Have you ever asked someone for directions in Israel, or given directions yourself?
Giving directions in Israel is an art and almost a religion. While there are those who will misguide you, many will take five minutes to tell you exactly where to go, and if you ask someone who is in their car, they will often tell you just to follow them.
And streets in Israel aren’t like in Toronto (where I grew up) – there, everything is north, south, east and west. Giving directions there is easy since it’s all about the number of blocks until you turn right or left. In Israel, parallel roads are never exactly parallel, and they can end up meeting each other at some point. All the one-way streets, dead ends, and horses (ok, that special feature isn’t common in most parts of Israel) can make for some tricky driving.
Here is an excellent video of a woman who takes her direction-giving very seriously. For those of you who don’t understand Hebrew, the guy asks her for directions and she jogs the whole way with him, telling him where to go and how to drive. I think it’s hilarious!
[googlevideo]http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-4626169444630979892[/googlevideo]