First few days in Jerusalem

So of course I got on the wrong bus going home from work yesterday. The bus system in Israel is so confusing! There are so many buses. I would probably get lost on the bus system in El Paso, so navigating my way through the bus system in a foreign country has proven quite challenging to me! But it was not too bad--I eventually found my way home! I went to the Jerusalem shuk with 3 friends from the program. The shuk is such an interesting place--tons of people jostling and yelling, eating and shopping. It is probably a madhouse there on Friday mornings and afternoons. The most interesting thing today was witnessing a group of Breslov men dancing. Breslov is a a branch of Hasidic Judaism founded by Rebbe Nachman of Breslov (1772-1810) a great-grandson of the Baal Shem Tov, founder of Hasidism. Its adherents strive to develop an intense, joyous relationship with God and receive guidance toward this goal from the teachings of Rebbe Nachman. the Breslov approach places great emphasis on serving God through the sincerity of the heart, with much joy and living life as intensely as possible. Its Hasidim see Torah life as the means to a joyful existence, and their approach to worship is very personalized and emotional, with much clapping, singing, and dancing. (Thank you Wikipedia!) So today they had loud music playing and they are dancing frantically on top of their van and in the street! Just imagine these men with funny looking yarmulkas (they look like mini beanies), long payot, and beards dancing as though they were in a club, in the middle of downtown Jerusalem! Cars and buses are all around them and people were weaving in and out. It looked almost exactly like this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nQjGRjDdHWo
Jerusalem is so unique. In Tel Aviv everyone pretty much dressed like Americans--in 3 weeks I can count on one hand the number of Hasids or Ultra-Orthodox I saw. In Jerusalem they are the majority. I am definitely out of place wearing pants or jeans--most of the women are in long skirts.
Israelis are also very casual in the workplace. At Ruder Finn, the girls don't wear heels (you were right Bubby)--they wear boots (like Uggs) and the men wear khakis and just a button down shirt or sweater. No ties or jackets. In the US at a prestigious public relations firm I'm pretty sure it would be suits, or at least ties. Most of my peers on the program can wear jeans to work.
I am living in an amazing location. I went for a run today and could very clearly see the Dome of the Rock from many vantage points throughout my run. Surreal.