Much as I enjoy speaking Hebrew, having to speak another language all the time can be mentally grueling, especially late at night when you’re tired. I have a new appreciation for all my Israeli co-workers over the last few years who had to speak English all the time in the States. At some point during the day, I’ve usually had enough and can’t bear to strain my mental muscles anymore. Although I’m pleased that my vocabulary of slang continues to increase.
On a related note, I opened a bank account today. Here is a pretty close re-enactment of how it went:
Teller: “ujvlksfu90xcnwaeofj;suf8paejfsduekfmviditvmcdkeiweor9fkvcmbhnfueo
slx,fmviruydjckvuhfhueiewowpmcndjkslfogiepoqpwkxmvnghrufsdfsfaweovnvale
wfuhasdfeasdasdasdasdsdfsaujvlksfu90xcnwaeofj;suf8paejfsduekfmviditvmcdkei
weor9fkvcmbhnfueoslx,fmviruydjckvuhfhueiewowpmcndjkslfogiepoqpwkxmvngh
rufwae8usfdfujvlksfu90xcnwaeofj;suf8paejfsduekfmviditvmcdkeiweor9fkvcmbhn
fueoslx,fmviruydjckvuhfhueiewowpmcndjkslfogiepoqpwkxmvnghrufujvlksfu90xcn
waeofj;suf8paejfsduekfmviditvmcdkeiweor9fkvcmbhnfueoslx,fmviruydjckvuhfh
eiewowpmcndjkslfogiepoqpwkxmvnghrufujvlksfu90xcnwaeofj;suf8paejfsdsdfsdfs
uekfmviditvmcdkeiweor9fkvcmbhnfueoslx,fmviruydjckvuhfhueiewowpmcndjkslf
ogiepoqpkxmvnghrufujvlksfu90xcnwaeofj;suf8paejfsduekfmviditvmcdkeiweor9fk
vcmbhnfueoslx,fmviruydjckvuhfhueiewowpmcndjkslfogiepoqpwkxmvnghrufsdoew
ujfsdifwea9fsdkfjhg8ew;pidjf98e;dsgnwkxmvnghrufujvlksfu90xcnwaeofj;suf8paej
fsduekfmviditvmcdkeiweor9fkvcmbhnfueoslx,fmviruydjckvuhfhueiewowpmcndjks
lfogiepoqpwkxmvnghrufujvlksfu90xcnwaeofj;suf8paejfsduekfmviditvmcdkeiweo
9fkvcmbhnfueoslx,fmviruydjckvuhfhueiewowpmcndjkslsdfsdfsdfasdfasdfewgar”
Now please sign your name on these 20 lines.”
Me: “Um, ok.”
(With a lot more kh sounds, of course.) I guess I’ll have to wait for my first statement to find out what I signed away. From what I understand, the bank charges you for every transaction including ATM withdrawals. On the other hand, there aren’t individual ATMs for each bank which means you can take money from any machine without getting charged. So I can say goodbye to the days of walking out of my way in Midtown NYC just to stop by Citibank.
In other news, I listened to Galgalatz the other day, what is probably Israel’s most popular radio station, playing a mix of popular Hebrew and English tunes. It’s interesting to hear what songs have somehow remained in their playlist despite not having been heard on American radio for 15 years. I actually heard Edie Brickell and the New Bohemians twice this week. I also heard U2’s classic song “One”. Am I the last one to find out about the re-release with Mary J. Blige? The first time I heard it, I swore it was Leeann Rimes. I actually like it; you can watch the video here if you haven’t heard it yet.
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