I had my midterm on Sunday which was fairly easy. I got a B+ on it (84). So I'm happy, especially that I didn't really need to study for it. But because it was so easy I just didn't want to write 6 pages of it so it took me as long as the first person to finish it (1 1/2 hours).
I couldn't wait to get out of class but we had a speaker, an Israeil student who is from Ethiopia. We asked her a bunch of questions about her background and what she thinks of things. I was surprised that one of the Israeli students (well she is Israeil by nationality but moved to Sweden) didn't know the difference between Ashkenzaim and Sephardim and where those people came from. I was feeling that as much I like learning Hebrew quickly, maybe I don't really need to be in another ulpan... at least only one more and then just be all done with it because these things just get old for me. I don't know how Melissa manages going through several ulpanim! Another reason why we tend to run overtime quite bit was that Roni likes to talk a lot.
Finally, I got out and grabbed my stuff (almost forgot my towel!) and took a sherut to meet the Israelis at the hotel. They had just returned from a day trip exploring Haifa, including the family cemetery and Ron's old school. The kids were very tired- Ben kept falling asleep on the spot wherever he was. But the parents and I got them up and moving for the beach. Sometimes I have a hard time believing that the kids still need to be told what to do and get organized... all three of them. I thought back to what the days used to be so easy when our family had only those twins! Aunt Nancy and Uncle Ron certainly have amazing patience to keep talking in order to get each kid moving in his/her way. Like you think that someone's dressed for the beach and then you go off telling another kid to get off the bed, and then you look at a third one who's playing with a camera and then you realize that the kid still hasn't gotten dressed...
Anyway, we took cabs down to the beach. Ron stopped at one beach and I was praying for him to keep going down further south, where I go. The place he thought we'd go wasn't what he expecting so I was happy when we drove down another 1/4- 1/2 mile.
Then we just hung out at the beach from 4:30 to 7 PM. I spent time talking to Aunt Nancy, working on my Hebrew dialogue, and sitting in the waves. The kids either played in the waves or running around in the sand. Ben and Alec were interested in collecting pretty cool rocks. I played frisbee with them. I was surprised that Ben's actually very good at it, given that he doesn't have great coordination (like me). And for Uncle Ron? He was so happy to be at the beach. When he went in the water, Aunt Nancy said to me that she was glad that Ron was in the water with Alec because the kids went out further than expected. When Ron came back, she said that to him and he said that it wasn't exactly what he was thinking... he just wanted to be in the water. Ha.
We also got ice cream, yum. For dinner, we went to one of the restaurants by the beach so we could look out to the water and sunset. I love doing this- sitting outside and having a meal. I ordered a salad with sauteed mushrooms and friend bits of halumi cheese. Ella ordered some shrimp. Everyone else had more Israeli fare- chicken schinztel. The waitress also brought in Israeli salads- including marinated eggplant! Yes!
Then we went to catch cabs to get back up on the mountain. I got in mine and then just went we left, I forgot my purse! (I had a backpack too). The cab driver was so nice to drive back and wait for me. The restaurant still had it- plus my extra tank AND someone's sunglasses. Very nice.
Today, class got a little more interesting. Not only Roni was actually teaching us new stuff but we also got to play on the computers doing verb drills. It didn't take me very long as I knew how to type in Hebrew. I know where the letters are but it's not quite becoming automatic yet as I do in English. The verb drills on the computer were neat and better than the ones I had at Hebrew U (although the program was designed by Hebrew U!).
I took some time to work on my cellphone issue. My family kept telling me that it's the phone that's the problem. So I sat with the assistant secretary to sort it out. She called TalkNSave to see what's the deal. TalkNSave said that I could try out certain models at the local Cellcom store and tell them which one I want and they'll send me a new one. I am hoping to have this sorted out before I go to Jerusalem.
So that meant scratching the idea of going to the Immigration Museum and go to the beach and stop at the Haifa Mall. Tomorrow, I will go to the Immigration Museum.
The beach today was the best one- there weren't many jellyfish around! So I actually stayed in the water and played in the waves for a while! I was much happier than before. But I forgot my pen to work on my Hebrew homework with. Oops.
After the beach, I went over to the Haifa Mall. I stopped at the counter in the aisle but the woman didn't speak enough English and directed me to visit the store upstairs. So I went over there. It was... a madhouse. It was much better than Verizon or any of the other cellphone companies! There were 12-18 desks and you actually need to get a punch ticket and wait for your turn. But I went up to one of them when it was free and told them I don't know enough Hebrew and blah, blah. I also needed to find that slip that the secretary gave me that had instructions on it in Hebrew to give to someone. So while waiting for someone to come with me downstairs, I went through my notebook again. Finally, I found it and told the manager thanks and I'll just go down and try again. But... that scene was just crazy... I hope that if I make aliyah to Israel, my phone had better be good!
I went back down and showed the woman the slip. Ah-ha, she got it. Then we started communicating in Hebrew by writing on a piece of paper with a pen. I understood enough that she couldn't help me for some techincal reasons. She wanted to help but couldn't let me try anything. But the models that I am allowed to upgrade are all Motorola or Nokia. So I'm just going to ask for one of the Motorolas.
So it took me a while to get back home.... And I got stung by a bee while working on my blog. Funny that Alec asked me the other day whether a jellyfish sting hurt more than a bee sting. I had told him that I hadn't been stung by a bee since I was like 8. Now I can tell him that bee stings hurt A LOT more than jellyfish! I actually cried for a bit.
After putting ice on it with the help of my classmate and my Israeli roommates, I went back down. I talked to Dad via AIM- that was a good way to end my day. I felt a little better as I was missing my family. I realized that I usually start missing home when I'm in third week of being away. So hopefully after this weekend, I will feel a little better with a trip to Jerusalem and a new cellphone.
I couldn't wait to get out of class but we had a speaker, an Israeil student who is from Ethiopia. We asked her a bunch of questions about her background and what she thinks of things. I was surprised that one of the Israeli students (well she is Israeil by nationality but moved to Sweden) didn't know the difference between Ashkenzaim and Sephardim and where those people came from. I was feeling that as much I like learning Hebrew quickly, maybe I don't really need to be in another ulpan... at least only one more and then just be all done with it because these things just get old for me. I don't know how Melissa manages going through several ulpanim! Another reason why we tend to run overtime quite bit was that Roni likes to talk a lot.
Finally, I got out and grabbed my stuff (almost forgot my towel!) and took a sherut to meet the Israelis at the hotel. They had just returned from a day trip exploring Haifa, including the family cemetery and Ron's old school. The kids were very tired- Ben kept falling asleep on the spot wherever he was. But the parents and I got them up and moving for the beach. Sometimes I have a hard time believing that the kids still need to be told what to do and get organized... all three of them. I thought back to what the days used to be so easy when our family had only those twins! Aunt Nancy and Uncle Ron certainly have amazing patience to keep talking in order to get each kid moving in his/her way. Like you think that someone's dressed for the beach and then you go off telling another kid to get off the bed, and then you look at a third one who's playing with a camera and then you realize that the kid still hasn't gotten dressed...
Anyway, we took cabs down to the beach. Ron stopped at one beach and I was praying for him to keep going down further south, where I go. The place he thought we'd go wasn't what he expecting so I was happy when we drove down another 1/4- 1/2 mile.
Then we just hung out at the beach from 4:30 to 7 PM. I spent time talking to Aunt Nancy, working on my Hebrew dialogue, and sitting in the waves. The kids either played in the waves or running around in the sand. Ben and Alec were interested in collecting pretty cool rocks. I played frisbee with them. I was surprised that Ben's actually very good at it, given that he doesn't have great coordination (like me). And for Uncle Ron? He was so happy to be at the beach. When he went in the water, Aunt Nancy said to me that she was glad that Ron was in the water with Alec because the kids went out further than expected. When Ron came back, she said that to him and he said that it wasn't exactly what he was thinking... he just wanted to be in the water. Ha.
We also got ice cream, yum. For dinner, we went to one of the restaurants by the beach so we could look out to the water and sunset. I love doing this- sitting outside and having a meal. I ordered a salad with sauteed mushrooms and friend bits of halumi cheese. Ella ordered some shrimp. Everyone else had more Israeli fare- chicken schinztel. The waitress also brought in Israeli salads- including marinated eggplant! Yes!
Then we went to catch cabs to get back up on the mountain. I got in mine and then just went we left, I forgot my purse! (I had a backpack too). The cab driver was so nice to drive back and wait for me. The restaurant still had it- plus my extra tank AND someone's sunglasses. Very nice.
Today, class got a little more interesting. Not only Roni was actually teaching us new stuff but we also got to play on the computers doing verb drills. It didn't take me very long as I knew how to type in Hebrew. I know where the letters are but it's not quite becoming automatic yet as I do in English. The verb drills on the computer were neat and better than the ones I had at Hebrew U (although the program was designed by Hebrew U!).
I took some time to work on my cellphone issue. My family kept telling me that it's the phone that's the problem. So I sat with the assistant secretary to sort it out. She called TalkNSave to see what's the deal. TalkNSave said that I could try out certain models at the local Cellcom store and tell them which one I want and they'll send me a new one. I am hoping to have this sorted out before I go to Jerusalem.
So that meant scratching the idea of going to the Immigration Museum and go to the beach and stop at the Haifa Mall. Tomorrow, I will go to the Immigration Museum.
The beach today was the best one- there weren't many jellyfish around! So I actually stayed in the water and played in the waves for a while! I was much happier than before. But I forgot my pen to work on my Hebrew homework with. Oops.
After the beach, I went over to the Haifa Mall. I stopped at the counter in the aisle but the woman didn't speak enough English and directed me to visit the store upstairs. So I went over there. It was... a madhouse. It was much better than Verizon or any of the other cellphone companies! There were 12-18 desks and you actually need to get a punch ticket and wait for your turn. But I went up to one of them when it was free and told them I don't know enough Hebrew and blah, blah. I also needed to find that slip that the secretary gave me that had instructions on it in Hebrew to give to someone. So while waiting for someone to come with me downstairs, I went through my notebook again. Finally, I found it and told the manager thanks and I'll just go down and try again. But... that scene was just crazy... I hope that if I make aliyah to Israel, my phone had better be good!
I went back down and showed the woman the slip. Ah-ha, she got it. Then we started communicating in Hebrew by writing on a piece of paper with a pen. I understood enough that she couldn't help me for some techincal reasons. She wanted to help but couldn't let me try anything. But the models that I am allowed to upgrade are all Motorola or Nokia. So I'm just going to ask for one of the Motorolas.
So it took me a while to get back home.... And I got stung by a bee while working on my blog. Funny that Alec asked me the other day whether a jellyfish sting hurt more than a bee sting. I had told him that I hadn't been stung by a bee since I was like 8. Now I can tell him that bee stings hurt A LOT more than jellyfish! I actually cried for a bit.
After putting ice on it with the help of my classmate and my Israeli roommates, I went back down. I talked to Dad via AIM- that was a good way to end my day. I felt a little better as I was missing my family. I realized that I usually start missing home when I'm in third week of being away. So hopefully after this weekend, I will feel a little better with a trip to Jerusalem and a new cellphone.
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