Business Transactions B'Aretz

Anytime one interacts with the locals while living abroad there are bound to be some interesting differences. Here are some observations on my recent interactions:

1. Taxi Cabs. Due to an unfamiliarity with the city as well as some important appointments, I have taken taxis more here than any other city I've visited. Not only are there hidden fees (it costs extra for suitcases, more than 2 passengers, night rates, a pre-ordered taxi etc) which are not factored in to the price until one has arrived at their destination, but the taxi drivers don't know where they are going. On multiple occasions I've had to give taxi drivers directions, or watched them pass the appropriate turn off and just asked them to pull over.

2. Shuk. The open air market should be the 8th wonder of the world. I can go to a vendor and purchase a pound of cucumbers and a pound of tomatoes for under a dollar. Two stalls over I can buy fresh pita for a quarter each and just around the corner a dollar will buy me a pound of the tastiest summer fruits you can imagine. Now all I have to do is swing by the cheese booth and sample some salty bulgarian goat cheese before I finish my visit at the best bakery in Jerusalem. 8 blocks of grocery paradise...

3. Apartments. The housing market in Jerusalem is totally screwy. I arrived in Jerusalem two months ago and have been searching for an apartment since then. The English housing websites post only vacation rentals during the summer and pre-holiday periods (which create a revenue of 3 times the usual asking price for the owner) while the Israeli housing websites post rentals the week before there is an opening (meaning you have to act fast so you can beat out the competition) and the rental agents charge an entire months rent for their services. Needless to say, it has not been fun. My roommate Andy and I opted for a combination of options A and B-finally signing a lease 1 week after seeing the ad and less than a week before we were to become homeless Jerusalem couch surfers.

4. Movers. A few hours after we signed the lease we decided to get to work with the furnishings for our apartment by heading to a local yard sale. En route we found some broken down desks, shelves and a working refrigerator (thats right, unfurnished apartments= no refrigerator or oven). We asked the man who appeared to be throwing them away what the deal was and he offered them to us. Noting that we had no way to transport these things he offered to help us move them in his tow trailer for 300 shekel, which we promptly accepted (no haggling on our part) Once we had unloaded the furniture at the doorstep of the apartment, our mover immediately tried to cheat us by arguing about the agreed upon price. We stood our ground so as not to be taken for stupid Americans and eventually he left, and we lost our new friend.

5. Banks. Realizing that Israelis pay their rent in post dated checks a few times a year, we needed to get working on our bank accounts. We headed to the local branch of the national bank (Bank Leumi) where we were told by Daniela Mezuman to come back the next day. We got a good chuckle out of that because Mezuman is the word for cash in Hebrew. Upon our return we set up checking accounts that will allow us to take care of all our financial activities in Israel. The best part of the interaction was the minimum balance for our account. There was none- an Israeli phenomenon I'll have to explain on another day.