Ulpan 2.0

Chaverim,
I apologize for the lack of posts lately, the internet at the Merkaz Klitah (absorption center) is very frustrating. There is wireless, but it barely works, or it works for a few minutes and then that's it.

I also wanted to make sure that what I said in my post about the war did not come off like I am disregarding human life. I certainly did not intend that. Any human life lost, in any capacity, is a tragedy and I fully believe violence and war should be a last resort. But enough of that.

I moved into the Ulpan on Tuesday morning. At first it was a bit disappointing because not only was the ulpan relocated to a much less desirable location, but the living arrangement was, well a bit less than what I had expected. However, over the past few days, and with the arrival of the rest of the students this place is finally starting to feel like home. Before shabbat Karen and Ben, the family I was staying with in Har Nof, brought me a TON of stuff that I needed for my room! I have a full set of dairy dishes, bowls, salad plates, and utensils. They also brought a rug, a kumkum (electric kettle), and various other things. Afterwards they took me and my friend Adina out to run errands, and among other things I bought a few plants.

The ulpan is free, however, we are charged for room and board. This is also subsidized by the government of Israel through the Sal Klitah (absorption basket). The food here is good. Very Israeli style, with a large meat lunch and smaller dairy dinner. Breakfast is up to us. For the first two weeks class is going to be in the evening from 2pm-6pm. From Feb. 1st classes are from 8:15am until 1pm with two breaks. Today was the official opening and the first class. It was really fast! I was placed in Kitah Bet 1, which is about three levels up. I was placed in the right difficulty, however, it will take some hard studying over the next few weeks to refresh my memory for all that I've forgotten. I must have learned 40 new words, and how to conjugate past tense in 4 hours! It's incredible. We also have a significant amount of homework for tonight. I'm lucky because I just graduated a month ago, whereas some people are 4 or more years out of school!

I've been making tons of friends. It is a very international group, with people from the US, Canada, Mexico, Argentina, Brazil, S. Africa, Ethiopia, France, England, Russia, Australia, New Zealand, Ukraine, and Iran. I still don't have a roommate, which I'm starting to get used to. But he is supposedly from South Africa and is really cool (Some of the S. Africans already here are friends with him). That's all for now. Thank goodness for the ceasefire!

Yours,
-Yachiel