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I was riding the bus today to meet with a Hevruta, and the bus was absolutely packed. The driver actually didn't open the front door at several stops as there was no more room on the bus, but opened the back door to let a person off. As I'm spacing out, listening to my Ipod, I feel a tap on my shoulder. I turn around and someone is handing me a five shekel coin and pointing to the front of the bus. I pass it to the person in front of me and point forward. I watch the coin travel person to person until it gets to the driver. A moment or two later, the person in front of me is handing me a bus ticket and change. I pass it back and watch it end up at a person standing by the rear door. I guess she got on when the back door opened, and this was how she was paying.
It struck me as a very Israeli moment - I couldn't even imagine such a thing in the states.
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2 comments:
That's actually very common on Israeli buses (or at least, it used to be.) I've seen it many times. What's amazing about it to an American is that a)no one pockets the money along the way and b)it never occurs to the passenger that it might be rude to bother the entire bus.
It's refreshing to witness when people don't automatically act selfishly. But, I don't think there's anything particularly "Israeli" about it - I've seen people do that in Boston. Maybe it's a common trait among bus-riding folk in general.
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