Shabbat in Arad

Well, it's Friday once again, and this week I'm staying put at the Mirkaz Klitah, like it or not. Most people are sticking around, partially due to a very strong security advisory on travel. Due to recent events in Gaza, security has tightened a bit...or at the very least, certain influential people around here are a bit worried about the possibility of terrorist attacks. So, having nothing better to do, to tell the complete truth, I decided to stay here.

Yesterday my ulpan class took an impromtu trip to the desert. It's kind of weird to consider the fact that I only have to walk for five minutes to be in the middle of the Judean desert. The desert is beautiful, but it's just so empty.

I now have internet in my room, but the situation is far from ideal. Israel's cable monopoly lead us to believe that we would be able to connect two computers to the internet simultaneously with just the modem they provided. Of course, they were wrong. If they didn't intentionally lie to us, then it still says little positive about their customer relations.

I'm finding that Israel is very backwards in many aspects of capitalist and consumer culture. They have consumers, but no consumer values to assure the quality of products and services. Businesses here feel no impulse to help people get the best products possible. I find shopping in Arad extremely frustrating because of it. No, I don't care that there are no baggers at the end of the supermarket checkout line, but I definitely care that the clerk has no interest in checking me out quickly, efficiently and politely. Screw the problems with national security! A lack of good business, in my opinion, is a fundemental dilemma in Israeli society.

Also, I thought the desert was supposed to be so great for asthma and allergies, right? Well, that's not true if EVERYONE SMOKES. I've had more asthma attacks in Arad in the past three weeks than I had in Milwaukee during the past year. This is such a beautiful country. Why do people need to ruin the air with the smoke and the scenery with their disgusting cigarette butts?

Tonight everyone who stayed in Arad is getting together for a pot-luck dinner. I think it will be a lot of fun. I'm bringing some pasta with tomato sauce (my specialty---I can boil water with the best of them). Who knows what we'll do afterward? Maybe watch a movie or just hang out. I love the fact that the bars are closed on Shabbat, because I generally can't go into the bars (once again, the smoke). So tonight, everyone will be here with me.

That's it for this Friday evening. More another time.