!נהג

yesterday morning was a real coming of age for me, perhaps the pinnacle of my experience in israel thus far. you see, here in israel the bus driver's name is nehag, or driver, no matter who it is (unless it's a woman, in which case it would be naheget, which i have only seen once here). it seems derogatory (perhaps hearkening back to the "garcon means boy" scene from pulp fiction), but it's standard here and is heard on the bus whenever the driver's attention is needed. every time i am ready to get off the bus, i worry that i might have to yell it and thus make a fool of myself (what if my voice is too soft?, what if people make fun of my accent?, what if i smell?). so yesterday, when the driver prematurely closed the door on me, i quickly took out one of my earphones and let out a loud and confident NEHAG!, and sure enough, the door opened. i was quite pleased with myself and my good friend nehag.