The Department Store

When I think of a department store, I think of the large stores in the U.S. that have tons of stuff. When you open a door to a department store in the U.S., the air conditioning hits you, creating a huge breeze of fresh air as you start on a shopping spree. Even if you only have a list of exactly what you need, one wanders over to the shoes, is tempted by a new gadget in the kitchen wares section, and drools over a beautiful piece of jewelry.

Thinking of all these wonderful things, Matt, Jean, and I decided it was high time to explore the local department store. We had heard rumors that one existed and after just a bit of badgering, we were able to get the cross-streets of its location.

With granny cart dragging behind us, we ventured forth. We actually found the department store surprisingly easily and entered after going through a metal detector and having our bags checked.

At first, we were impressed by the size of the store, only because we have gotten used to the itsy-bitsy stores that line most streets. We were excited because this store actually had an aisle and some sub-sections. But in truth, as a department store, it was very small, perhaps one-fourth the size of most department stores in the U.S. Although small, it did have four floors, with an escalator to take you up and only stairs to take you down.

We had made a list so we were shopping with a purpose. It was quite different than in the U.S. Let's just say we weren't tempted by any shoes or jewelry as we walked around. Most of the items in the store seemed more along the lines of Wal-Mart quality for clothes and jewelry. Only the house wares section had some nice things, such as plates and pots.

We started our search by looking at watches. Matt never wears a watch in the U.S. but for some reason he finds it imperative to have one here. But all the watches were overly-expensive and he didn't see any he really liked.

Oh yeah, this department store has a weird thing - if you buy one item, you get another one for free. I think this is their policy all the time rather than a particular sale, but I could be totally wrong about that.

We spent most of our time at the department store looking for sheets. When we move into our new place on August 1, we need to have some queen sheets. Oh I wish I had just brought some from the U.S.! There were only a few choices of sheets at this department store but we had trouble figuring out what size. Jean also needed to get sheets for her guest bed (twin), so we sent Matt around to ask how to determine the sizes.

It turns out that a twin bed is size 90x200 and a queen is 180x200. But then we couldn't figure out what was in each package. Was it just a flat sheet or did it also have a fitted sheet and pillow covers? Did it include a cover for a comforter? It was very confusing and we had to keep asking random people who walked by for help.

However, we think we finally figured it out and then went to pay. From the cashier's gesticulations, we found out that if we signed up for a card then we could continue to get discounts all year. Matt decided that we should sign up for the card, but the entire form was in Hebrew.

Luckily, the cashier called over a young man who knew a bit of English and he worked on translating each and every line. It was very cute because as he struggled with his English, we struggled with our very limited Hebrew.

We successfully got our buy 1, get 1 free and we signed up for the card. However, we decided that they probably thought something was really wrong with us, because Matt kept repeating over and over again, "Yofi!" (which means, "Super!"). We started to imagine what if someone didn't speak English in the U.S. came into a department store and repeatedly said, "Super!" (probably not even pronouncing it correctly), no matter what the question. We'd think he was crazy!

Crazy or not, we bought two sets of sheets, two table runners (one was only $8 and the other free!), four washcloths, two shirts for Matt, and four pairs of short socks for Matt. Success!