After eating a good Israeli lunch of mixed shawarma with laffa bread, my group went off into the Tel Aviv shuk with Alon, a Shinshin coming to Cleveland in August. In the shuk my group talked to many people, and we had a list of questions to ask, but most didn’t want to be interviewed. However, we found that most of the shop owners there are traditional-religious.
We talked to the owner of a flower shop and a couple doing glass art. I thought the glass art and the couple were very interesting. They recycle glass used in beer bottles or just garbage in general, and use it to make beautiful art.
After interviewing the woman on her religiousness and some opinions, I wanted to buy something from the shop. So, I asked the man, Naftali, for the cost of an item and ended up having a long 10 minute conversation in Hebrew because he couldn’t speak much English, which was tough but fun. He told me how he learned his art from another guy after leaving the army and taught it to his wife. Now, they have been doing this for over 20 years. He told me how he likes basketball. I had a great experience in the market and enjoyed talking to new people there.