We have been in Israel one week. We are learning our way around town, getting adjusted, meeting people, and are now fairly familiar with school procedures. But today was our first visit to the laundromat...and what a visit it was.
In Jerusalem, if people do not have washing facilites in their houses or apartment buildings, they use a take out service. I prefer to wash my own clothes. Problem is, there are very few laundromats in the city.
We went to the laundromat just a few hours before Shabbat was to begin, a mistake that we will not repeat. At one point during our visit there, seven people (including me) were vying for three washing machines and two dryers.
When we first arrived, a girl told us there was another laundromat down the street. I waited while Bill walked down the street to see if there were machines available at this other laundromat. The girl had lied to us; there was no other laundromat. Obviously, she wanted us to leave and create space for others.
This same girl acted like the Laundromat Queen. She reminded me of a pre-schooler domineering over a playground. She commanded (not asked or suggested) a young Orthodox man to remove his laundry from a washing machine. Then she told him how much of his laundry he should put in one dryer (all of it). (But when another young man came in, she was kind and helpful to him. I guess she liked Guy #2 but not Guy #1.) Strange, but she seemed to ooze anger most of the time. Who knows what in her background or life has caused her to be the way she is. Very sad. Regardless of the reasons for her poor attitude, it created quite an interesting (read: stressful) environment.
We were just finishing our laundry when the proprietor came in and began to argue with the room full of clients. Seems that they should not have put their laundry in the washing machines so close to Shabbat, or maybe he was wanting to close early. We couldn't glean the details of the argument because the entire discussion was in Hebrew. But the rapid hand gestures, expressive faces, and raised voices made it blatantly apparent that no one present was happy.
When we finished our laundry, the proprietor followed us outside, said "bye" and smiled at us. (We weren't on his bad side, thankfully.) It sure was good to get out into the sunshine, even if it meant toting our now-clean laundry in a cart for a quarter-mile, then up three flights of stairs.
Such an experience gives one a fresh appreciation for that clean pair of socks!
In Jerusalem, if people do not have washing facilites in their houses or apartment buildings, they use a take out service. I prefer to wash my own clothes. Problem is, there are very few laundromats in the city.
We went to the laundromat just a few hours before Shabbat was to begin, a mistake that we will not repeat. At one point during our visit there, seven people (including me) were vying for three washing machines and two dryers.
When we first arrived, a girl told us there was another laundromat down the street. I waited while Bill walked down the street to see if there were machines available at this other laundromat. The girl had lied to us; there was no other laundromat. Obviously, she wanted us to leave and create space for others.
This same girl acted like the Laundromat Queen. She reminded me of a pre-schooler domineering over a playground. She commanded (not asked or suggested) a young Orthodox man to remove his laundry from a washing machine. Then she told him how much of his laundry he should put in one dryer (all of it). (But when another young man came in, she was kind and helpful to him. I guess she liked Guy #2 but not Guy #1.) Strange, but she seemed to ooze anger most of the time. Who knows what in her background or life has caused her to be the way she is. Very sad. Regardless of the reasons for her poor attitude, it created quite an interesting (read: stressful) environment.
We were just finishing our laundry when the proprietor came in and began to argue with the room full of clients. Seems that they should not have put their laundry in the washing machines so close to Shabbat, or maybe he was wanting to close early. We couldn't glean the details of the argument because the entire discussion was in Hebrew. But the rapid hand gestures, expressive faces, and raised voices made it blatantly apparent that no one present was happy.
When we finished our laundry, the proprietor followed us outside, said "bye" and smiled at us. (We weren't on his bad side, thankfully.) It sure was good to get out into the sunshine, even if it meant toting our now-clean laundry in a cart for a quarter-mile, then up three flights of stairs.
Such an experience gives one a fresh appreciation for that clean pair of socks!
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