"She's a good woman"

Women of Israel...

If you know them personally and have even the slightest relationship with them, they are truly awesome, the nation of Jewish mums. They will make sure you're fine all the time, worry for you ten times more than you if you have the slightest problem, they would send you to the doctor and force you to stay in bed if you coughed just once.

But.

If you encounter them at work when they have to provide a service for you, forget it, you instantly become the most annoying creature on the planet.

It starts at the airport ID check when you arrive in Tel Aviv. If you are a woman (yes because I've never experienced any of these things as a man, I can't speak from that point of view, sorry) and you have an option, try to choose a man, they'll be nicer to you. The last time a guy sent me to the "waiting room" he apologised. But the women, they hate you, you're here to have some fun aren't you? Well I hate you, I'm not going to smile to you, be nice to you, I'll just send you to that room.

Then at the supermarket. I always smile and say hi with enthusiasm, no matter who, that's just me. The female cashiers have weird powers that make me feel bad as soon as I say hi and smile to them. You can barely hear their answer, that is if they even bother saying hello. They act as if you're a disgusting thing they must get rid of asap and if possible avoid looking at you any chance they have.

Then at the post office.

My mum sent me an awesome parcel the other day, it took me a few days and a lot of walking/travelling to different services to find it. Every time I had to deal with a woman, same thing, they probably felt I was sent as a test to them, the most annoying girl on earth, trying to find her mummy's parcel. Urgh. The initial answer is always no because if you are, as Cheryl would say, a giver-uperer, you will go away and never bother them again. If you are a determined person, which I can be, you insist. But be prepared to feel very unwanted, like a chewing gum stuck on someone's sole or something.

After running around Jerusalem, spending hours on public transport, walking like mad I finally found it though.

If they have the slightest power over you, if you depend on them, they hate you for it, you'd be better dead for them. Of course there are some exceptions to the rule. Very rarely. But there are some.

Always choose the men. Again, talking as a lone woman here, I don't know what applies for groups or men.

At the airport, they are less likely to send you to the "waiting room" and if they do, they apologise!

At the supermarket, the cashiers are most likely to be women but if you need info in the shop, ask a man.

At the post office, same. The kindest and most helpful people to me during my parcel adventure were the male security guards.

If you smile at them and are nice, they'll help or try to anyway.

When I finally got to my parcel's final destination I was happy to find only men, I was in a parcel warehouse thing, a guy brought me to an office at the back of the building. The guy behind the desk brought me my parcel. "Who sent you this?" "my mum" "Well, she's a good woman."

She is.

I realise this might be a slightly sexist post but all the things I just said are my own experience, I've been in Israel a few times now and have spent quite some time here, this has always been the case for me.