Stereotypes and Fallacies

In Israel the stereotypical person is rude, loud and obnoxious.  True, as a surface glance, but deeper down you realize the root of this outlook is that people are just very open and willing to share their opinion with the world.  In fact, in Israel the general attitude is to be heard.  The life conditions here are just so much more intense, and everyone knows just how short and spurious life can be, so the majority know they must live on the edge, live with more ferocity, more courage.  They also are much more unified in this lively attitude with which they pursue life.  It may also appear as greed - there will to extract the best of everything and claim it for themselves.  In truth it is the most honest pursuit of happiness there ever was.  Their vivacity also presents itself in their extraordinary will to lay their opinions on others.  I have found myself many times seeking the help of others, and a few times I didn't even dare ask for it, and I feel I've discovered the contrast between an American's help and an Israeli's.  An American will gladly say "Hello", "How do you do?" and "Nice day, eh?" but when it comes to help they don't want to be held accountable for wrong advice, and will try to escape with "Well I think...," "I'm not quite sure, but...", etc.  Israeli's will go out of their way to help out and prove their knowledge to any passerby.

I got on one of the last busses to Tel Aviv on Friday afternoon (they stop running at around 4:00 pm because of the holy Sabbath day) and had printed out the time schedule and busses running to where I wanted to go.  I was supposed to get off at a random highway junction, but as I asked the bus driver to tell me when we reached that point, she hesitated and asked if I was sure that's where I wanted to be dropped off.  She said those busses might not stop there and then I would be stuck, whereas if I continued to the central bus station there would surely be busses to where I wanted to go, and in the worst case, in which there wouldn't be anymore busses, I could take a monit sherut (a type of public taxi that runs bus routes during the holy sabbath and on other occasions where busses may be less convenient).  The rest of the passengers around me soon joined in to explain which busses go where in Tel Aviv, and how late they usually run on Friday afternoon, and which monit sherut I could take.  They were all so willing to tell me how to make this journey, and I was flattered at their eagerness to help, but still pretty content on the route I had chosen to take. 
      Soon, I realized I had to change my plans anyway and head in a direction I had not planned, and therefore would get off at the central bus station anyway.  The driver announced the junction stop as I'd  requested, and when I told her I wasn't getting off there because my plans had changed she said, "For the better I hope." :) 
      At the central bus station, 10 minutes before 4:00, maximum tension at missing the last bus, and without a clue which bus this was, one of the passengers walked me to the information booth, found out where the bus and the station where and walked me all the way there, all the while counting the minutes to his own final bus, whose station was on the opposite side of the building.  He didn't ask for my name or number, there was no intention of a lasting friendship, just a completely random act of kindness.  It was very heart-warming, it gmh.  :)

Being Meaningful.

Lately I have felt that my work here is so meaningless, that I really don't do anything...  I mean of course, I do, but it really is hard to perform under self-management and no difference between nothing and success but your own judgement.  Of course I can perform, and feel ashamed almost that I am complaining that these are the perameters but... it is difficult to find motivation.