Trip to the Mall

I thought I'd share some simple pictures of our day today. I've been trying to notice some of the little things that we have become very used to, that are different from home.

We have a couple of indoor malls we go to here. The one that's bigger and nicer takes a full hour by bus, and I HATE the ride. That bus gets very crowded and people just always seem to be ornery. So days like today where we need to pick up a couple simple things, we go to a smaller mall out in a little settlement called Pisgat Ze'ev. First we walk about a half a mile to a bus stop, ride the bus for less than 10 minutes, and we're there.

Here are the kids on the bus. I've always held Jackson on my lap, but lately he wants to sit on the seat and hold onto the seats in front of him like his sister.

This is what the entrance to all the malls look like. You have to go through a metal detector and have your bags searched. If you're entering the parking lot with a car, you also get your trunk searched.

Very typical security guard out front with his gun. All people in the military here also carry a gun, I think whether they are on duty at the time or not. And since everyone is required to be in the military for at least two years, we see a lot of big guns here.

This is just inside the mall. Every Friday there are flower stands every few blocks or so. They are out for people to buy for Shabbat that starts on Friday night. They are beautiful and relatively cheap. I keep meaning to buy a vase so I can pick up cheap flowers on the weekends. We have one of these flower stands just outside the gate to our apartment. I hear if you wait until later in the afternoon, you can get them for next to nothing.

As I'm typing this I'm thinking of a bunch more pictures I should have taken. While I'm out and about, things feel very normal here now. But when I think of those of you reading from back in the states, I suddenly realize the many other things that are different on a typical day for us.

I'll take more next time.