Is there biking in Jerusalem?: Goings On

A bit of a mid-week grab bag...

Spring weather

It is indeed a rollercoaster into spring in Jerusalem. Yesterday we had our first Saharan low. Huh? Apparently, this is when a low pressure system from around Morocco and Tunisia arrives over Israel full of dust and pushing the cooler high pressure system out of the way. It was 25C, hazy and windy. Then suddenly, the temperature bottoms out. Today it was 15C, windy, with some "drops" of rain. These are typical spring events. We can expect a couple more and the heat to be higher. The most important thing is to not leave your laundry on the line when the rain comes. The rain is welcome since it clears the dust out of the air, but it will wreak havoc on your laundry...well, I, at least, consider a soiled load of washing havoc and a royal pain.

Still no coalition

At the weekend, Peres granted Bibi two more weeks to put together his coalition. So far Bibi has only managed to ensure Tzipi Livni and her Hatnua party will join the coalition. Yesh Atir (Lapid) and HaBayit HaYehudi (Bennett) are playing hard to get. It's next to unfathomable that Bibi will fail to put a coalition together, but the screws are tightening. Stay tuned! Meanwhile Barack cannot confirm his travel dates because he isn't coming until the coalition is in place.

West Bank unrest

While I was playing at Purim, there were protests in the West Bank. I won't go into the details, but it's about prisoners and prisoner's rights. Some headlines were wondering if we are seeing the simmering start of the Third Intifada. No one knows, everyone hopes not.

RavKav 2

You may recall that in October I wrote a long entry about the saga of getting a RavKav card for the bus. I bought a one semester RavKav not knowing where I'd be in the second semester. The 1st semester card expired on Thursday. Earlier in February I mentioned to friends, a couple of times, that I ought to go get my new RavKav before the new semester started (Feb 26). But did I? Of course not! That's the thing about human nature...or at least some humans' nature, such as mine. I seem to be of the type who like to put off the less fun things in life. And, admittedly, I had foolishly expected the renewal of the RavKav to be straightforward. Hahahahaha. I have now learned my lesson about Israeli bureaucracy: It never gets any easier and you can never eliminate any steps.

I went to the Central Bus Depot (no renewals on campus in February) on Thursday and waited an hour and a half for my number (you know those red numbered ticket dispensers -- they have them here and occasionally use them) to be called only to find out that students didn't need to get a number, they just needed to ~~queue~~ stand in a mob and wait to enter the office to get their RavKav renewed. Once in the ~~queue~~ mob, I pretty effectively made my way to the front (being taller than the average male is an advantage only in this context!). I made it to the office only to find out I needed my passport. Whywhywhywhywhy? (Refresher: This is contemporary Hebrew for "I am overwhelmed in a negative way".)

Despite the fact that to pay for a new Rav Kav online you have to enter your ID (Passport number) and a password (your personalized password -- no one else would have this) to access your account, and that you presented your passport and proof of status at the university in October -- which was scanned into your file -- you still need to show your passport at the RavKav office to recharge your card. I may not be the only person who was perplexed by this. On my second attempt to get my RavKav there was a new sign outside the office:

I didn't try the photocopy, but this made me laugh. The tourist bit means -- if you are not an Israeli, the only document you can show us is your passport - the real thing - we don't care if we've seen it before and scanned it, and no your non Israeli driver's licence is not sufficient proof of identity!

My nearly 6 months in Israel has taught me that you need to approach the bureaucracy with two skills - patience and perseverance. You must be exceptionally patient -- waiting over an hour is to be expected, and you must also persevere. The first answer will always be "Lo!" (NO!) so it's essential to reframe and restate and ask again, a few times. I made about 7 attempts on Thursday with 3 different people -- none of them worked. I did get yelled at in Hebrew though -- a sure sign that I had reached the limit: Egged bus company: 1; Me: a big zero.

I returned to the Central Bus Station on Sunday morning. With passport in hand I walked straight into the office where I learned the happy information that, indeed, people -- even students -- were to queue by number. Okay? I'm fine with queuing by number, but how are you supposed to know when the rules shift? A total mystery. Thankfully, 15 minutes later I had a new RavKav -- for some reason I couldn't just recharge my old one. Then it was off to the cashier to charge the card...another mystery. The highest technology implemented through a labyrinthine bureaucracy. I suppose the upside is more jobs.

Pretty Flowers on Bible Hill

Bible Hill is small hilltop of a city park between the Old Train Station and the Hebron Road just east of the German Colony. The western stairs to Bible Hill are just behind my bus stop. Last week, I was a bit ahead of schedule and since my bus (direct to Mt Scopus) only comes every half hour, I decided to spend my extra time climbing up Bible Hill to see the flowers. They were spectacular.