Mall-ning edition

 Yes, I woke up at 4AM local time but I decided that I could force myself to sleep a little more so I bit the bullet and closed my eyes. It worked. I slept. Next thing I know, it is 7 in the morning and it is pouring outside. An auspicious beginning. I turned the dood on (you have to give the hot water some lead time, especially when there was a blown breaker over Shabbat, so you have to find your way into the hall, to the breaker box and reset the one labeled "Dood"). Then time to daven and review the world while it slept. That done, I took a shower and got myself all ready for a day's adventure. I reviewed the map, spoke monosyllabically to my niece who was hard at work, and girded myself for the walk.

And then I, on my own and without a net, headed to the mall. Crazy, I know. I made it here in record time. Well, any time would have been a personal record because I have never been here before, but let's celebrate victories and stop being so difficult, shall we? I walked in past the elderly gentleman who was the security guard. I had trouble removing my bag for his inspection and he seemed a bit impatient. But I figured it out eventually and gave him my bag and then I walked through the metal detector. It beeped but he gave me my bag and told me to move along. It sounded poetic in Hebrew. Directly by that entrance is a Roladin -- a coffe place with food but I wasn't interested in food. So I got on line and prepared myself to order in hebrew. When it was my turn, I confidently said "black coffee please" in perfectly accented English. I lost my nerve and interest. Either way, I paid my 10 shkalim and gave my name. I settled in at a table with a perfect view of the security guard and waited the minute it took for them to pour my drink. They never called my name. Instead they announced "black coffee" but in Hebrew. This is fine except, who knows if anyone else ordered black coffee! Isn't that the whole point of giving a name? Regardless I wandered up to the counter and confidently looked helpless. The woman releated "black coffee" in hebrew and looked at me. I took the coffee. If anyone else is waiting still for a cup, sorry bub.

It wasn't the biggest cup I have ever had, but it had the grounds still in it like a cup of turkish, just sans sweet so I enjoyed it while I graded papers. There is an amazing consistency here -- every single person who came into the mall set off the metal detector and the guard let every single person in. What an amazing country! I worked my way through the coffee and papers, savoring one and dreading the other, but by 10:25, I was finished with both. This gave me some time to reflect -- here I am actually on vacation. I was done with my work for the day. I have no futher plan other than to go out to dinner in a bunch of hours. I can wander through the mall and do nothing. I can sit and do nothing. I can even walk and do nothing. I choose to do none of the above and just do nothing. Glorious and freeing. The thing is, I'm in Israel doing nothing. Everywhere I look, Israel. It feels nice. It would feel nicer if the temp was a bit higher but when the sun comes out, it feels almost 60 degrees (that's 4 stone and a rock in metric, I think) and pleasant. So I'm just soaking in my aimlessness as a strange man in a strange land, but one in which I feel comfortable feeling out of place. It's nice. Hard to describe, but nice.

I wandered through the mall. Israeli malls have certain similarities with American malls. There is nothing I want to buy in either one. The music is insipid (though in more languages). I walked past the children's clothing stores and the jewelry kiosk. past the toys and the hair removal place (which is right next to the hair restoration place). I watched the small children with their parents, the elderly with their adult children and the middle aged people with both. I heard Hebrew and Russian and the occasionaly English (which was when I said things like "black coffee please"). I passed the food carts -- sure they have a candy cart. Sure, there is a fruitjuice cart. But there is also an open air "dried fruits, nuts and spices" guy and, of course, a "roasted potato bar with 6 ovens and a display of potatoes so you can choose whichever one you want to get cooked. Does YOUR mall have a roasted potato bar? I think not. Score one for Netanya. The thing is, though, the mall is not especially large. One can get through the drug store (think CVS) and the homewares stores in no time flat. I don't need too much time to see that there are no headbands or intimates that I desperately need and I already have a phone, thankyouverymuch. It doesn't take long to confirm that one is not in need of anything in particular.

I spotted the McDonald's which is my lunch target and found that there were a bunch of tables nearby, so I sat there and started typing. A few minutes later and the same family (current student, father was the one I sat next to on the flight) as they headed to visit a seminary for their daughter. We exchanged pleasantries which was unnecessary for I have need of those either, but pro forma and all that. I shall surf the internet on the wifi labeled "McDonalds" until I decide to order something and then I shall reassess my afternoon.