The last post was a bit of a downer, with Bev explaining many of the difficulties we have encountered so far. Today might have put us over the edge. And yes, the trouble revolves around having a car. Again. This time, as we were on the way to the science museum we got hit by another car—not serious, no one was hurt and the car damage was relatively minimal (the driver’s side mirror was hit and the plastic on the back came off).
While both we and the offending driver pulled over (as best we could, we were kind of in an intersection and let’s face it, there is nowhere to pull over 90% of the time on any street in Israel)—he then proceeded to drive away. We did get a photo of his license plate.
So now, I will make my way to the police station Sunday morning (by bus with Aviva in tow) to file a report and try to get information about the person driving the car so I can give that to the rental car company. And I expect the fun will only continue from there.
Not how I wanted to start Shabbat. But really, if it is not one thing, it is another. Living in Israel temporarily is nothing like being a tourist in Israel, or being a student in Israel. And for sure it is nothing like being an Israeli—not having a citizenship number puts you at a great disadvantage when trying to do many day-to-day things. And while there have been kind individuals (strangers even) who have helped or tried to help (like the receptionist at the bank yesterday), it just feels like we are quite alone in a sea of red tape and reckless drivers.
We had an okay time at the Madatech (national museum of science, technology, and space) and interestingly, this facility is where the Technion was originally located before it moved to the east of the city center in 1985.
It is hard to not think about going home. Even putting that in writing is hard. But we are all feeling it. I do have hope that once the school year starts in September, it will be better. But that is a month away.
Keeping It Israel 