Laundry In Israel Part 1: Making Change
I’ve made a habit of doing my laundry on Sundays here. The Israeli weekend is Friday and Saturday and their work week begins on Sunday. When Americans are waking up to read the Sunday paper, work in their gardens, or shop for neutral colored spring time pumps, Israelis are heading off to work.
I still can’t get used to it.
Regardless, I take advantage of the empty city and lug a duffle bag bursting with my soiled towels and sweaty t-shirts to the laundromat.
Every week I struggle with the exact change necessary to run the machines. The money here comes in both paper and coin form, just like in America. The difference in Israel, though, is that the coins are just as valuable as the paper money. For example, a 10 shekel paper bill (approximately $3) also comes in a 10 shekel coin form. The change rattling in my pocket can easily equate to $40. It’s another concept I’m still struggling to grasp. I remind myself of this every time I toss my Israeli change on a table with subconscious disregard.
When stateside, I’m always irrationally annoyed having change in my pocket and toss it in a jar or bag to accumulate until I remember to take the heavy package to a coin machine in exchange for cash. Coins are essentially useless in the states unless you come across a shiny gold Sacajawea or silver Kennedy half dollar. Even then, most of us are so enamored by these relatively rare coins, we tend to hold onto them like good luck charms and show them off to our friends until we find ourselves shortchanged trying to buy a Twix bar at a gas station.
Back at the Israeli laundromat, the machines only accept five shekel and one shekel coins. One wash is 12 shekels. Counting on my fingers and toes, that equates to two five shekel coins and two one shekel coins. Don’t be ashamed to read that last sentence again. I know I did. I promise you it’s correct, though.
I’ve learned to horde my five and one shekel coins during the week so that I don’t have to bother trying to make change on laundry day. Making change is an absolute nightmare here. I’m relatively certain coin machines don’t exist in Israel. Instead, everyone relies on shops and cafes to make change for them. The problem is that the shops and cafes are absolute twits about it. Asking to break a 10 shekel coin for two 5 shekel coins always seems to develop into an argument.
Once I obeyed a sign posted in the laundromat which directed me to a convenience store on the corner of Gordon and Ben-Yehuda if I needed to make change. With my most sincere American smile, I asked the gentleman behind the counter to break my 10 shekel coin for me…. pretty please with sugar on top. His reaction was to laugh and grunt no.
Our short dialogue:
Me: What do you mean “no”??
Convenience store twit: Sorry.
Me: Why not?
C.S.T: I do not have enough change to do this for everyone.
Me: But the sign in the laundromat says to come here for change.
C.S.T: When the owner of the laundromat gives me change, then I will make change for you.
Me: But surely you can see that it also brings business to your store. If you want, I can go take the sign down from the laundromat telling people to come to your store. Then no one will come here anymore. Is that what you want?
C.S.T: I can’t make change. Sorry.
I storm out of his stupid little shop with the imprint of a 10 shekel coin in my palm from squeezing it with near murderous strength during our exchange of words. In desperation, I ended up going back to the apartment to ask a roommate if she could make change for me. To my absolute relief she could and I finished my laundry without further incident.
Next time: An Israeli stranger redeems the image of all the bristly Israelis I’ve encountered so far. Part 2 of the laundry saga continues…
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[...] coins that the machines here only take. I nearly jumped with adoration for this woman because of my previous issues making change with cranky Israeli shop owners. But here she was offering much needed assistance without me having to [...]