{"id":1638,"date":"2013-02-19T22:08:22","date_gmt":"2013-02-19T20:08:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.daivarepeckaite.com\/?p=1638"},"modified":"2016-11-13T16:47:54","modified_gmt":"2016-11-13T14:47:54","slug":"beer-sheva-intercultural-encounters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.daivarepeckaite.com\/en\/2013\/02\/beer-sheva-intercultural-encounters\/","title":{"rendered":"Be&#8217;er Sheva: intercultural encounters"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Be&#8217;er Sheva is the main city in Israel&#8217;s South and home to a prominent university. As I had to revisit the university after three years from the first visit, I had a chance to take a closer look at its unique architecture and color palette. When I visited it for the first time, I wrote <a href=\"http:\/\/wonderland.cafebabel.com\/en\/post\/2009\/12\/17\/Be-er-Sheva-the-sand-coloured-city\" target=\"_blank\">this blog entry<\/a>. At the end of winter, it is like an entirely different place. The desert is covered in green and flowers are blossoming. In fact, more than that felt surprisingly different.<!--more--><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone  wp-image-1639\" title=\"Be'er Sheva tree\" src=\"http:\/\/www.daivarepeckaite.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/beersheva134.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"472\" height=\"629\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.daivarepeckaite.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/beersheva134.jpg 525w, https:\/\/www.daivarepeckaite.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/beersheva134-225x300.jpg 225w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 472px) 100vw, 472px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Of course, architecturally, the city still looked like carved out of the desert.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone  wp-image-1640\" title=\"Be'er Sheva houses\" src=\"http:\/\/www.daivarepeckaite.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/beersheva133.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"595\" height=\"446\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.daivarepeckaite.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/beersheva133.jpg 700w, https:\/\/www.daivarepeckaite.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/beersheva133-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 595px) 100vw, 595px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Including the fine curves and angles of the university buildings.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone  wp-image-1641\" title=\"Be'er Sheva windows\" src=\"http:\/\/www.daivarepeckaite.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/beersheva132.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"478\" height=\"637\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.daivarepeckaite.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/beersheva132.jpg 525w, https:\/\/www.daivarepeckaite.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/beersheva132-225x300.jpg 225w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 478px) 100vw, 478px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Just like back in 2009 when I visited:<\/p>\n\n<div class=\"youtube-embed\">\n\t<iframe loading=\"lazy\" style=\"border: 0;margin-bottom: 15px;\" class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"560\" height=\"430\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube-nocookie.com\/embed\/HeuyfpbilrQ?modestbranding=1&rel=0\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div>\n\n<p>Of course, being there, I would not miss going to the market. In 2007, a tourist saw this:<\/p>\n\n<div class=\"youtube-embed\">\n\t<iframe loading=\"lazy\" style=\"border: 0;margin-bottom: 15px;\" class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"560\" height=\"430\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube-nocookie.com\/embed\/ohNBgvdCn4c?modestbranding=1&rel=0\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div>\n\n<p>In 2013, I went to the market and saw this:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-1642\" title=\"Be'er Sheva market\" src=\"http:\/\/www.daivarepeckaite.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/beersheva135.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"700\" height=\"483\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.daivarepeckaite.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/beersheva135.jpg 700w, https:\/\/www.daivarepeckaite.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/beersheva135-300x207.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 700px) 100vw, 700px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>It felt much less like an &#8216;oriental&#8217; city. Compared to what I saw in 2009, traditional Bedouin clothing was more an exception than a commonplace practice, and there were few fully covered women.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone  wp-image-1643\" title=\"Be'er Sheva market\" src=\"http:\/\/www.daivarepeckaite.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/beersheva136.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"604\" height=\"418\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.daivarepeckaite.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/beersheva136.jpg 700w, https:\/\/www.daivarepeckaite.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/beersheva136-300x207.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 604px) 100vw, 604px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>This might be related to <a href=\"http:\/\/972mag.com\/tag\/bedouin\/\" target=\"_blank\">various initiatives aimed against the Bedouin community<\/a> in Israel, but so far I have no information about it. Possibly, they are working elsewhere.<\/p>\n<p>Loose tobacco and who-knows-what in barrels is still sold here.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone  wp-image-1644\" title=\"Be'er Sheva market\" src=\"http:\/\/www.daivarepeckaite.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/beersheva137.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"626\" height=\"469\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.daivarepeckaite.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/beersheva137.jpg 700w, https:\/\/www.daivarepeckaite.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/beersheva137-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 626px) 100vw, 626px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Most people in the marketplace spoke either Russian or Arabic, and used Hebrew mostly for interaction between those two groups. As I was buying some herbs, I heard that the man selling it spoke Russian, so I finished the &#8216;transaction&#8217; in Russian. Having bought what I wanted (the market there is better than in Tel Aviv, or at least less busy and stressful), two things remained &#8211; to eat lunch and to buy coffee with cardamom for my parents. On the way to the place where I started exploring the market, I saw the same man who spoke Russian. I asked him where I could buy coffee. He understood it as if I wanted to drink coffee and made me a cup. We sat down to talk. The man had apparently graduated in Chemical Engineering, but after a heart attack lost his job and started selling vegetables on the market. He told me he was already a grandfather, and that he wanted to introduce me to one of his children. &#8220;Being alone in a new country is difficult,&#8221; he explained.<\/p>\n<p>After saying goodbye to the Russian-speaking veggies vendor, I went on and saw a shop that had coffee beans. The person working there did not have ground coffee, but he called his friend and asked him, in Arabic, to show me where I can buy some. The friend took me to a Russian-speaker he knew and asked him to translate what exactly I wanted. They both walked me to a relevant shop. The Arabic-speaking man took the money and went away, and the Russian-speaker stayed with me. &#8220;Arabs will always try to rip you off,&#8221; he warned. &#8220;Everyone in the market would, seeing that someone is not local,&#8221; I responded. The man appeared to be a guest-worker. He was unhappy with Israel, but found it difficult to leave and try himself elsewhere. He took me to a shawarma shop, run by several young Arabic-speaking men. &#8220;They are an uneducated nation, the Arabs&#8221; the guest-worker said. &#8220;Why so?&#8221; I provoked him. &#8220;They leave school after 8-9 years and prefer to work on the market, so that they learn how to make money. They stay on this kind of level forever.&#8221; He was, however, very friendly with the young men. &#8220;Have you learned Hebrew?&#8221; I asked. &#8220;Of course, no problem with it,&#8221; the man assured. &#8220;And Arabic?&#8221; I asked further. &#8220;What do I need it for?&#8221; &#8211; &#8220;Well, here they always seem to appreciate if someone outside their community says a few phrases in it,&#8221; I suggested. &#8220;I know a few basic phrases,&#8221; the guest-worker admitted. The young men, at the shop returned to give me extra fries and pickles.<\/p>\n<p>On the way back to Tel Aviv, I listened to a young woman, probably a student, speak Arabic with more Hebrew words than I&#8217;ve ever heard an Arabic-speaker use. Be&#8217;er Sheva seems to be turning more transcultural than multicultural.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Be&#8217;er Sheva is the main city in Israel&#8217;s South and home to a prominent university. As I had to revisit the university after three years from the first visit, I had a chance to take a closer look at its unique architecture and color palette. When I visited it for the first time, I wrote this blog entry. At the &#8230; <\/p>\n<div><a href=\"https:\/\/www.daivarepeckaite.com\/en\/2013\/02\/beer-sheva-intercultural-encounters\/\" class=\"more-link\">Read More<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[442],"tags":[899,179,194,228,229,556,175],"class_list":["post-1638","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-travel-impressions","tag-beer-sheva","tag-cities","tag-israel","tag-market","tag-multicultural","tag-tourism","tag-travel-en","no-post-thumbnail"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.daivarepeckaite.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1638","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.daivarepeckaite.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.daivarepeckaite.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.daivarepeckaite.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.daivarepeckaite.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1638"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.daivarepeckaite.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1638\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1645,"href":"https:\/\/www.daivarepeckaite.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1638\/revisions\/1645"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.daivarepeckaite.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1638"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.daivarepeckaite.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1638"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.daivarepeckaite.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1638"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}