Some random observations::
Dates- Like the American adage "An apple a day keeps the doctor away", in Israel it's: "A date a day keeps the doctor away".
Wigs- Various sects of Ultra-Orthodox Jewish women shave their head immediately following marriage. They are then required to either wear a head covering or a wig over their shaved heads. I've never seen so many wigs around the city, though I wouldn't have noticed it if a friend hadn't pointed it out. Old and young alike adorn their heads with beautiful shiny wigs.
Bread- In the Palestinian neighborhood, it is not uncommon to see fresh and moldy bread everywhere- whether hanging in a bag from a fence post or piled in the streets, bread is everywhere. From what I've heard, and I'm not certain that this is the truth, Palestinians think of bread as a holy food, therefore, they never throw it away in the trash, but instead leave it outside to be eaten by the (many) stray cats or just to deteriorate.
Trash- There are dumpsters on nearly every block in the Palestinian neighborhood, and at the end of every day they are overflowing with trash. Bags of garbage are disposed in these dumpsters. In addition, the streets are covered in trash every day. If a person buys an ice cream, a bag of chips, or a soda- when they are finished, they simply drop it on the ground. Every night a garbage cleanup team sweeps the streets and properly disposes of the garbage, but by 6pm there is trash in every crevice of the sidewalk and scattered in the streets. The first time I witnessed this, a young boy dropped his ice cream wrapper on the ground, so I picked it up and threw it in the dumpster for him. Just a few minutes later I saw an old gentleman drop a plastic bag filled with trash on the sidewalk, and that was when I understood that this was commonplace and very much accepted. ((Though, I will not assimilate to this habit))
Doves- Doves live all around Jerusalem. They are brownish-grayish and make a purring / owl-whoo'ing sort of sound. There are a few that live in the trees outside of the house, and every day I wake up to their lovely sound.
Nelson- Melissa, aka. St Francis, rescued a stray kitten and has nurtured it back into health. Kim named it Nelson and now he lives within our gate.
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