Route: From Ein Gedi to Jerusalem
Distance: 75.5 km / 47 miles
Time Waited: 20 minutes
The Story: It was about an hour before sunset, and I was sick and tired of being assaulted by waves of flying pebbles at the beach. Ouch. After listening through endless hours of Forum and TTBOOK, I'd had enough and decided to head out. I took up the normal hitchhiking position and found a Frenchie hanging out at the bus stop. He said (it wasn't clear if he was asking or informing) that a bus should be coming any minute. Needless to say, it was Saturday, and thus I wasn't holding my breath. (I did check, and a bus from Eilat would have arrived 1 hours later, around 7:30pm.)
Finally, someone stopped - he was heading to Jerusalem. I asked where to (safety precaution), and he replied Givat Mordechai, my neighborhood. Bingo. The driver was probably in his 40s and was alone, except a small suitcase in the back. The Frenchie hopped in the back seat, and we were off.
The driver was quite taciturn and didn't want to talk about anything, except make well-deserved derisive comments regarding the Frenchie under his breath. Needless to say, The Frenchie's English wasn't that great, and he leaned forward the entire ride (apparently car safety has gone the same way as personal hygiene), talking loudly. Again, it was unclear whether he was asking or commenting. Topics included flights to France on Saturday night and whether the driver was married (he was divorced - perhaps related to the solo vacation to Eilat). He then prophesied that the couple would be reunited. The driver's question whether he'd been drinking wasn't understood. He lent forward and taped my shoulder the entire time, in failed attempt after failed attempt to communicate.
Distance: 75.5 km / 47 miles
Time Waited: 20 minutes
The Story: It was about an hour before sunset, and I was sick and tired of being assaulted by waves of flying pebbles at the beach. Ouch. After listening through endless hours of Forum and TTBOOK, I'd had enough and decided to head out. I took up the normal hitchhiking position and found a Frenchie hanging out at the bus stop. He said (it wasn't clear if he was asking or informing) that a bus should be coming any minute. Needless to say, it was Saturday, and thus I wasn't holding my breath. (I did check, and a bus from Eilat would have arrived 1 hours later, around 7:30pm.)
Finally, someone stopped - he was heading to Jerusalem. I asked where to (safety precaution), and he replied Givat Mordechai, my neighborhood. Bingo. The driver was probably in his 40s and was alone, except a small suitcase in the back. The Frenchie hopped in the back seat, and we were off.
The driver was quite taciturn and didn't want to talk about anything, except make well-deserved derisive comments regarding the Frenchie under his breath. Needless to say, The Frenchie's English wasn't that great, and he leaned forward the entire ride (apparently car safety has gone the same way as personal hygiene), talking loudly. Again, it was unclear whether he was asking or commenting. Topics included flights to France on Saturday night and whether the driver was married (he was divorced - perhaps related to the solo vacation to Eilat). He then prophesied that the couple would be reunited. The driver's question whether he'd been drinking wasn't understood. He lent forward and taped my shoulder the entire time, in failed attempt after failed attempt to communicate.
Finally, my personal space became more important than the ride. I got out by the Hebrew University, got a (gross) sandwhich at Aroma, and hopped on the #19 bus home.
1 comment:
I LOVE TTBOOK and Forum! How exciting that we are united in our podcasts though we are miles apart
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