Idiosyncrasies of a Jerusalem Market
Typically, when I hear the word “market”, I think of the few generic, fluorescent-lit grocery stores that fill my Michigan hometown. Never did I think a market could be a place that smells of something other than boxed pasta and sounds of something other than muzak, but as I gently shoved my way through the Machne Yehuda Market in Jerusalem I was surprised to find that I smelled not only fresh falafel and pomegranate juice, but also heard the sounds of raucous, albeit happy voices. I kept wondering why customers kept raising their tone to the shopkeepers, who kept a cool façade under what appeared to be a rapid fire argument. However after watching a few customers walk away from the now-smiling owners, I realized that they were just haggling. Haggling, I learned, is rather difficult and should only be attempted if you have a steel will and cannot be cajoled into buying two times the amount of food you originally planned on purchasing.
This past weekend with TAVtech was beautiful; from the rooftop views of the Old City to the shimmering water of the dead sea, the past few days have been full of natural beauty as well as historical significance. It is hard to believe that we will begin official classes on Christmas Day, only 48 hours after seeing the Holy Sepulchre, but nonetheless exciting.
Looking forward to this next week,
Sarah Berman
TAVTech Fellow
