On the way to meet my language partner, I made a quick stop at a shoe boutique 200 meters from my house.  It was still before 8:00pm, and it wasn’t Shabbat, so in a rare occurrence, my local store was finally open for business for me!

And there they were, the most wonderfully obnoxious, attention-demanding, pair of wedges I’d ever seen. A match made in heaven!  I asked for my size, slipped my foot in like Cinderella, and fell deeply in love.  “They’re amazing.  How much?”  Crap, I think, they’re expensive.  Really expensive.  I double, triple asked if this was the final, FINAL price after the sale markdown.  “Yes,” she confirmed. Completely unapologetic, I persisted with, “There’s nothing you can do?  Didn’t you mention this is the last pair? 10% off if I pay in cash?”  Haggling is a way of life in Israel.  Only foreigners forgo these local business practices.  In Israel, you’re a doormat if you don’t at least try.

Anyways, I whip out the the pep talk to myself as I approach the register.  You know which little internal conversations I am talking about!!  It goes something like this:

Making my way down the office hall the next day, I stopped at each room and just stood there like a statue until my new shoes were noticed.  Yes, it was wonderfully obnoxious and attention-demanding in every way.  Women began to squeal, causing others to run out to see what’s going on.  It was exactly as if a colleague brought in their newborn.  Or in my case, head-turning, stunning twins. Mommy is very proud.