Lots to write. I promise that a really interesting reflective post is coming soon. And I'm having such a great time here! But first, I need to air a few grievances.
Firstly: Shabbat is honestly the bane of my existence here and a major reason why I wouldn’t stay in this country. It is completely unsuited to modern society. I’ll tell you why:
So the weekend here is on Friday and Saturday. Which is fine - if you don’t mind that global Israeli companies are forced to miss out on 20% of the international workweek. While most young professionals can often scoot out early on Friday afternoon, I'm usually working into the evening Thursday night to get items out to the rest of the world. Fine.
Anyway. Sometimes I like to sleep a little late on the weekends and then make breakfast, but usually I’m out and about by 10 am. And sometimes, I’ve been waking up at 4:30 am to go mountain biking with friends, and I get back at 11 or 12 and begin my errands then. A mere 3 hours later, around 2:30 pm, shops start to close. By 4 pm, everything is shuttered. And most places will stay shuttered until 9 am on Sunday morning, when I'm already back at the office. What this means is on Friday during the hours of 10 am to 2:30 pm, I’m running around like crazy trying to take care of my personal life against a ticking clock, while everyone else in the country is doing the exact same thing. It’s crowded, noisy and stressful.
Last Friday, I had to prioritize between getting my bike fixed, getting a haircut, buying groceries for the weekend, getting bedsheets, and buying a rug for my room. Even though I canceled on meeting my friends for lunch, I still ran out of time, and the haircut and rug had to be postponed to next Friday. Indeed, I find myself earmarking errands for three or four Fridays into the future.
But at least I wasn't planning on going to the bank, since banks are closed ALL DAY on Friday AND Saturday. I’ll get back to that in a minute.
It’s ABSOLUTELY NOT equivalent to Sunday in America, because most shops don’t re-open Saturday evening when Shabbat is over. So it’s truly 3/4 of the weekend that you lose.
I know this sounds whiney. "First world problems," you might say. But I will retort that when a modern, metropolitan society's public transportation system completely shuts down for the majority of the weekend, it disproportionately hurts the poor (and young expats like me). People with cars can choose to go wherever they want over the weekend, but the poor are stuck in place. Renting a car is a huge pain also, because the rental car places are completely closed Friday at noon through Sunday morning, and I can't return the car without being late to work. And they have the gall to charge you for the time that they are closed, even if you want to return the car earlier. The situation is the same for Holidays. Which is why, at this very moment, I'm off of work for Sukkot and I'm sitting here writing a blog instead of hiking in the Carmel Mountains.
The whole idea of Shabbat is to stop and take a deep breath and relax. And I see the reasoning behind it. Well, I’d be much more relaxed if I could get things done in a leisurely manner, maybe stop and eat lunch with a friend, god forbid (no pun intended) take a break and get a coffee during my errands. I don’t recall ever once being in a good mood by Friday afternoon; I'm a hot, sweaty, tired, angry mess. So much for welcoming the Sabbath.
And the loopholes that people go through to observe Shabbat! I had Shabbat dinner with my girlfriend's family, and noticed they use a big hot plate which is hooked up to a timer, so they don't need to use a stove. But it's on basically from 7 am until midnight: an incredible waste of energy. They also use a timer for the lights. They're allowed to adjust the timer, but not allowed to actually flip the switch. Apparently it's because to actually turn on an electrical device is to complete a circuit, which is "building," and is not allowed. But adjusting a timer is OK?!? And then there's this - the Shabbos App. I'm sorry but it's laughable.
I live off of a famous shopping street in Tel Aviv called Sheinkin. It’s known for its funky fashion boutiques and other cool stores. Friday afternoon and all of Saturday, it’s completely dead. These shops could make boatloads more money if they close on Sunday and Monday, even on Tuesday, but just stay open Saturday, when the entire 9-5 working public is free for leisure activities. But that would make too much sense.
Yeah, there are overpriced 24/7 convenience stores, and although I’m forced to shop at these places too often, I’m really grateful for them. Same with restaurants that stay open on Shabbat. I’m lucky to live in the center of Tel Aviv, because far fewer places stay open in Jerusalem or in smaller towns. But when it comes to errands like buying hardware or bike gear or home goods, I’m generally SOL. And it irritates the hell out of me.
I remember the times in America when my friends and I would decide spontaneously to grill some burgers on a Sunday afternoon, and we’d run down to the supermarket and pick up the fresh ingredients. That’s just out of the question here. Every Shabbat is like Christmas Day. Movies and gas stations and not much else.
Maybe this was all fine back in ancient history when my wife could ride the donkey into town while I worked on the farm with my sons, and then we all sit down to Shabbat dinner on Friday night. And it's just lovely for the government-subsidized Haredi (ultra-orthodox), since since they don't have jobs. But for a young bachelor, especially someone who wants to do fun things during time off from work, it's completely F**d.
And to top it all off, the Haredi are constantly lobbying for more places to be closed on Shabbat. But luckily, Tel Aviv is fighting back. A recent city law forced all 24-7 stores to close on Shabbat, but the stores just paid the fine and stayed open, and people went grocery shopping in large numbers to show their solidarity. And we're safe for now, because the hypocrital author of the law just resigned due to rumors of a sex scandal.
Even though I'm not going to be here for a long time, I'm seriously considering buying a car. It's just too constraining otherwise.
Now, for the banks. Ohh, the Israeli banks. Closed all weekend, and open during the week some days from 8:30 until 12 and other days from 2 until 5. It requires me to miss an hour of work every time I go, because, amazingly, I can only go to my home branch to take care of my account. There’s a branch next to my office in Herzlya, but I'm not allowed to do anything there. I’ve had to go four times simply to get a debit card, and each time they told me it would be a few more days. Most recently, I got an automated text saying it had arrived, but then I went and learned that was incorrect. But at least it gave me the chance to practice angry hebrew.
I could have it mailed to me, but I have zero trust for Israeli mail after these experiences:
First, while I was still on Career Israel, my parents sent me a package with some bike gear. Two weeks later, I asked my program counselor about it. He said there was a strike at the post office, so it would be more time. A couple weeks later, he told me the post office shuts down during the Passover holiday, so it would be a bit longer. When I finally received a notification slip, it took me two weeks to find time to go to the Post Office since, you guessed it, it’s only open until noon on Fridays and I was traveling, busy, etc. When I finally got there, they said I had taken too long to come, so they sent the package back to the central distribution facility. Two months later, back home at my parents' place in South Carolina, a mere day before I was supposed to return to Israel, we received a crumpled, dirty package held together by rubber bands. It was the exact same package, returned to sender after a 4 month world tour.
Then, when I lost my debit card, I had my American bank rush a new one to me. A week later, nothing. Ten days, nothing. Finally I mustered the strength to navigate the archaic Israeli postal system. Eventually I learned the package was sitting in Lod, and had been for a week. I asked them to, you know, send it to the destination address, and they said sure. Thanks for that.
I won't bore you too much with the other grievances, but just to mention a few:
My new health insurance card took 6 weeks to come, during which I caught pinkeye and couldn't get in to see a doctor.
I got saddle sores from the bike, went to the pharmacy, and learned that I can't get neosporin over the counter in Israel, and I need doctor's prescription. But I didn't have an insurance card (see above). So I had my friend bring some from the states. Some people smuggle in drugs or electronics. I smuggle in neosporin.
Women are forced to sit in the back of the bus in some Haredi neighborhoods in Jerusalem. And recently, an El Al flight on Rosh Hashanah was grounded for hours because Haredi men refused to sit next to women. It's like Rosa frickin' Parks in a supposedly modern "secular" country. Not to mention the Black people I know who are getting racially profiled by police so often, we may as well be in Ferguson.
Ok, that is all. Otherwise, having a great time here in Israel! Yay!
No comments:
Post a Comment