Jetlag, a drive through Bethlehem, and an ATM experiment.
Around 6:30 AM this morning I gave up trying to sleep. I showered, put on my Israeli army pants and unwrapped the plastic from a new t-shirt.
My major discovery for today is that breakfast is served at the hotel in the mornings. I had 4 boiled eggs (yolks removed), 3 bowls cereal, a bagel-like thing, toast, black currant jam, fruit, and juice.
After breakfast I began to get sleepy, and went back to my room to sleep until 4PM.
I ate dinner, reviewed the Hebrew alphabet, and drove the rental car over to find the Superstudio building. Once I had located it, I wandered around the suburbs in the vicinity. Stores were closing, but I scoped out a couple of places to look for cheap jeans, and maybe some running shoes.
Then I drove further south, just to see what was there. After a while, I passed a checkpoint with soldiers that were checking the cars going the other way. I drove a little farther and found myself in Bethlehem. Continuing up a side street I passed several military vehicles going the other way, and then passed a large compound with lots of camouflaged vehicles and a sign that read "District Coordination Center". Next I spotted a sign that pointed back toward Jerusalem, and followed it.
I stopped at the "Jerusalem Mall", which featured a guard at every entrance who checked people's bags. While I was there, I decided to try my ATM card in one of the bank machines. I was a little apprehensious, because I couldn't tell what the screen said as I inserted my card, but once it was in, the text changed to English, and I withdrew 50 shekels with no problem, though there was a slightly longer delay than normal as it authorized my card.
Eventually I found my way back to the hotel.