(no subject)
There are some days that remind me that no matter how much I love this place, I am not cut out to live in Israel. Today's reminder? Israel Bureaucracy. All the other times I've been in Israel, I've pretty pretty insulated from Israeli institutions, minus a few trips to the bank an some exploratory talks with Bezek. This time, however, I'm all in. Its my job to pay all my bills, go to the ministry to get my visa, and go to the municipality to pay my Arnona (property tax). Bills so far have been pretty ok. Everything has been switched to my name, and now I'm just keeping an eye out for everything, because its unclear to me which utilities automatically bill my card, and which I have to do myself. The ministry hasn't been too bad, mostly because I haven't been able to get a hold of them. My faxed request for an appointment didn't receive an answer, and so far I haven't been able to actually talk to a person on the phone.
Arnona, however, has been a whole other ball game. We were told that we'd be able to apply for a student discount for the Arnona, cutting our bills significantly (up to 80%). The first time i went to the municipality to try and deal with it, I waited for a long time with some other students, only to be told that we did not have the correct documentation, AND that before we could even apply for the discount, we had to change the Arnona to our names, which they can't do. So we went to another part of the building, waited even longer, and were finally successful in completing that first step. Since that day, lots of other students went to the municipality, and almost everyone was given different information. So today, a group of us set off from HUC, with trusty Nancy as our guide and advocate (and for some, translator). After waiting an hour for the Arnona office to open (the office is usually only open in the mornings, when we have ulpan. On Tuesdays, they reopen from 4:00-6:00. You have to get there early if you don't want to wait forever). Things did not go so well. The first batch of us went up to the counters, and tried to move things along. I was told I could receive half of the discount, to cover "my half" of the apartment. Then, things got worse. One of the clerks was of the opinion that the recent practice of providing student discounts to American students was not kosher. So the supervisor, despite his many conversations with Nancy, decided to put a halt on the proceedings. He collected a bunch of our documents, and will be reviewing them with a lawyer. We should find out in a couple days what the outcome is.
Here is why this is difficult for me to handle:
1) Every person you talk to tells you something different. One clerk could award you the discount with no problem, and another could refuse.
2) Some people in our class have already received discounts! Because there does not seem to be a clear system for deciding -- some clerks think it has to do with your current income, some think it has to do with your net worth, and some assume that if you are American you must have rich parents who cover all your expenses.
On the plus side, I do still really like Israel, and here are some reasons for that:
1) The hummus is way better here.
2) You can get super fresh and super cheap whole wheat pita
3) Produce is also delicious and cheap (though I must confess I'm not familiar enough with local produce to take full advantage of this)
4) Shabbat is awesome (true everywhere, but especially true, I think, in Jerusalem)
5) Everything, and everyone, has a story
6) Really good ice cream
So, in summary, I guess its a goo thing Israel has really good food, otherwise I don't know if the pros would outweigh the cons!
Arnona, however, has been a whole other ball game. We were told that we'd be able to apply for a student discount for the Arnona, cutting our bills significantly (up to 80%). The first time i went to the municipality to try and deal with it, I waited for a long time with some other students, only to be told that we did not have the correct documentation, AND that before we could even apply for the discount, we had to change the Arnona to our names, which they can't do. So we went to another part of the building, waited even longer, and were finally successful in completing that first step. Since that day, lots of other students went to the municipality, and almost everyone was given different information. So today, a group of us set off from HUC, with trusty Nancy as our guide and advocate (and for some, translator). After waiting an hour for the Arnona office to open (the office is usually only open in the mornings, when we have ulpan. On Tuesdays, they reopen from 4:00-6:00. You have to get there early if you don't want to wait forever). Things did not go so well. The first batch of us went up to the counters, and tried to move things along. I was told I could receive half of the discount, to cover "my half" of the apartment. Then, things got worse. One of the clerks was of the opinion that the recent practice of providing student discounts to American students was not kosher. So the supervisor, despite his many conversations with Nancy, decided to put a halt on the proceedings. He collected a bunch of our documents, and will be reviewing them with a lawyer. We should find out in a couple days what the outcome is.
Here is why this is difficult for me to handle:
1) Every person you talk to tells you something different. One clerk could award you the discount with no problem, and another could refuse.
2) Some people in our class have already received discounts! Because there does not seem to be a clear system for deciding -- some clerks think it has to do with your current income, some think it has to do with your net worth, and some assume that if you are American you must have rich parents who cover all your expenses.
On the plus side, I do still really like Israel, and here are some reasons for that:
1) The hummus is way better here.
2) You can get super fresh and super cheap whole wheat pita
3) Produce is also delicious and cheap (though I must confess I'm not familiar enough with local produce to take full advantage of this)
4) Shabbat is awesome (true everywhere, but especially true, I think, in Jerusalem)
5) Everything, and everyone, has a story
6) Really good ice cream
So, in summary, I guess its a goo thing Israel has really good food, otherwise I don't know if the pros would outweigh the cons!