Israeli Necessities

There are two things that every Israel needs to survive in this country. The first is the ID card. Everything functions through the ID card. You can't pay bills, get a bank account, sign up for medial insurance, or pretty much anything else besides it. The closest approximation for US is a social security number. Imagine trying to get health insurance or pay taxes or get a W4 form without it. We in the states are all just used to it so we don't think about it. Long story short, I got mine, finally! It was actually one of the easier things to deal with, and the Ministry of Interior, where I got it, was surpsingly effecient considering the infamous beurocratic mess that is usually associated with government offices.

The second, and arguably more important item on the list of Israeli Necessities is the cell phone. Israel, along with Iceland, Luxembourg, and Norway, ranks as the country with the most cell phones per capita. Over 80% of the Israeli population has a cell phone.... I have seen people here with 2 cell phones on their belt (Joanna, do not date these people, as much as I know you like belt accessories on men, please please stay away from this).

The company I chose to go with is Cellcom, which had a great deal for students, and I'm abusing any student deal I can get right now. There are 3 major cell phone carriers in Israel, who pretty much form an oligopoly on the whole thing. Cellcom, Orange (british I believe) and Pelephone. Pelephone is the oldest, I think going as far back as 1993. The word "Pele" (pronounced like the Brazilian soccer player) means miracle. So Pelephone litterally stands for "miracle phone".

Also cheers to Jonny Hong Kong for being my first international caller, beating out even my mother!