more sane than Friday morning (when everyone's shopping for Shabbat).  The cauliflower is almost as big as a basketball, so I found a nice one and purchased it.  Of course, need some lemons and olive oil to go with it, so they were procured.  As well as some pistachios and hulled walnuts for snacking upon.  Then there were the eggs.  Now, I had asked my Hebrew teacher, Orit, about buying eggs, and she assured me that you get them in cartons, but there they were, not in cartons like I'm familiar.  I lurked about and watched someone else buy eggs.  Aha.  So they have eggs in 30 egg trays.  You decide which one you want, then they take a second tray, lay it on top, and tie it.  Oh.

Now that I had a bag of eggs, it was time to go home with it safely.  But I wasn't done shopping.  I emptied my shopping bags and went back.  Now one of the challenges for me is to make sure I can carry everything to the bus, and to my apartment.  So, I went back and got tomatoes, onions and garlic (to go with the eggs), olives, and strawberries (which are beautiful).  I located the cheese guy, who might be the only one there, and bought 0.5 kg of Israeli cheese.  Figuring this was a dairy place, I then proceeded to ask for butter - badly.  That poor man.  We did finally transact butter, but I probably won't need to buy anymore on this visit.  Had the consonants right, but not the vowels.  Don't know if I had my phrase book with me, which would have helped.  Israeli cheese is very white, like snow.  Sort of a salty, firmer version of mozzarella.  Good.

What would be the end to that perfect day?  Falafel.  I walked over to my neighborhood falafel place, limped through my order.  But you also get french fries, pickles, and salad.  I took it all home to eat, and had leftovers to go with my eggs in the morning.  It was good.

Wednesday - exciting day for Deb in Beersheva

Shlomo took me downtown with him so I could get a feel for the city while he did some errands.  We took the #12 bus, which goes through the Old City and also stops at the Beit Eschel shuk.  His son owns "Cafe Cafe" which is on the outside of the out-of-town bus station (where I arrived), so we sat down for a few minutes.  Deborah, his wife, works there, too, so I got to meet her.

Shlomo helped me negotiate internet service with Bezeq, which will be installed on Sunday.  Yeah!!

I met with Prof. Nurit Ashkenasy (materials engineering) at the university for lunch.  We went to an on-campus hummus place, that was just fine with me.  We talked about how I can help her efforts with the women engineering graduate students.  Then, we walked over to a coffee stand and talked some more.  Two other women faculty happened to walk through, and I got to meet Prof. Rachel Yerusalmi-Rozen (chemical engineering) and Prof. Alva Peled (structural engineering).  Very fortuitous.  Prof. Rachel invited to me to a seminar a little later that afternoon, and I thought, "Why not?"  Prof. Nurit allowed me (!) to check my email on her computer, for which I was quite grateful.  The seminar was part of a series on complex systems (not complex numbers like i, but complex in the common use of the word), titled, "Confidence and influence in ant colonies."  It was rather like "A Beautiful Mind."  While it was in English, I decided not to stay for the discussion period.  A little too odd a topic for me.

That evening was Tu b'Shvat, so I did a very modest observance by eating an apricot, some dried apple and some coconut.  I didn't have any grape juice to demonstrate the seasons, but I did observe the day a little.

Tuesday's move to Beer Sheva

Beni took me to the central bus station in Jerusalem to catch the bus to Beer Sheva around lunch time.  We decided that one bus would be simpler than two trains with all my gear.  The trip is ~1.5 hours.  The intercity buses are big and have the luggage compartments underneath.

The sign says (#470 to Beer-Sheva.  Have a good trip."  I called Shlomo from the bus station and he asked me to take a cab.  The bus station is very busy and there's really no where to park (like in Jerusalem - Beni had to just drop me off and point me in the right direction).  The cab was only NIS25 (about $7), and Shlomo was waiting at the curb for me.

My apartment is tiny. And the photos that he had sent me were perfectly representative, but I had to see it to understand.  He took me to a little neighborhood grocer that evening, where I bought hummus, bread and juice.  He said the big supermarket is much cheaper, so just get essentials.  He pointed out a nearby felafel place and a pizza place.

I unpacked everything, including the kitchen box that arrived ahead of me.  The apartment has lots of cabinet work, so that was not a problem.  I need to get some bins for organizing small things. 

The kosher kitchen is all set up (easy when you start from scratch).  I don't have much, but I've got the basics of dairy and meat dishes and implements.  I brought blue and red tape with me to idiot-proof the kitchen.  Now I need to buy some more things like real forks and spoons (I brought a box of plastic picnicware), but first things first.

Radio silence has ended

I just got my internet service at the apartment set up (Sunday morning), so I'll be about updating the blog presently.

Arrival in Israel

Most everything went according to plan, except the smartphone.  Flights were fine, and I was delivered to my friends' apartment near Jerusalem, too.  Had to carry my 45 lb suitcases down 51 stairs, but grateful that I can.  Of course, they go up 51 stairs tomorrow when I transition to Beer Sheva.  Beni's espresso machine almost got the best of me, but I prevailed.

Since he had a medical appointment at Hadassah Hospital, I went along and saw.....the Chagall windows!!  Yeah!

Here's a photo off their balcony in Gival Ze'ev:

NSF proposal review

I'm on a National Science Foundation proposal review panel for graduate fellowships, and this year they've gone to an all-virtual panel.  I just did the technology check on my laptop from home (in Missouri).  Hopefully, all will go well for the panel meetings in two weeks.  At least the time will be good for me -- the panel meets in the morning, which means it will be in the evening (not the middle of the night) for me.  Ain't technology great?

Getting ready

Well, the weird thing is deferred disposal.  What I mean is, it's like getting ready for Passover - throwing out hametz.  So I've cleaned out the deep reaches of my refrigerator, and tossed worn-out clothing, recycled what I could and ate what will perish.  I'm looking at my house/belongings with different eyes for now.

Saying farewell

I received a warm sendoff from my congregation today.  It's good to have their prayers.

Packages on their way

I sent the rest of my junk to Israel today, and to my surprise, sent my books and leadership materials by the elusive USPS M-bag.  Elusive?  Well, it's on the USPS website and was recommended by the UMKC Study Abroad coordinator, but I had no luck finding anyone at several post offices who believed that such a process was possible.  But my postmaster in Creighton called the postmaster in Garden City who told her to send me over.  Voila!  BTW, M-bags are ~50% of international parcel post.  We'll see how long delivery takes.