13 Facts About Israel I Learned Living There for 6+ Months

My name is Anna, I am a student and I have been living in Israel for 7 months. I discovered another angle of this country when I participated for the first time in a colorful masked ball and when I finally got used to greeting everyone with the question “How are you?” As with any move to another country, at first things seem strange, but over time, we get used to respecting and living in a different culture from the one in which we were raised.

Gathered exclusively for the awesome.club, my impressions of the strangest, funniest and most incredible events in Israel. Some of this data is more impressions than facts, as I have not yet become familiar with the country’s religious culture.

Every citizen of Israel must do military service. Young people are recruited into the army at age 18, remain in the military for 5 years and then travel for a year. After that, an Israeli can choose his profession and define what to do with his future. I’m 24, but by local standards I’m still a girl.

Those who do not serve in the military have difficulty finding work.

Israelis don’t like waste. That’s why on Fridays, the price of all vegetables in the markets drops 2-3 times, especially before closing.

Also every Friday, Tel Aviv residents take the objects they no longer need from their homes. I live in a house with 5 students, where 50% of the furniture and appliances were found on the street. Here this is not considered offensive, on the contrary, it is something absolutely normal.

Israelis love promotions and discounts. When walking down the street, you hear coming from the shops: “Take 5 chocolates for the price of one”. And sellers are very surprised if you don’t take advantage of an offer.

Religious festivals and Jewish traditions occupy most of the life of every citizen of Israel. It has a special charm. Plus, they mean more holidays. I arrived here almost 7 months ago and during that time there were celebrated:

Yom Kippur (Day of Forgiveness). It lasts for several days, during which all roads are closed and even all flights are cancelled! Nowadays, Israelis use the bicycle to get from one place to another.
Rosh Hashanah (Day of Trumpets) is the Jewish New Year. According to the Jewish calendar, we are in the year 5578. I liked the tradition of eating apples with honey, it is considered that this way the year will be sweeter.
Sukkot or Feast of Tabernacles. It is celebrated for several days in small huts, built with thatched roofs or with palm leaves and decorated with toys made of colored paper.
Hanukkah it’s the most magical party. Lasts 8 days. Everyone eats donuts from the windows of the houses and in the streets there are Chanukah candlesticks, to which, every day, a new candle is added.
Purim🇧🇷 3 day fancy dress ball. It is a holiday only for school children, however, in Tel Aviv, people dress up even to go to work. It is a national parade, in which everyone dresses up: children, adults, religious and atheists.
Pesach🇧🇷 The only tradition I was familiar with from childhood. One of the best parties of the year. On store shelves, ordinary bread is replaced by matzah.

In Tel Aviv, the return current to the sea is very strong, that’s why almost all beaches have breakwaters, and swimming is prohibited where there are none. And the lifeguards only work until 4 pm. The changing rooms also close at this time, so everyone will change in the bathrooms, which is very uncomfortable.

Tel Aviv is the city of dogs🇧🇷 There is even a special beach for them. It is located right between the gay beach and the datiim (a beach closed to the religious). In Israel there is a tax for those who have dogs, which depends on their starting price. So it’s better to adopt a stray dog. All animals in the country have chips. Urban cats also have chips and are vaccinated.

At work, I was very surprised that when greet me, they asked me, “How are you?” But it is a question that does not require a specific answer. It is answered with the same question. This form of greeting is strange to foreigners. And the word “have fun” in Hebrew sounds like “axim chaim”, which, literally translated, means “to make life”.

Another important aspect is kosher, produced according to Jewish laws. In general, in Israel it is difficult to find food that is not kosher. And half of the establishments here indicate that they are “kosher”, which doesn’t stop them from cooking deliciously.

It is very easy to get fat in Israel because there is so much delicious food everywhere. In autumn and winter, most days I bought huge mangoes; after New Years, strawberries and recently it was avocado season. However, there are also some disadvantages: fish and meat here are very expensive and many restaurants do not want to prepare dishes with them. In supermarkets, kosher meat is more expensive and there is not always meat that is not kosher. Fish is very expensive and there is little supply. Sushi is considered a delicacy, which a student usually cannot afford.

Winter lasts approximately 2 months a year. At that time, in the houses, everyone puts on 3 layers of clothes, sleeps dressed and with socks under electric blankets, because the houses do not have central heating.

In summer, the water is heated thanks to solar panels. In winter, it is heated by electricity. Here, nobody spends a lot of time in the shower, nor does it take long to wash the dishes, because water is a very expensive resource. But in summer, when the heat is unbearable, you can ask for water at any establishment absolutely free. There are sources of drinking water everywhere and in parks in particular.

Living in Tel Aviv as a vegetarian is a real pleasure. When I went to a cafe for the first time and ordered a fruit smoothie, the waiter surprised me with the question, “With milk, soy milk, or water?” Here there is an absolute norm for any establishment. In each neighborhood there are many “green” stores, which sell special products.

I’m doing an internship at an office in Tel Aviv, but I live in Ramat Gan, two cities about 8km apart. So for me, the only way to get to the beach and town on Shabbat is by bike, something that almost everyone in the country uses.

There is a traffic regulation for each means of transport. The city is equipped with cycle paths, although there are not everywhere. Also popular are scooters and electric cars, which people use directly on the roads.

Shabbat is a wonderful time when you can stop being distracted from everything mundane, spend time with your loved ones, and rest from work. Shabbat starts at sunset on Friday and ends on Saturday around 6 pm. During this period, all transport is interrupted, with the exception of Arab minibuses.

Yarkon Park, which is a big green dot that connects Ramat Gan, Tel Aviv and the seafront, is full of men running, who want to get in shape to win the hearts of women. As in Israel there are more men than women, Israeli women allow themselves a little more freedom than I’ve seen in other countries.

They don’t wear makeup, nobody dresses flashy, you rarely see a woman wearing high heels. This also affects language features: for each profession there is a female name version, and there is more than one female variant.

Before I used to hear that Israelis are good family men. I live next to a school where every day parents bring their children by bicycle. It is common to see in Tel Aviv a father walking with a stroller and a dog. On Saturdays, everyone goes to the park to have a picnic, enjoying family and nature. Here the parents never punish the children. If someone sees that a child has been slapped, their parents may lose their custody.

100 years ago, in place of Tel Aviv, there was a dune, and today the city is one of the most incredible places I have ever seen in my life.

Which of my observations was the most unexpected for you?