How Much?

I just returned from a quick trip to the pharmacy and the post office. Actually, "quick trip to the post office" is not an accurate statement; both of my post office trips so far have been rather lengthy, the first exceeding an hour without actually buying stamps or mailing letters.

The people in Jerusalem are really interesting. I'm sure other cultures are very similar, but whenever we go into the Old City I feel like I am being bombarded. Some is a good bombardment: the colors, the architecture, the history, the little alleyways, the smells (well, not always good), the noises, the clothes, even the stones in the roads are cool. However, the overwhelming bombardment to which I was originally referring comes from the shop owners and is not something I am quite used to yet.

We usually enter the Old City through the same gate, so I'm learning my way around certain areas pretty well. Not very far into the city we start hearing calls from the shop owners who sit in front of their stores: "Mormons!" "BYU!" "Utah!" They definitely know who we are. They also know that we will buy things, and that we will keep coming back, and because of this they are very...not pushy, but a little aggressive. "Oh please, come into my shop. Just come in and look, no charge for looking." But if you agree to go in and look, you get sucked in even further. One of my roommates decided she cannot touch anything, because as soon as she does, "Oh, do you like that? How much do you think it is worth?" When she replies that she doesn't want to buy it, or she doesn't have any money, or she is just looking, or whatever excuse it might be, the reply is always, "How much would you pay? How much do you think it is worth?" Then, if you do begin to haggle with them (nothing is ever at a set price, ever) they just won't quit. I'm almost afraid to talk to people because I'm worried I'll end up buying things I don't really want in the first place.

The other dilemma in regards to talking with the men in the city is the big difference between American men and women's relationships and Palestinian men and women's relationships. Many of the women we see here wear the long dresses and head coverings. Out of respect to their cultural views, we were asked to dress very modestly (long pants and longer sleeves, muted colors, loose-fitting, etc.) so as not to attract attention to ourselves and not to offend them. But, we (as in, we the women at the Center) were also told not to make eye contact or smile at the men because they will take it as a very flirtatious gesture rather than what we intend it to be. These instructions create a bit of a conundrum for the girls at the Center: we know there are certain men we can talk with, obviously, like the shop owners or the administration at places like museums and the post office and things like that, or we could never do anything on our own. But it is very hard to go from looking at your shoes on the street (while trying to see everything and make sure you don't lose your group and that you aren't getting pick-pocketed at the same time) to somewhat aggressive and slightly banter-like bargaining with the men in the city. Especially for people like my blond-haired, blue-eyed roommate; every time she goes out the men hit on her, and she always gets shop owners saying things like, "For your eyes, any price!"

Although it is rather exhausting, I love it here.