Jerusalem

As I got off the sherut, I found myself in the bustling city of downtown Jerusalem. A place so foreign for me even though I had listened to some podcasts on Judaism and the holy places in Israel, I still wasn't prepared enough to tackle getting to Tel Aviv from Jerusalem on Shabbat while starving. After the altercation with the Malta flight, I started to get a bit nervous if original route going to Athens, Bucharest, Poland and finally landing in Tokyo was going to be feasible or not. It was still early in the afternoon, and according to what I have gathered, public transportation won't be running until sundown. First order of business was trying to find food as I walked without any clear destination in mind. I passed by an enticing kebab place, the exuberant prices threw me off but didn't deter me from cashing in on it with my credit card. The credit card declined and after trying my other cards, it looks like I wasn't getting any food from this fine establishment. I continued on until I spotted a convenience store, I bought some chocolate chip cookies and water. The clerk taught me about Shabbat and the transportation system and he also sold me a Rav-Kav, a card used for transportation all around Israel. My credit card luckily pushed through for the goods but it didn't work for the Rav-Kav. I was at a loss and asked if there was any place to exchange some money but then this lady at the back asked how much I owed and paid for me. She also asked how much one of the snacks was and the clerk told her to just take it. I think it's really true that a genuine act of kindness, always does spark another. I felt very touched and grateful with how everything turned out. I spent sometime outside eating some chocolate chip cookies which probably wasn't the best way to stave off hunger. I slowly made my way to one of the gates of the Old City but decided not to go in yet as to not spoil myself and besides I really wasn't in the right state of mind and body to go sight-seeing. I made my way to a garden right outside the gate and situated myself underneath a tree. I was thinking of just letting the time pass me by but then I overheard a familiar language coming from the opposite tree. There was a gathering of Filipino women. It was always comforting to find my fellow countrymen in such a foreign country. It does make sense that Israel would have a large Filipino population since the Philippines is a Christianity-dominant country. Feeling a bit alone and lost, I approached the group and spoke in Tagalog and was welcomed pretty quickly with open arms. They fed me delicious pansit and cake as it was one of the lady's birthday. I didn't hold back and ate as much as I can, I was so hungry and it really felt like a blessing from the Holy City to be able to eat such amazing food with excellent company. I told them my predicament and asked them how is it possible to get to Tel Aviv during Shabbat. They told me that there were sheruts heading to Tel Aviv and that they were also going that way and that I can go with them. What stroke of luck really, the warmness of Filipinos never fades away no matter how far you are from home. They paid for my ride and we were off to Tel Aviv.Read more