Beer Sheva trip
I made a trip to Beer Sheva today. It was quite interesting after the bombings earlier in the week. There are a lot of heightened nerves in the area. There were a couple of times on the bus ride to town that the bus slowed suddenly, I think because of camels wandering around, and each time everyone on the bus sucked in air, and immediately sat up straight to see what was going on. Before that, everyone seemed mostly relaxed.
As I sat waiting for the bus in Sede Boqer, a very isolated stop, were there are never more than a couple of people waiting, I started thinking about what you'd look for to spot a potential bomber. When I got on the bus, it was relatively full, and it was clear that it would be impossible to tell. Anyone could have explosives in a bag, backpack, purse, or even just under some clothes. I'm glad I don't drive a bus.
I left the main bus station as quickly as I could - too many people around. Even though most of them were carrying military weapons, it was still a bit too crowded. I chose not to take the local bus to the university - we still think that one of the busses hit was on this route. It's about a 25 minute walk, and I passed by the attack site. it was almost impossible to tell that anything had happened. there were two spots with lots of lit candles, some flowers, and various significant items across the street from each other - the location of both explosions. there were a few bits of broken glass that I could imagine were the remnants of the bus windows. Otherwise, nothing. No scorching on the ground, no obviously gory bits. Just business as usual. Except for the memorials. it was eerie.
And it was hot (it was 2pm), so I kept walking to the university. Finally got my Student ID (yes, postdocs here are considered students). Tried to go to the bank, but it's closed from 1-4pm. I'm not sure I'll ever figure out the bank hours here. Or how to do my banking at all for that matter. At least the ATM has been giving me money, so I don't ask too many questions (the answers would probably be in hebrew anyway).
On the way back, I went to the shouk - the local produce market. That was impressive. there were a lot of fruits and veggies for sale. Most were familiar, but some were unknown. Also big bags of spices, etc. Very interesting. I bought too much fruit, but it all looked good. the big fruits seem to be apples, grapes, watermelon, peaches, plumbs, nectarines, mangos, and pomegranates. lots of potatoes and tomatoes too. Didn't see any dates, though I was looking. Berry came in with a pile of really good ones the other day, and reminded me how hooked I can get on dates. yummy.
As I sat waiting for the bus in Sede Boqer, a very isolated stop, were there are never more than a couple of people waiting, I started thinking about what you'd look for to spot a potential bomber. When I got on the bus, it was relatively full, and it was clear that it would be impossible to tell. Anyone could have explosives in a bag, backpack, purse, or even just under some clothes. I'm glad I don't drive a bus.
I left the main bus station as quickly as I could - too many people around. Even though most of them were carrying military weapons, it was still a bit too crowded. I chose not to take the local bus to the university - we still think that one of the busses hit was on this route. It's about a 25 minute walk, and I passed by the attack site. it was almost impossible to tell that anything had happened. there were two spots with lots of lit candles, some flowers, and various significant items across the street from each other - the location of both explosions. there were a few bits of broken glass that I could imagine were the remnants of the bus windows. Otherwise, nothing. No scorching on the ground, no obviously gory bits. Just business as usual. Except for the memorials. it was eerie.
And it was hot (it was 2pm), so I kept walking to the university. Finally got my Student ID (yes, postdocs here are considered students). Tried to go to the bank, but it's closed from 1-4pm. I'm not sure I'll ever figure out the bank hours here. Or how to do my banking at all for that matter. At least the ATM has been giving me money, so I don't ask too many questions (the answers would probably be in hebrew anyway).
On the way back, I went to the shouk - the local produce market. That was impressive. there were a lot of fruits and veggies for sale. Most were familiar, but some were unknown. Also big bags of spices, etc. Very interesting. I bought too much fruit, but it all looked good. the big fruits seem to be apples, grapes, watermelon, peaches, plumbs, nectarines, mangos, and pomegranates. lots of potatoes and tomatoes too. Didn't see any dates, though I was looking. Berry came in with a pile of really good ones the other day, and reminded me how hooked I can get on dates. yummy.
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