Soldiers, Soldiers Everywhere

In Israel, since the Jewish Sabbath is sundown on Friday until sundown on Saturday, the weekend days are Friday and Saturday (although schools are 6 days a week with classes ending early on Friday and off on Saturday). Soldiers get both Friday and Saturday off usually to go home so Thursday afternoon public transportation is packed with soldiers. All public transportation is free for soldiers. Today, we took the train back from Haifa. There was only standing room because there were so many soldiers. One of the soldiers sitting in a group of about 10 soldiers got up to offer his seat to my mom or dad. Neither of them took it so my brother took it. They got upset, saying it was for someone old but they were just joking with them. We ended up talking with these soldiers. They were very nice although not exactly PC in their joking around. Eric and the soldier next to him kept asking each other questions. He was showing off his phone; in Israel, they download music which they play off their phone and they also get games and youtube videos all for free. The soldiers were all joking with Eric about whose gun was the biggest. I mean, we were sitting on a train with all these guys showing off their huge guns! It all seemed like so much fun- riding the train home with all your friends from the army.

Seeing all the soldiers on their way home was one of my favorite things that I have seen in Israel on this trip. Everywhere you looked today there were soldiers. The mall was filled with people in uniforms, guns strapped across their back. It's just so different from anything you would ever see in the US. You rarely see anyone in uniform in the US and to have it be no big deal that everyone was walking around with guns is just so different. I mean, these aren't little pistols tucked into their pants (and even that would be weird in the US). I wish I could have taken a picture of just how many soldiers were everywhere. It was seriously as if every other person we saw today between 2 PM and 5 PM was a soldier! It is something that just seems so unique to Israel.