מדברת ביברית

Every time I have a good time with an Israeli, my motivation level to study my Hebrew skyrockets. Usually my reason is one of the three:

A) I want to impress him/her with my conversational skills because he/she is awesome.
B) His/her accent is so heavy that it seems a lot easier if I just speak in Hebrew.
C) Wants to trade me for English lessons by teaching me Hebrew.

I bought an Israeli film- Yossi and Jagger (basically Israeli version of Brokeback Mountain- only a little better) and it's got a lot of phrases that I want to learn. So I'll be watching it every once in a while. It's not even long anyway- only an hour. I may buy a few more before I return to the States.

I survived 30 minutes of Hebrew conversation with my favorite teacher last Thursday! She was impressed that I lasted so long and thought I spoke it well. Of course, my friends and family know that I'm pretty critical of myself so I disagree in terms of my pronounciation. She encouraged another session for this week- before I could even ask!

I am going to try to speak as much Hebrew as I can when the Landsmans visit this week in terms of making requests in public so they can tell my parents that I'm not wasting away their money for my tutition. I also try to think in Hebrew as I'm walking or cooking or in the shower or working out and coming up with different phrases to use. I certainly try not to let off that I'm an American when I'm shopping around the shuk and they're telling me the prices.

The more I am engaged with this native language and the people of this country, the more I am unsure of myself when I return to the States...