Bumper Sticker
Have you ever heard the phrase, “everything’s bigger in Texas”? Well, I’d like to make the claim that “everything is louder in Israel”.

Let me give you a couple of examples of why I believe this to be true…

The hallway right outside my bedroom is carved out of bedrock. Most of the people here wear sandals. So, when an individual travels down this route which leads to the bathroom, a sound of sliding and clopping of flesh, stone, and rubber echo throughout the entire dorm.

Like I’ve stated in earlier posts, I live right beside hell. Well, it seems as if the area is a hot spot for residential. For the last three weeks, we’ve all awoken to the sound of giant jackhammers attached to tractors splitting stone. Dun-dun-dun-dun-dun echoing throughout the Hinnom in the wee hours of the morn.

One must remember that the terrain of Jerusalem contains hills and valleys which echo sound rather well. As I am writing this, a concert is going on in the amphitheater which is on the north side of the Hinnom. They are straight up blaring the music and it is resounding throughout all of Jerusalem, but the show is conveniently right beside the university. In the middle of class, they decided to begin their sound check. Loud drums, electric guitars, and Hebrew, compiled into sound so thick you could wear it as a winter coat.

From my observations, it seems as if these rather reserved Israelis have taken all of their anger, annoyance, and stress that has been stored up throughout the day and have found a way to vent it. It appears that this outlet is nothing other than their car horns. Now, in the States when you are at a stoplight that has just turned green and the person in front of you is not going, what do you do? Generally, you give them just a little tap of the horn, “honk.” Then if they still don’t go, you then give them a little more of the horn, “hhoooonnk”. However, in Israel, an individual takes any opportunity to honk the car horn whether it is justified or not. I’ve walked by intersections where the light is red and someone in that same lane is letting loose on their horn. For what reason? Only God knows why. It’s not just a tap on the horn either. It is as if the person behind the wheel has passed out with their head resting on the horn.

For some odd reason, the hardware in the door in my room is rather finicky. The only way one can successfully close a door is to slam it, hard. This sound then echoes throughout the stone walls of the building for all to hear. So, if I want to come into my room at night while my roommate is sleeping and I desire to shut the door, I’m going to wake him up. It’s not a gentle arousing, I might add. It is as if a gun has been fired in the room and the one sleeping jerks to awareness thinking that Jerusalem is being invaded.

And that is why I believe that “everything is louder in Israel”. I just might make a bumper sticker out of it…