Ulpan

I haven’t wanted to write on my blog in a while because I was supposed to write all about my wonderful Ulpan experience and that experience never happened. Don’t get me wrong, we did start Ulpan, it just hasn’t been wonderful. I spent the last year learning what ‘good teaching’ is and spent quite a bit of time discussing how to approach teaching students who do not speak the language. During that year I unfortunately observed some teachers who did everything backwards….and here I am again observing that…yet this time I am the student. Here is my bullet point list of everything our teacher does wrong (I am super critical!):

-Talks quickly and seems to think speaking louder will make us understand

-Corrects students before they have the chance to correct themselves

-Moves on to another student while the first one is trying to answer a question

-Favors the students that came to the class knowing more Hebrew and makes it seem as though the rest of the class doesn’t work hard enough!!!

-Expects us to read quickly, not sound anything out, and if we can’t do it without sounding it out she does it for us (or for one of her worse moments says in Hebrew: ‘what’s happening, come on!”)

-Gives no time for students to process a question

-Does not have a lesson plan

-No pictures or images, it’s like playing charades all in Hebrew

-Gives no time to write things down

-Does not allow questions or any interactions/help among students

-Expects us to know a word even if she has only said it once

She is one of those teachers who has been teaching for 30 years and hasn’t changed since her first year. In a nutshell she is impatient, disrespectful, and ineffective.

I was going to try to get my money back and find a private tutor (by the way I’ve spoken with at least two other students who feel the same way), but decided to stick it out and do my best not to explode with anger in her classroom. I am meeting with a friend (Sandra) from class during the week so that we can study and do the homework together (the homework isn’t difficult yet, but it’s nice to have someone else to work with). I am also planning to ask her in advance what we will be covering in the next class so that Sandra, Ben, and I can pre-teach ourselves some of the vocabulary and avoid being caught totally in the dark and getting yelled at in Hebrew!

It’s a bit disappointing considering I was so excited about Ulpan (actually it’s more than just a bit disappointing), but I still really want to learn Hebrew and will just have to suffer through the class and do most of my learning outside of it (I just hope I don’t blow a fuse at this woman!)

Next up….Sinai!

They call it Shnorkeling

I didn't take these pictures, but they are of the fish that I saw today.

Today I decided I was going to go to the Sea. To make sure that I actually followed through and didn't get deterred by the 104 degree weather I left the house at 8:00am, before it was too hot. My plan was to go to a beach that is farther South than I have been so far, a few miles away I think. It's called Coral Beach and is known for the good snorkeling (or I should say shnorkeling). I packed a lunch, loaded up my bike with all the necessities for a day at the beach and headed off. However, I wasn't even half way there before I looked down and realized my back tire was completely on the ground. The culprit was a thorn. So...plan B. I was only about a quarter mile from another nice beach that I know of so I decided just to walk the bike there and go to Coral Beach another day. It was a good decision, I'm not even sure how far away that beach is, it could have been a VERY long walk.

So at about 8:15am I arrived at the beach, there were only two other people there, the music that they play on the beach wasn't on yet and the water was calm. It was a great way to start the day (excluding the flat dire ordeal, well actually it wasn't an ordeal..yet). After I got toasty on my towel I went for a swim and floated on my, well..on my floaty. When I got out I was setting up for a nice read on the beach and the bottom of my right foot started stinging. At first I thought it was the sand or the salt but I realized it was red! I'm not sure if it was the coral or a piece of glass, but man a cut stings in the salt. It's not really a bad cut or anything, it's just that is is all the way across the bottom of my foot, kind of an important and sensitive area, especially for walking. Oh well, I decided to ignore it and continue my time at the beach, but from then on whenever I got in the water I wore my keens.

Eventually I tired snorkeling. I didn't really think there was going to be much to see except clear water because this beach isn't really known to be great for snorkeling and I had been there a few times and didn't see much from above. Wow, was I wrong. Little did I know that right at my feet there were fish swimming all around. And I don't mean gray and brown fish, I mean yellow and blue and purple fish! Once I got the hang of breathing like Darth Vader I had a great time seeing the water with such a different perspective. I saw a beautiful larger fish that was a mix of purples and greens and blues. It was almost like that fabric that seems to change colors as it moves or as you move. I had to laugh into my tube though because as I was enjoying the view of the pretty fish....it pooped. HA! (I think the picture above is of that fish, but it was even better in person).

Later I followed a similar fish into some shallower water and realized that right next to me, skimming the surface of the water was a long skinny fish with a really pointy nose. They were very close to me. There were also some fish that seemed to spend most of their time closer to the surface and were always about at arms length away from me. I think I was more scared of them than they were of me...they barely moved when I swam right by them.

I spent quite a while at the beach, going in and out of the water, reading a bit until I was too hot to stand it and then spending some more time with the fish. At about 1:30 I began my trek back home (this is when the flat tire became somewhat of an ordeal). In the heat of the day I began walking home. I hadn't realized it, but my skin had already turned a bit towards the red side and it's about a two and a half mile walk home (not bad without a full bike, 104 degrees, and a cut foot). I stopped once to buy a drink and then went straight to the bike shop to get my tire fixed...silly thorn. Now for the embarrassing part...you would think at 26 almost 27 years old I would realize that when you are out in the sun that long, it may not feel like you are burning...but you probably are! I now look like a stripped lobster with a raccoon face! I've certainly seen worse and I 've had worse myself, but still...LAUREN!

Anyway, I am back home with two full tires, aloe vera, and air conditioning, and I'm super excited that in a few hours we will be going to Ulpan. I am really curious about what it will be like. I had a few dreams about it last night, none if which made much sense and all of which the real Ulpan will certainly trump. I'll be anxious to write about what it was like soon.

Well, I was planning to try Coral Beach tomorrow but unless I want to look like a piece of leather I think I might try to stay out of the sun tomorrow.

'Til next time!

A bit of daily life

I guess it's about time I offered up the grand tour of our apartment for all to see. Enjoy the tour and, don't get too claustrophobic...

As for other updates:

WORK WORK WORK: Ben got a job!! Today was his second day as a motorcycle mechanic again! He works long days from 7:30am until 6:00pm and comes home in his favorite condition, with dirt under his nails and grease on his clothes. He's a working man all the way through! His co-workers are very nice and so is his boss (Shlomi). Shlomi speaks English and so do the other employees, unfortunately they want to practice their English while Ben wants to practice his Hebrew, but I'm sure he will start learning quicker now that he is around the language more often than we have been so far. Ben never ceases to amaze me with the way he just steps into all the places he might want to work and asks for a job...it always seems to pay off for him. Good job Ben!

HEALTH CARE: The night before we left for France my throat randomly started hurting. It has been hurting off and on since then and I finally decided it has been long enough and it hurts bad enough that I should see a doctor. The doctors office is only about three blocks from our apartment so at 7:52 this morning I headed out the door hoping to get their before a rush of people...I was late. How I was late when it was supposed to open at 8:00 and I got there at 7:58 I do not know! That was just the beginning though. I got in to the see the first doctor pretty quickly but I left her just as fast. She took about a 4 second look in my mouth and 2 in each ear and said there was nothing there!Hmm...I wonder how she knows that without looking past the back of my tongue. So....I was sent back downstairs to reception to pay for a throat culture and an even bigger line of people had formed. I stood there for a while trying to figure out where I was supposed to go. Everything is done there by picking a number, but I was at a loss as to which button to press to GET a number. Finally I got one but when it was my turn to get help I approached the desk and the woman didn't even look up from what she was doing....guess what she was doing....texting on her cell phone!!! She totally ignored me and then finally told me to go to another desk, where I waiting another 5 minutes and was then sent to yet ANOTHER desk. Finally I paid and was sent back upstairs to get the throat culture. However, (yes it continues) the number that the woman gave me was wrong and I waited while person after person who came after me got called in to see the nurse. Finally, I went back downstairs and asked for help. She spoke with the nurse and I got in to see her. BUT...she said I needed another copy of the receipt so I went back downstairs to get it and was sent back upstairs after hearing that 'no, the nurse is wrong, she does not need the other copy.' So...I finally got in...the nurse stuck the long cue tip into my mouth, knocked it around a bit (once again at the back of my tongue, not even where it hurts!) and told me the results would be ready on Thursday. Well...if that didn't turn me off to going to the doctor...wait, what I am saying...it did. If that wasn't confusing for you, I'd worry.

HOTTER THAN HOT: Ok so I wasn't here for the really hot weather that they get in Eilat, but I'm pretty much melting here. It's getting on towards the end of October and we're still having heat above 100 degrees every day! It's 8:45pm right now and still almost 90 degrees out!

ULPAN: To my surprise and pleasure we actually get to start Ulpan this coming Wednesday! We also met another girl who is in my same situation (non-Jew, dating Israeli, getting work visa, taking Ulpan) and she is going to be in our Ulpan as well. She is from Germany but she and her boyfriend speak English together so we can all communicate easily. We went to the beach with them the other day, it was pretty fun...it is interesting to hear how different the US, Germany, and Israel are. Maybe soon we can all speak Hebrew together:)

NOTE TO FAMILY & FRIENDS: If you are lucky enough to see my Maybe...please give her a kiss for me. I miss you all very much.

Feeling alive in the Dead Sea

The day after the Brit, Ben took his motorcycle test and then we boarded the bus to the Dead Sea (Yam HaMelach, which is actually not dead sea, but salty sea...melach is salt). Last year it was December when we covered ourselves in mud and tried our best to get the whole Dead Sea Experience. However, despite our best efforts, we were their late, the sun was going down, the air was cool, and it just wasn't the time we had hoped for. Although I enjoyed the Sea last year, this time it was far better.

It was HOT outside and the water beckoned. We got there around 11:00am and after a quick bite to eat headed straight into the water. Last time it was painful to step in because the bottom was covered in sharp salt crystals wherever you stepped. I don't know if it was because so many people come in the summer and the water moves around more or something, but this time the bottom was smooth sand, no shoes necessary. The water was so warm we walked right in no problem, it was pretty much like a luke warm bath, not the place you want to go to have a refreshing swim, but more for the odd feelings of weightlessness (more than you can imagine!). After getting over the initial burning sensation on any scrapes or dry skin (if you don't already know they are there, the Sea will tell you), we explored the odd effects of the water. Two things stand out to me as the coolest experiences:

1) If you lay your head back and put your hands behind your head you don't have to expend any energy at all, it's like laying on a cloud (or I guess what I imagine that would be like), you could stay that way for hours. In normal water I can't float worth anything. I stick my stomach in the air, arch my back, think floaty thoughts, but no matter what I do my legs still slowly sink down until I am practically vertical. But the Dead Sea....it will have none of that...if you want to float you will float (and if you don't want to float...too bad).

2. You get to a depth where in normal water you could still touch, but try as you might you just can't get our feet to touch the bottom. You're not drowning of course, your head is still far above the water, as a matter of fact so are your neck, shoulders, and part of your torso. You can bob up and down straight as a toothpick, no flailing of the arms or legs, just bouncing in place, never tiring. What a cool feeling.

It was interesting though, almost just as we got to the beach a man and woman were being dragged out of the water by the lifeguards. Since the water is mostly very shallow and it's so dang hard NOT to float we were a bit baffled as to why they were struggling. The only thing I can think is that they were laying on their stomachs and couldn't quite turn over (it is somewhat difficult to turn yourself back over) maybe they got some water in their mouth and panicked. The water is so salty it burns if you touch your finger to your tongue, so I can imagine if they swallowed a bit it would have been scary....we don't really know what happened though. They were both fine by the way.

It was a great day. We relaxed, we sat in the sun, we floated, we covered ourselves in mud, we went back in the water, we rinsed (a necessity), and then we boarded the bus for the 3 hour ride back to Eilat where the water is cooler and more refreshing, but you have to work for your float!

He'll never miss it

Last Tuesday we went to Iftach's Brit. Iftach is Inbar and Hemi's son, and a brit is the circumcision ceremony. The Brit was in Beer Sheva. It was a nice gathering of people we had spent the holidays with when we were staying with Thea and Mandi. It was great to see some familiar faces but we also met some of Hemi's family, which was nice for me. I guess Ben had already met them sometime last year. The ceremony was catered and the food was amazing! I was too full by the time the main course came that I couldn't even eat it! The circumcision was interesting and this was certainly the first time I had been to anything of the sort. Iftach was a pretty good sport although I don't think a Brit is really all that fun for a little boy so most of the pictures we got of him were like the one you see above. In a rare moment of serenity beforehand Ben was able to snap the picture of him you see below....so calm, for the moment. It was an emotional time for the family, I think it was a big mix of emotions. It was certainly a lot for Inbar, considering she had the C-Section only a little more than a week before.

The baby is very cute. He has a big head of dark brown hair (which I am sure he will lose soon) and tiny little chicken legs. It was great to get to meet the little one and we had the opportunity much sooner than we expected. We were very happy to have been invited and to be a part of the ceremony.

While we were in Beer Sheva Ben got his motorcycle license. It's not all that easy and the other guys who took it with him didn't pass, same thing happened with the driving license. It actually is pretty unusual to pass these tests on your first try. Sometimes it takes more than 5 tries! Go Ben!

The picture above is of Hemi (Iftach's father, Inbar's husband, Thea & Mandi's son-in-law...do you follow?)

A lot of Eilat

So we've been in Eilat for a little over a week now....seems like much longer actually. We have successfully made a little home for ourselves in our apartment. I have yet to take pictures of the place to show but I will get around to it eventually. We gave the room a bit of a face lift when we put up some shelves. I thought we did a pretty good job. Funny thing though, as we were building we discovered that our entire apartment is crooked, not like one of those crazy houses at the fair, but definitely crooked. So, instead of putting up the shelves the way they should be (level!) we decided it looked best to make them match the rest of the room, slightly off kilter (just like us!). You can't really tell that they aren't level unless you measure because they fit right in, the only time you really might notice this unique quality of our home is when your pencil keeps rolling off the desk (this was actually our first signal that something was a bit askew).

The first week in Eilat was mostly filled with exploring the stores that have housing supplies, but the other day we finally ventured further and explored the beach! I bought a bike the other day so getting around town is much faster now. I won't say that it is easier though because the fact that everywhere we go requires almost no peddling means that whenever we come home....well, our legs are like jello and we require a shower (needless to say we are a bit out of shape, but hopefully eventually those shaky jello legs will be like rocks after riding these hills every day! So, we hopped on our bikes and wound our way through the busy round-abouts to a portion of the beach that is a little quieter than the main beach in the center of the city. We floated and bobbed in the water, which is as clear as can be, no matter where I was I could always see the bottom. Snorkel gear (or here it is called Shnorkel) will soon be a necessity!

Unfortunately our Ulpan class has been delayed for up to another 5 weeks so we are still left with the little hebrew we started with, maybe a few more words. I know that going out into the town helps with that and we try to get out some, but I am finding my comfort zone has shrunk considerably and I am hesitant to do all of the activities I had planned. We do try to get out a little each day though as we have found that the days that we don't go out are rather restricting in our little hobbit hole. We posted an ad in the newspaper today for English tutoring so we'll see if that brings anything in and I may get up the guts to call the district about any teaching positions, but we'll see.

It has been cooling down a bit so we can spend a little more time in our outside area than before. It is 5:30 now and getting fairly dark, but it is actually quite pleasant outside. It is a nice place to be in the evenings. Oh we also made friends (kind of) with a beautiful cat that is black and white with bright blue eyes. Maybe it is bad but we have fed her a few times so she comes back to visit sometimes. We named her hef because she looks like a cow (her spots). She also looks like she recently had kittens :( I'll post a picture if I can get one of her.

Ben has been cooking up a storm lately! He can really do a lot with just one hotplate. The other night he made us Shakshuka (did I mention this is my new favorite food? Tomato sauce with eggs in a sandwich) and today he made us schnitzel sandwiches and couscous...mmm. I feel pretty lucky to have him around:)

Oh...good news!! Inbar had her baby! We will have to wait until we are in Beer Sheva next to see him, but he weighed in at a healthy 6lbs and is doing great! So is Inbar, although she is VERY tired. We are very much looking forward to meeting him.

I'm going to turn the porch light on and read a bit (Erich Segal, currently my favorite author), I'll post again soon (with pictures!).

Home in Israel!

We moved in! Two days earlier than we expected to. We've been busy making this tiny place our home and I will soon post pictures (but not until we finish unpacking and cleaning up. A good description of our place though is like a really nice dorm room with it's own bathroom:) Today I walked to the Home Center to get things for the apartment (long hot walk). I bought some jars for oatmeal and rice and stuff in the kitchen. My walk back was longer than it needed to be because I tried a different way and got a tad lost, just a tad. As I was walking, carrying my three bags, I kept feeling like something wet was leaking out of one of the bags, but I ignored it thinking it was most likely sweat. Eventually I looked down and realized that one of the jars had broken and cut my leg...my whole leg was covered in blood!! No worries, it was really a tiny scratch, I had just spread it all around while brushing the bag against my leg over and over. I tried to hang the bag just right for the rest of the walk so that nobody could see it..it looked horrible! Pretty funny though (except that I am missing one jar). I ended up walking all the way back to the Home center again though because I forgot something (only to then forget to get another jar!).

It was a nice day though and I got a lot done (so did Ben, but we were doing our own things..he was all around town too). The apartment is looking nicer, the laundry is hanging to dry, dinner is in our tummies and the kitchen is clean, and we are relaxing and ready for another hot day in Eilat (actually I'm not sure I'm really ever ready for the hot part).