experiences, impressions and what else got my attention

Moin moin!

today its time to reflect things i recognized during my last 7 weeks...

Israelis... are quite relaxed at work... but when they come out in the streets they are always in hurry... bus drivers not waiting until you have a seat... and at bus and train stops you must press yourself out... the locals dont think about let the others first getting out and then entering... nooo

traffic lights for human beings have an interesting function... like in Paris they illuminating something... most of Israelis not taking care if red or green... and crosswalks at streets... just go the israelis slowing down or even stopping... more than at traffic lights :-)

food... i asked my supervisor - originally from england he does not know typical Israeli food... its a mix from everywhere... i think the arabic humus and falafel comes at closest

trash, waste and environmental issues... my co worker, native US guy, said its even worse than in the USA... well at least the reach the same level... always taking one way cups (2 because otherwise it would be too hot) and plates and... and plastic bags in supermarket are used for everything... even salami packs :-/

money matters... your 3rd question can be about incoming - its normal. the minimum salary is like in Germany, academics too... just the average is much lower...
the great thing of israel is that you can pay every really small amount everywhere by credit card. every coffee machine on platforms accept credit cards for an amount of <0.5EUR :-)
i dont have the problem with coins...

security... baby face soldiers with machine guns everywhere. you must know even at the wekend for family visits they have to take there gun home (or at the western wall in jerusalem for starting shabat or going out in the night to disco or...). in general army service for men is 3 years and for women 2 years. mostly after high school. in this tiem they are earning 350 schekel (ca. 60EUR) per month... but free transport in the whole country.
every supermarket, every dorm, every trainstation has at least one armed guard checking your bags and pockets and sometimes also your ID card. even every buidling of work places have guards. like in the USA everyone has the right to carry a gun. so its a really normal querstion when at a mall or train station the guard asks if i have a weapon. "no sir"
if you drive in the golan hights or in the negev desert close to the eastern borders you see the anti aircraft missiles and other defence equipment around... aiming to - you know where

education & travelling... high school ends after 12th class... and 56% of an age group getting the university allowance... wow. after army service many yound people saving money for a trip to latin or south americe for several month... europe is to expensive and the people i talked havent really considered asia instead. from adults i think every second one was at least once in germany.

family - parents are mostly proud when their kids are soldiers. they defending the country. and the avreage family has 3 kids...

language... ok for me its like last year thailand. pressing in brain how 'exit', 'toilet' and so on looks like. but israel is the first country where i am not asking the people if they cans peak english... i just approach them in english and ca. 98% can speak english!!!

public transport... tel aviv new bus terminal is supposed to be the biggest in the world. the domestic bus company egged is definetely the second biggest in the world (after london buses). all egged buses have a line number which is unique in the whole country... besides that in tel aviv Dan buses running on lines too (most of them) and you have sheiruts, kind of service taxi in form a mini bus.
the train schedule for the whole country fits on two A0 pages (!!!) like the departure schedule for hanover or dusseldorf central station. one is for direction north, the other one for south driving trains.
during shabbat almost all buses and for sure all trains are stopped... and at yom kippur also taxis and sheiruts...
(besides that its more than recommended not to drive as 'alien' - for jewish its forbidden like washing, eating, tv, sex, ... 26h)

waether... hmm... during my first 6 weeks i never used a blanket to cover myself while sleeping... in august an early morning temperature of <25 degrees was rare... like clouds at the sky. for desert see my report of the trip.

i think i will add more impressions soon