Weekly round-up ...
Sid's 2-week stint in the army was over last Thursday. It was more physically demanding than in the past, and the weather was very cold which made it not so pleasant. But for all the discomfort it's very rewarding, and you go away knowing you've made an important contribution to Israel.
There's always an interesting group of volunteers, from all over the world and from all walks of life. This time one of his two barracks-mates was from Northern Ireland. He will be on base for several more weeks, and will spend the weekends in Tel Aviv with his Phillapina girl friend.
The painting and ceramics classes are going well. I dragged Sid with me this week and he sort of liked the ceramics part. I stayed for an extra class - vegetable carving.
My first attempt at pastels.
It's really occupational therapy.
Here's the tech part...
Israel is one of the most technologically advanced countries in the world. Hardly a surprise, since most of the technology in use today was invented or developed here. So it never ceases to amaze me when I run into a situation where a little technology would go a long way.
This particularly applies to banking. Even when I lived here, in the dawn of the computer age, banks had computers. But they were used as oversized adding machines. Transactions were not simplified nor streamlined. You still had to wait in line at your bank, and when it finally got to be your turn endure the inevitable jerk who elbowed his way in front of you with the excuse that he just had a quick question for the clerk. If you wanted to withdraw cash, you had to wait in a second line, with a form that was filled out in the first line, and again the same jerk elbowed his way in front of you, this time saying he was in a big hurry. The concept of a teller, who could perform all basic bank functions (like deposits and withdrawls) was unheard of until the First International Bank opened in Jerusalem. The other innovation was to install revolving door, which was quite a curiosity at the time. The only other revolving door in Jerusalem was at the King David Hotel, and most locals hadn't been there. For several months people would go around and around in the revolving door at the bank, like kids like to do today. And branch banking? Fugedaboudit. The reason there were so many banks all over the city was because your bank was, literally, your bank. You couldn't go to the location down the block because that's not where your account was. Besides, it kept employment numbers high.
Change came about, as it inevitably does, and today you can take care of most business at any bank branch. For the simplest transactions ATMs accept deposits and dispense cash, and there are even designations as to which ATM does what.
After spending several months here, I finally decided to open a checking account and get a local ATM. No need to bring large amounts of cash with me, no need to go to a money changer every week or so. And with the strong dollar, the timing was right. So I went to Bank Hapoalim to open my account. Not one of the neighborhood branches, but the fancy main branch downtown that takes care of foreigners. I made the deposit and asked for some of it back in cash. The teller said this branch doesn't have a cashier. I was dumbfounded. I had just deposited a reasonable amount of money but had to go elsewhere to withdraw a relatively small sum. Not only that, but my ATM card wouldn't be ready for 5 more days. So what they had to do was issue a temporary ATM, good for one day only, so I could get some walking around money.
As I said last year ... embrace the chaos.
Shabbat shalom,
Peggy and Sid
No comments:
Post a Comment