OpEds
Learning to trust…
One of my favourite life-coaching life lessons is learning to “trust the process”. For me, it means letting go of one’s fears and “limiting beliefs” and having faith that things are going to work out the way they are supposed to, in the end.
BENITA LEVIN
But trusting other people is a whole different topic, and I have been amazed on so many occasions in the last few months by the way people in Israel often trust strangers, clearly giving them the benefit of the doubt or believing that fellow human beings are simply genuinely good people.
Going the extra mile…
Standing in a tyre shop in the industrial area of Raanana, nine months into our aliyah, is not exactly what I would call my comfort zone. My knowledge of car parts is embarrassingly sparse.
The Israeli tyre shop owner was helpful and efficient, his tough, almost curt verbal tone betraying the fact that he was clearly the type of person who would go the extra mile for his clients.
After attaching a new tyre at the front of my car, he asked me if I would stay and watch over the premises, because he had to leave for a short while. The surprised look on my face prompted him to explain that it was important to check that all four tyres were aligned, and that he wouldn’t be long.
That wasn’t why I was shocked. I couldn’t understand why a man would leave his empty shop, with a total stranger “watching over it”. I smiled to myself when I realised the “trust” I had shown in turn, as I had willingly given him the keys to my car to take to an unknown destination.
So, there I was standing in a tyre shop, wondering what I would say to any customer who may pop in?
As promised, the alignment at a nearby premises hadn’t taken long and I drove out a short while later, highly amused at the unusual way things had all been sorted out.
Do you want more chips? And more…
The issue of “trusting” a client, also came up in conversation, when we were enjoying shawarmas at a casual place in Ramat HaSharon. The “honesty” payment system left me baffled.
You order your shawarma at a counter and can then return to the buffet section for as many chips and salads as you can handle. The drinks are taken out of a fridge on the far end of the eatery. Only when you’re all finished eating, do you go to the counter and tell the cashier how much you owe.
It’s an informal system, and seemingly no-one is keeping tabs on how many drinks are being taken out of the fridge.
“How does this work”, I asked, “it would also be easy for someone to change the number of meals they’d ordered, especially when it’s so packed?
“But why would anyone do that,” came the equally surprised response, from a woman who has lived here for many years. A refreshing question. An excellent point.
Trusting strangers – the way people seem to do here – is going to take a little time.
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New phrase of the week…
“Sim Layv” – pay attention. (Often seen on road signs too)
New word of the week…
Braai (in South Africa) – Barbecue (if you are speaking in English to anyone who isn’t South African) – “Ul Ha-Aish” – (in Hebrew) – literally means “on the fire”.