Another day in Jerusalem. This one consisted of getting up, going to work, and coming back to the hotel again, so there’s not much to tell.
The most disconcerting thing about Israel to me is all the Hebrew writing everywhere. Sometimes things are helpfully translated into English, but mostly not. I’m the kind of person who reads all the signs, and when most of the signs are in a script I can’t fathom it makes me feel kind of illiterate, which is unnerving. People are helpful and understanding, though.
One of my colleagues asked how I felt about coming to Israel what with current events. I told him I wasn’t bothered. He commented that everyone is being encouraged to act normal, even though there is a war on. He said that he has been coping by ignoring the news lately. I suppose people react to things in different ways. I suppose I would react differently if rockets were landing on, say, Southampton. But as far as I can tell, life goes on as normal in Jerusalem.
The same colleague was not at all horrified at the thought of me wandering around sightseeing at the weekend, though, which is encouraging. He gave me directions and said I should walk — it is a long walk but there are plenty of things to see on the way. He said there would be lots of other tourists — well, maybe not so many now. The plane over here was nearly empty, I had an entire row to myself, so it will be interesting to see how many tourists there are.
More Jerusalem Travel: previous day; next day; exploring the city.