I'm been back 4 weeks, but already I'm learning things I didn't know before I left.

1 thing I found out, that makes Israelis nervous, is the fact that somebody is actually being polite to them.

Take the taxi driver for example: I was just minding my manners when I said, as I was getting out of his taxi: "Thank You". Suddenly I heard him swallow, mix up his words and being embarrassed, because he was caught off guard. I'm not sure he likes his passengers to thank him. Or, maybe, he liked it so much he lost his speech.

The secretary at the employment service I went to this morning got confused to. I guess she doesn't get lots of Thank Yous from people who come in.

I'm not sure but I think, once, most of the people in this country had the ability to say "You Welcome" . Today it seems that they are lost in translation. Polite is a whole different language here.

Of course, in Israel, there are those who will fight fire with fire. Sale's ladies are the best. I say "Shalom" as I come into the store and they attack immediately.

I say "No Thank You" and they turn around for a sec, only to comes back and offers me the latest skirt (which will look great my younger sister!). So, politely, I say "No, Thank You, I'm only looking".

A minute later the other working girl in the store comes by to find out what exactly am I looking for. Again, and politely, I answers "Thank You, but I'll manage".

After I finish browsing (it's a hobby, what can you do?!?), I say "Thank You" and I leave. Then the ladies get the heavy guns out, and silently look at me leaving with a face that says: "BITCH, don't come back if you are not going to buy!".

Sometimes they win. Sometime their faces are so mean, I'm afraid to come back, or to be polite in a store again.

I do hope not everybody lost their manners & the knowledge of the polite language - we did have it on our note-books when we were kids, remember?

It's hard when you are only being civil and get lost in translation....