A sense of hospitality is a great thing. We walked into the tiny shop and were immediately asked to sit down. Eight large men squeezing into a very tiny place, but it would not have been right for us to stand. Shaaban is a man who you go see to get things. When we arrived in the country some of the college employees told us that the best way to get anything was to find what you wanted in the market and then ask Shaaban to go get it for you. The way that he spoke to people was magical, he has a very incomplete mastery of English but it serves him very well. It was amazing how the shop culture works in Jerusalem, if a shop owner did not have something then they would send a boy three shops down to get it for you. We sat at Shaaban's for an hour just talking and asking about different items. All the while he was sending boys to go and fetch the items being discussed. So the best way to shop in Israel is to sit in a shop and drink tea while the shop owner finds what you want. This technique works so well for Jerusalem residents because they are unable to just shop, there is a conversation that has to accompany every entrance to a shop. One of the first things our professor said to us was that we should take the time to talk to the shop owners and not shop like Americans. She was not kidding I had one shop owner take me into the back of his store and showed me his entire family tree. I received a wonderful experience when I was there called Hookah. This contraption breeds community, in case you are wondering think caterpillar from Alice in Wonderland, by having multiple people smoke off of the same pipe. One of these comes with about 45 minutes worth of tobacco, they smell wonderful and are very fun. When you walk down the street, we walked everywhere 5-10 miles a day, Hookah and Backgammon were the entertainment options of choice. It was not uncommon to see two men playing a game with 20 others standing around watching.
Have you ever gone into a store and not even made eye contact with an employee there? I think self-checkout is going to destroy something very special in our lives. What a great thing it would be to want to learn about people without expecting anything in return. I am bad at this. Simply taking the time to listen and be a part of the someone else's story is a great gift. I love how Jesus did this. With everyone that He encountered He met them where they were at and showed them where God wanted them to go. Israel is a great place to experience history but it is an even greater place to learn hospitality. Have a conversation with someone at the store today.
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