This trip has been about new experiences, challenges and ideas so when Uma suggested we hitchhike to Ein Gedi this past weekend, I was happy to cross off one more thing from the list. I know the risks involved in hitchhiking and while I would never do this in the US, its quite common here in Israel/Palestine. What's that joke? Ah, yes:
If you're hitchhiking in the US and someone pulls over....run!
As a woman, I would never hitchhike alone anywhere, but since I had a partner I decided to go for it.
Our drivers were quite the diverse group. The first was a middle aged Israeli woman on the way to visit her sister and friend in Maale Adumim. She dropped us off about 20 minutes down the line where we were picked up by two Arab men on their way to work. Communication with these two was somewhat limited due to the language barrier, but it gave Uma and I a chance to practice our Arabic. They drove us as far as they could (being Palestinian, they couldn't continue past a certain checkpoint) which left us only about 15 minutes to Ein Gedi. Two middle aged Israeli women on there way to the Dead Sea offered us a ride the rest of the way.
The ride back was more straight forward as we were lucky enough to find a single ride from Ein Gedi back to Jerusalem, no car swapping necessary. Our driver was a gay Israeli man about our age on his way to Tel Aviv to meet his parents and quite an interesting fellow. He was well traveled and we went back and forth on politics, traveling, and the conflict in his home country.
Normally, I'm not one for small talk and as bad as it sounds, at times summoning the effort to converse with people I don't know or have no personal investment in just takes too much out of me. When hitchhiking I felt an obligation to engage with those generous enough to provide a free ride, but since I perceived it to be an obligation, I feared this interaction might be a daunting task. Surprisingly, this wasn't the case. I enjoyed the glimpse into the lives of ordinary people going about the day as they shared their destinations, their livelihoods, and stories about their past or youth; its very human the experience.
I also realized that riding in someone's car is rather personal not just because of what is shared through conversation, but through the feelings and perceptions acquired by observation. Every car has a distinct smell, music changes depending on the taste of the driver, the contents that decorate the floor or seat cushions vary in type and quantity, the various colors, models, and ages along with a hefty list of other characteristics all combine to form an identity. Each vehicle is a reflection of its owner.
For those of you curious about hitchhiking, I advise that if you aren't in the US, are aren't lacking in common sense, have a buddy, and if you realize there's a risk involved no matter how you throw it, then I highly recommend it!
If you're hitchhiking in the US and someone pulls over....run!
As a woman, I would never hitchhike alone anywhere, but since I had a partner I decided to go for it.
Our drivers were quite the diverse group. The first was a middle aged Israeli woman on the way to visit her sister and friend in Maale Adumim. She dropped us off about 20 minutes down the line where we were picked up by two Arab men on their way to work. Communication with these two was somewhat limited due to the language barrier, but it gave Uma and I a chance to practice our Arabic. They drove us as far as they could (being Palestinian, they couldn't continue past a certain checkpoint) which left us only about 15 minutes to Ein Gedi. Two middle aged Israeli women on there way to the Dead Sea offered us a ride the rest of the way.
The ride back was more straight forward as we were lucky enough to find a single ride from Ein Gedi back to Jerusalem, no car swapping necessary. Our driver was a gay Israeli man about our age on his way to Tel Aviv to meet his parents and quite an interesting fellow. He was well traveled and we went back and forth on politics, traveling, and the conflict in his home country.
Normally, I'm not one for small talk and as bad as it sounds, at times summoning the effort to converse with people I don't know or have no personal investment in just takes too much out of me. When hitchhiking I felt an obligation to engage with those generous enough to provide a free ride, but since I perceived it to be an obligation, I feared this interaction might be a daunting task. Surprisingly, this wasn't the case. I enjoyed the glimpse into the lives of ordinary people going about the day as they shared their destinations, their livelihoods, and stories about their past or youth; its very human the experience.
I also realized that riding in someone's car is rather personal not just because of what is shared through conversation, but through the feelings and perceptions acquired by observation. Every car has a distinct smell, music changes depending on the taste of the driver, the contents that decorate the floor or seat cushions vary in type and quantity, the various colors, models, and ages along with a hefty list of other characteristics all combine to form an identity. Each vehicle is a reflection of its owner.
For those of you curious about hitchhiking, I advise that if you aren't in the US, are aren't lacking in common sense, have a buddy, and if you realize there's a risk involved no matter how you throw it, then I highly recommend it!
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