The Night Bus

I had a wonderful evening interviewing several people for my research project and meeting our tour guide's family for dinner, but I hadn't thought about the bus station being closed after I arrived back in Haifa on a midnight train. So momentarily stranded, I had the choice of hailing a taxi or waiting for the night bus to start running. Being the shekel-pincher that I am, I sat down to wait for the night bus to come at 12:30. I had heard from my frequently-partying classmates that the night buses run all night, basically carrying young teenagers from one party scene to the next. So I availed myself of the opportunity to see this in person.

While I was waiting for the bus, a high school couple sat down on the seat right next to me and started making out quite unabashedly. Talk about awkward!  But the bus finally came, and I noticed a security guard as I boarded...my next clue that this would be interesting. We don't see security guards on daytime buses.

At each stop, young teenagers (probably about 14-16 years old) would get on and off, talking and laughing loudly, dressed in their skimpy party clothes. I was wearing a long skirt and cardigan because I had just been with an Orthodox Jewish community, and the modest clothes made me feel  kind of like an elderly matron in the midst of youthful-teenage-wildness central. I felt badly for the ultra-Orthodox couple that boarded the bus after me - I'm not sure where the man would have looked to avoid seeing a scantily clad teenager in front of him. Fortunately, I suppose, his wife was VERY pregnant, so perhaps her bulging belly blocked his view.

Nothing truly crazy happened, but just observing all these young people out partying was quite the experience. Meanwhile, I'm glad to be going to bed now, and I'm sure the night buses outside will keep rolling.