Jerusalem Ulpan

I am doing the Jerusalem ulpan to solidfy my Hebrew and to stay in Israel longer.

A lot of things have changed in my life in the past month that have created some difficulties- physically and emotionally. For most part, it has been dealing with friendships with best friends going off to the States. Also, though I have found my niche in Israel, it is a matter of trying to acclimate to the Israeli society by increased frequency in speaking Hebrew. Now, Hebrew is part of my daily language mixed with English. I automatically say basic Hebrew even though my answers are supposed to be in English like ken, lo, toda, akshav, le, meh, ha-yom, ma and so forth. I put together stories and personal accounts in my head as I walk along on the sidewalks. I conjugate the verbs while I'm preparing to speak in Hebrew.

Anyway, I got awesome new roommates for the ulpan. They were estatic to see a fully-furnished kitchen and bathroom. Here's the run-down of who they are:
Meredith K- Ohio State '08, Cinnancati, tried to hook up wireless using my DSL in the apartment but didn't ultimately work out, been to Israel once
Meredith M-Graduate, Utah, mormon, never been to Israel, has 80ish first cousins and knows them all, 5th child out of 10
Rebecca- Orthodox, high school graduate, plans to do yeshiva for the year, St. Louis, never been to Israel, has brother at Techicon (Israeli MIT)
Danielle- Orthodox, high school graduate (Exeter), plans to do yeshiva, been to Israel 3 times, volunteered for the Army and will do again in August until her yeshiva starts, Seattle

I like hanging out with them all. Tonight, I am taking most of them for chicken schwarma down in Emek Refaim (Germany Colony) where my family went. They are so excited! To be honest, I do laugh at them a bit quietly when I recognized typical American diet behavior such as breaking small bits of food in half, buying fat-free dairy products, and a few other things. I've learned that moderation is really the key as I haven't gained or lost any weight since I've been here. (I don't buy anything fat-free except for milk) Honestly, indulge yourself to dessert everyday if you wish as long everything else has been low in calories or fat.

I'm actually in alef shmone, the most advanced of all Aleph classes. I'm not bothered at all as I felt uncertain about moving up to bet after having so much trouble with the past tenses. I can focus more on mastering the vocabulary that I didn't before and getting everything down pat. My class itself is good. The teachers, Bosmat and Dana, are great! They're incredibly patient and I can see that they're serious, especially Dana, in getting us to solidfy our Hebrew for the level exam. I try to communicate with them in Hebrew when I have questions. The students are either A) high school graduates or B) Europeans. There are 2 guys from London, 1 woman from Belgium but studying at University College- London, 1 woman from Switzerland, and a bunch of French. There is no bell curve to describe an average ulpan student that's for sure. Very few people are in my position- American college student. So basically, the graph would look like a two-hump camel.

I just have to say that after being taught by 6-7 Hebrew teachers, there are no bad teachers in RIS's Hebrew language program unlike RIS's regular English program. They all just make you want to keep taking Hebrew there. The time can really fly by in class (of course, unless I'm really tired)

I am trying to look at my calendar for the rest of my time in Israel- trying to see my "families" and friends again before one of us go back to the States and just making the most of my time in continuing my assimilation to the Israeli society with Hebrew and Israeli behavior.

Oh, I have a funny cab story. I was all the way over to Giv'at Shaul, which is on the other end of the city and is a black-hat neighborhood. It has a delicious bakery which I found while looking for the computer service to have my laptop fixed. Anyway... after picking up my laptop, I walked over to the nearest main road to pick up a cab. I caught one and told the driver "'l'Har Hatzofim. l'sholishim hamesh shekelim." He nodded and motioned for me to get in. Wow- I lucked out since the other 3 drivers would only take 40 shekelim. So we drove and went on Begin North, which is an expressway like the Inner Loop in Rochester. He got off Begin North and drives up to Har Hatzofim industrial area. He pulled over to the left lane and began asking where to turn- "Here?" "iser! iser!" "Here?" "Iser.... iser..." "Where do you want me to turn?" "iser l'universitah iverit! You know.. Hebrew U??!?!" He went all "but there are two Har Hatzofims!" I muttered loudly enough for him to hear, "Every other cab driver knows that when someone my age asks for Har Hatzofim that they mean the university." He was nice enough to drive all the way over without charging me extra or anything. Phew.