Thank God for translators

The next day I went for a run. Beth had quickly inspired me through runs on the Tel Aviv boardwalk. I had no idea where I was going but I started from my hotel in Old Town, I ran to the other end (which took about 5 minutes) and then somehow found a reservoir. I ran around the reservoir about 4 times and watched the fishermen, listened to the croaks of the frogs and the sounds of nature, and observed a couple stumbling drunks before heading home to shower. It was a beautiful place to go for a nice quiet run with my ipod blaring.

Today my translator was coming. Then arrived a short, bald man probably in his late 30’s who had no idea what to expect. From the hotel, he understood that he was going to be accompanying me on a medical journey to visit doctors or something of that sort. Boy was he far from reality. He came up to my room and I explained to him that I wanted him to make phone calls and get prices for certain things. He was surprised, but agreed with no problems to go along with it; I WAS paying over $100/hr! He did a good job so I told him about my permission problems in the grocery store and I asked if he would like to help me out. He agreed. I went to the grocery store that night, called him, and we did the survey over the phone which took a good 3.5 hours but we DID it! When we met the next day to exchange information and additional money, he told me a little about the Soviet Union and how when his Mom was little, she and her family were deported to Serbia. Everything has changed significantly in the last 10 years or so, he said. It use to be that when US people came into Soviet territory (when Stalin was in charge) they were watched like hawks. He had some clients who had come here and he dared to take a trip with them they were prohibited to take because they wanted to visit ancestors. Another girl told me a story of how under the old government, people were always told what to do. Now, they say do it yourself. As much as I love democracy, I can’t imagine how hard it must be to be a nobody who does things methodically because you have to, and then have to switch to suddenly, you’re on your own; go find out what you’re good at and good luck. If you don’t have the independence from the start, I’m sure it is very tough to gain it.