Chaverim,
Classes have started! Today is the third day. I was placed in Kitah (class) Bet 1, which is about halfway up. There are a total of eight levels, Aleph 1-3, Bet 1 and 2, Gimel and Dalet, and they are starting a new class for people who are coming late. The first day of class was very overwhelming! Right from the start everything is in hebrew, and considering I haven't studied hebrew seriously in a number of years it was a bit of a shock. There were a lot of people who really knew their stuff and I was thinking about moving down a level. Kitah Bet 1 is supposed to be for people who know how to conjugate present tense and know a little about past tense. I've never formally learned how to conjugate past tense, so it was tough for me. Also, my vocabulary is very small, which makes it quite difficult to do the homework. On sunday, after
four hours of class, with a half hour break for mincha, my friend Adina and I did four straight hours of homework. That really helped! We looked up every word we didn't know, and took our time. Class yesterday was much better, instead of feeling like I belonged in a lower level, I felt very comfortable in class. I've realized my strong points in hebrew are speaking (which I seem to be able to do quite well!) and reading. My writing isn't bad either, but my vocab and grammar can both use some work. Although, I must've learned at least 75 new works and 25 new verbs in the last two days!
There are people from all over the world at this Ulpan, and its really amazing to be in class and hear people speak French, Spanish, Portuguese, or even Afrikaans. Also, in my class of 25 people, 20 are girls ;-). My roommate, wh
o isn't here, is from South Africa and some of my friends actually know him. Apparently the Jewish agency in S.A. didn't tell him he got into the ulpan so he decided not to come. So now I have a double apartment all to myself, its great! I have a nice bedroom (as you can see in the picture), a kitchenette, a very small dining room/hallway, and a private bathroom. Every morning my friend Adina comes over and we make breakfast, Israeli style. Scrambled eggs,sliced cucumbers and tomatoes, cottage cheese, pita and chomous, and of course coffee. Adina and I have a very platonic relationship, she's like the sister I never had.
The other two pictures of are my Teudat Oleh (my Oleh ID) and the Haas Promenade, a walkway that overlooks the old city. This is my backyard! It's literally a 5 minute walk from where I live, Gorgeous! I finally found
a really cool cafe close by that has WiFi, which I'm at now, so my communication with the outside world should resume thusly. I trust that everyone is doing well, and for my friends at IC behatzlacha (good luck) with the new semester!
Yours,
-Yachiel
1 comment:
i'm so glad that you have found someone that you get along with so well in such a short amount of time! It is too bad about your roommate, having roommates seems to make things easier (sometimes) but it sounds like Adina is your pseudo roomie anyways, with the breakfast company and all... Anyways i am so happy for you! I smile so big when i read about how well you are doing and how sweet the people there are being to you, all is well here. Keep safe and enjoy your new journey!
peace, rachel
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