Two events have
occurred that have changed the audio environment of my office. First, summer
has arrived, meaning the windows are now always open. Secondly, the
municipality has completely refurbished the local play ground, located next to
my office (in my apartment), including swings, slides, a roof, artificial grass
and (just) enough open space to play football.
As a result, I get to listen to the sounds of children all day long.
As a matter of
explanation, I live in a neighborhood that could be described as lower middle
class. A series of low apartment buildings, with apparently random addresses,
surround this playground. The residents, a typical mixture of a periphery city
in Israel, include Russians, Ethiopians, religious and non-religious people,
Arabs (yes, there is no Apartheid in Israel) and more established Israelis. Unemployment is minor but nobody could be
considered rich. The cars in the parking lot are run of the mill while the sizes
of the flats range from 90 to 140 square meters. We chose to buy here because of the apartment
size and garden. So, the neighborhood is alive but not dangerous.
Back to the
playground, this diversity is reflected in the various “shifts.” In the
morning, the older residents and mothers/grandmothers watch the babies and
toddlers enjoy the facilities. As the school day ends, teenagers hang out and
talk their own special nonsense and release stress. In the late afternoon, once
it cools off, the parents send their kids out, creating a scale microcosm of
the area: from white to black, first to 12th grade, boys and girls, comfortable
to modest dress. From my “observation” of the sounds emitted from the area, I
have noticed the following:
1 Regardless of
language and culture, the song “na, na ,na na, na” is intended to annoy.
2 There is the always
the “Godot” kid, the one everybody is calling but I have never actually seen.
In my case, it is a girl named Zoar. Someone is always calling for Zoar to
come.
It may be genetic
but, whatever the reason, give kids three open square meters, they will start
playing football and arguing, mainly the latter.
4 Kids never tire of
hide and seek (call tofeset in Hebrew). I can’t figure out that many
places to hide there but it does not stop the endless count up from 1-20.
Children in this neighborhood quickly learn how to count in Hebrew and English.
No afternoon is
complete without a good cry. Specifically, at least one day, one kid has to
experience catharsis by sobbing. Often,
s/he is the one previously saying “na, na, na na, na.”
6 I have been there
and done that but it does not help. I really hope the teenage boy whose voice
is changing finishes the process soon.
7 The bossy girl lives
on. We can hear give orders for hours and get upset when discipline is lacking.
8 Kids find cursing
fun. In this case, the foul words are in Hebrew, Russian and English.
9 The various
ethnic/religious/family groups tend to initially keep to themselves, but you
can count on football and hide and go seek to bring everybody together.
This concert or
cacophony may not seem to be the ideal background for work requiring
concentration. It is true that I or my wife have considered various methods of
silencing a few individuals. Still, for the most part, the mind can ignore the
high pitches from outside or even appreciate the youthful spirit. Personally, I
grew up in an upper middle class neighborhood in Los Angeles, without any
communal playground. Everybody was locked in their castle. I sort of regret
that I didn’t grow up in such a neighborhood. So, even if would rather not
listen in, I try to remember that the communal playground plays an important
and positive role in growing up and developing social skills (and thick skin). So,
I just grin and bear it.
