A few weeks ago I read an article about the new ‘Cadenza’project in Jerusalem and realized how perfect Israel is for such an endeavor.
A
concrete encased electric piano is placed on a busy thoroughfare of Ben Yehuda
Street. Here, people rush on and off the light rail, head to the office and at
night, to bars and nightlife.
Anyone is invited to sit down and play. And as Israelis are
not exactly introverted, this has become an attraction. Not only do people
play, strangers gather to sing. This is not surprising in a country where
people are informal and often (for the good and the bad) treat each other as
family members.
After watching a few Cadenza videos I felt it was time to
compare outgoing Israelis to the basic introverted qualities as presented by Susan
Cain in her book "Quiet."
Let’s see how Israelis fare:
Introverts prefer one-on-one conversations to group activities.
Like migrating birds, Israelis are most often found in thick
flocks. Their conversations are animated, their gesticulations fierce.
They do
everything together and in crowds. Even activities that one imagines are for
quiet reflection attract numbers. Bird watching, spring flower appreciating,
hiking and beach combing attract loud animated hordes.
People describe introverts
as ‘soft spoken’ or ‘mellow.’
Not around here. Even the sound of Hebrew negates this
statement. Perhaps it’s the raspy ‘kh’
heard in words like chaver, chametz and Chanukah. This jarring sound is made
far down in the throat by the uvula, which is the same place a snore emanates
from.
But if you’re of Yemen origin, you’ll make another sound that’s
so unmellow, it has a special linguist tag - ever met a voiced pharyngeal fricative? You’ll hear it in Arabic and in Hebrew when a Temani says the letter ‘ayin’
in Ivrit (the word for the Hebrew language).
Here in the middle east, simply buying agvaniot (tomatoes)
and chasa (lettuce) can involve a fricative, turbulent and raspy
discussion.
Introverts dislike
conflict.
This is the Middle East. Need I say more?
Introverts are not big
risk takers.
If there is anything that involves high heights, sheer
cliffs, murky depths and daring, Israelis are first in line. Extreme
sports? Israelis salivate over cliff diving, big wave surfing, zorbing, white
water rafting, bungee jumping and parachuting.
Was this desire ingrained in Israelis after serving in the
army or is it just part of belonging to an extroverted nation?
If you ever want
a popular beach for swimming, simply look for the DO NOT SWIM sign. There may
no lifeguards there, but this is where our extrovert Israelis hang.
The introvert enjoys
solitude.
As you can see from the success of the Cadenza, solitude is
the last thing on the average Israeli mind. Unlike an introvert, Israelis
actually search out others. Be it on Ben Yehuda Street playing to a crowd or
trekking in the Himalayas, Israelis like to be part of a scene together.
Like to
barbecue in nature? So do millions of Israelis on Yom Ha’atzmaut as they squish
into the same park.
As they desire to be the center of attention, solitude is
not on the Israeli mind. Even Israeli kids love performing in front of crowds.
It’s the culture.
Craving solitude, I’ve hiked deep into the middle of the
desert only to find myself at a campsite swarming with hundreds of electrified
school kids, blaring music and microphones.
I’ve biked off road into pastoral fields and verdant valleys
only to be overtaken by a flock of dune buggies driven by thrill-seeking city
folk who just love group activities.
Welcome to Israel. This
is what makes the place tick with such a fricative high pulse.
