Perfect Strangers

When we started planning this trip we knew that there would be some challenges. The late 80s TV comedy “Perfect Strangers” clearly showed that things don’t work as smoothly in another country, particularly if you are a new arrival or are not a citizen.

But this is ridiculous.

Back in May, I went to our bank to open a safe deposit box and learned that they offer a Visa credit card with no foreign transaction fees and free cash advances at ATMs. The person I talked to assured me that it could be done by the time we left the country roughly four weeks later. I returned that Friday with Adena to apply for the credit card and add her to the safe deposit box (they take security very seriously at our bank). We didn’t get to talk to the same person during that visit, and as the new staffer was helping us fill out the application on his computer, he mentioned that he typically worked out of the campus branch and that they didn’t handle a lot of these applications over there. It also took a really long time and by the end, I was openly questioning if he knew what he was doing.

A couple of weeks went by and I happened to be in the bank putting some more items in the safe deposit box (documents, because we don’t have anything interesting) and bumped into the original staff person. I asked if we could check the status of the cards and I learned that the young man who helped us had not actually submitted the application. We sat and re-entered the information and were told that the whole thing would be expedited.

After we left for Israel without the cards (surprise!), we made a plan with the staff member for them to be shipped to her at the branch, then she would send them to us in Jerusalem. They arrived in Jerusalem earlier this week. As in July 31st. She mailed them standard post on June 28 rather than priority mail or FedEx. Where is a customer service satisfaction survey when you need one?

Since then we have learned that our debit cards can be used to buy things in a store or restaurant, but not to take cash out of an ATM. We have also learned that Israeli bank accounts are only for citizens and students.

There is one branch in Tel Aviv that foreign nationals must visit to setup an account and get this, you have to seed it with $50,000. Seems like a surefire way to discourage money laundering, which is the explanation given for this policy!

We also learned that the health insurance we purchased prior to coming here has much better “in-network” options in Jerusalem rather than Haifa, despite it being the exact same company that all the Technion students use.

The ₪1500 fee for the ulpan I am taking (is that even the right verb?) must be paid at the campus post office and cannot be paid with a credit card. The same goes for the ₪110 textbook we are using for the ulpan shown below.

I am waiting on a letter from the Technion that we can take to the Ministry downtown (in the Sail Building) to extend our tourist visas from three to six months. This will allow us to avoid leaving the country twice over the coming months to reset the tourist visa clock. The recent “nation-state” law suggests that these matters will be taken very seriously.

We are hoping to meet up with friends somewhere in Europe for Thanksgiving, but extending the visas at the Ministry will simplify things. I keep thinking “Ministry of Magic” from Harry Potter when I hear the word, but I bet it won’t be as cool.

Oh, and the vending machine downstairs ran out of the tasty peanuts I like yesterday so I settled for a Nature Valley crunchy granola bar. After I paid, I passed a previously unnoticed vending machine with not one, but two full rows of delicious peanut packets. Blerg.

Life is hard, and this is especially true in this country. Seriously, nothing is easy and I am surprised when people are nice. It really wears you down and you feel exhausted because every day means fighting these mini-battles. We will probably just wire money to ourselves two or three times and give up on opening a bank account. When we finally get these Visa credit cards in hand, they probably won’t let us take cash from the ATM either. But this is our life here and we will manage.