A New Game

October 25, 2006 - 9:08 PM by Allison

Who says it’s not fun to be an Israeli abroad? This guy’s got a new way of amusing himself on home visits.

I’m sitting at gate E16 of the Dallas-Fort Worth airport as I await my flight back to NY. I spent the last week working out of the NY office of my company and then came to Dallas for the weekend in order to attend the wedding of a good friend of mine. I stayed at the home of another good friend whose wife is now pregnant with their second child. I’ll refrain from the old cliche of bemoaning the fact that *everyone* I know is married, getting married or already having multiple kids. Instead, this post is about my experience as “an Israeli” in Dallas.

The groom – who is not Jewish – and I spent years working together in NY so when people ask how we know each other, where I’m from or what my story is, its easy enough to say New York. However, if people ask in just the right way, or if they’re particularly curious about me, it doesn’t take too long until the reality of my current residence comes out. Sometimes I said “Tel Aviv,” sometimes I said “Israel” and eventually I started saying “Tel Aviv, Israel.”

Each time, without fail, people had no clue how to respond. Some moved on quickly, others gave a half-hearted “wow” and some seemed to gloss over my response entirely (acting as if I said any random American city). Certainly no one expected to meet someone from Israel but still, their reactions puzzled me. It started to be a game for me, seeing how people respond when hearing I’m from Israel.

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