חג שמח

OR...happy holiday. Today is טו בשבט (Tu Bishvat). It is the 15th day of the month of Shvat (which is right now on the Jewish calendar). It is celebrated as the birthday of the trees, or the new year for the trees. On Tu Bishvat you are supposed to plant a tree, drink wine (red and white) and eat the fruits of Israel. There are 7 'fruits' that are meaningful on this holiday: Figs, Dates, Pomagranates, Graps, Olives, Wheat, and Barley. Today in Ulpan we had a Tu Bishvat party and I was given something to say. I practiced it last night, which was good because we had to use a microphone and say it in front of all four Ulpan classes. I think I did fine. I said "B'tu Bishvat ochlim perot eretz Israel u-mevarchim. B'tu Bishvat shotim arba cosot yine u-mevarchim" which means on Tu-Bishvat we eat the fruits of Israel and say blessings. On Tu Bishvat we drink 4 cups of wine and say blessings. At the end they gave us each a branch from a spider plant. I planted it in my pot since my flower died. (I think technically I probably should have planted it in the earth, but I don't know if people really want spider plants crawling around everywhere, plus I needed a new plant).

Ulpan is really frustrating right now. I am in there with a bunch kids in adult bodies. They are horrible...they talk all the time when other people are talking and when the teacher is trying to talk. I have to listen to every word the teacher says and not miss something or I get lost and it's hard enough without all the Russian words and whispered hebrew flying around the room. Today at the party they were so embarrassing I had to tell them to be quiet over and over again. They made our class look horrible and rude. Grrr...I don't know what it is about these people, but they have no manners in the classroom. With the combination of talking during class and never doing their homework no wonder they are not getting any better at Hebrew....I can't quite compare them to my 5th period last year (if I spoke about student teaching with you, you have heard of them), but they are close on the rudeness scale. Ok though, enough venting, I really am learning a lot from the class and there are a few of us that pay attention and actually learn the stuff.

I even think I'm ready for hebrew font on my computer so I can write things faster, like flashcards or something....we'll see.

Tour the apartment

Ok, so it's a bit dorky, but if you want to see what my apartment is like...take the video tour! (Sorry for the poor video quality)

Twice in the past week I had a the very cool experience of having a whole conversation in Hebrew with an Israeli. I have little mini conversations in order to get things accomplished like at the grocery store, or with the taxi/bus drivers, etc. But these were real conversations, for the sole purpose of talking. The first one was on the bus with the person next to me on the way back from Eilat. She was very talkative. The second was with a person that pulled over to give me a ride in the rain (I didn't take it of course, but it was cool to talk in Hebrew anyway!)

The only word I can think of to describe this past weekend is an experience. Ben was recently in touch with an organization that helps new immigrants make connections with people in Israel. He got phone calls from 5 different people inviting us for Shabbat dinner. Four of them were Rabbis (all orthodox). We accepted the first invitation from Rabbi Schwartz (from Seattle). We went to services on Friday evening before dinner at the Rabbi's house. Wow...it was orthodox so the men and women were separated. However I was the only woman there and the place for the woman was really just the kitchen/closet! I sat in a chair by myself facing a dirty wall like I was on time out! So weird...I couldn't even really hear the sermon and didn't know when to stand up, when to sit..or what the heck I should be doing. Rather an odd/uncomfortable experience. The dinner at the Rabbi's was actually alright. He has 5 kids from a few months to 15 years old, so that was entertaining. I'm not really a huge fan of this Rabbi though as I think he likes to hear himself talk a bit too much for my taste. I prefer Rabbi Feldman from Bend.

The next day we went to the house next door to the Rabbi's for lunch with another family that recently immigrated from Atlanta, Georgia. They were very friendly (also Orthodox). Lunch was pleasant enough. The couple is actually in an Ulpan class above mine in the same building 4 days a week...I saw the woman (Rebecca) there today, she came to visit me during break. The family has two 9 year olds and a 11 year old. I can't imagine what it must be like to jump right into school all in Hebrew. I know Serge and Irina did that and I worked with kids at home who had recently come to the country and couldn't speak/understand English yet, but it really understand it more now that I am trying to learn Hebrew...yikes!

I was proud that I remembered not to try to shake hands with the men, especially the Rabbi. It always kind of feels a bit rude of me (and of them) not to shake hands, but it's just because that's what I am used to. However, I made two mistakes that I didn't really realize were mistakes until later on Saturday night when we were back home. At the Rabbi's house my alarm went off on my phone even though the phone was turned off! (Don't ask me how it did that). I don't think the Rabbi really noticed since so much was going on in the house at the time....but oops. The second mistake was the next day after lunch. We were walking down the street with another Orthodox couple who was also at lunch at Rebecca's. They wanted Ben's number for future advice about buying a car and I offered to write it down....mistake. I guess (and I actually didn't know this) that writing is considered work and isn't allowed on Shabbat. Of course, for me it would not have mattered, but the guy told me not to write. How do people not do work for a whole day each week!? Imagine that in college...or as a teacher!? Wowwie! What if someone relaxes by writing poetry...is it still considered work? Just curious.

Ben's back at base again, but now he has started Ulpan....army Ulpan that is. I'm not sure what class is like for him, but I think they study for almost 8 hours a day! I bet he will come home having learned a lot...exciting! Maybe we can start teaching each other what we learn in Ulpan, because I'm sure they are very different classes.

See you later! Lehitraot!

My new life

At least that's what it feels like, a new life in Karmiel. I am really enjoying my hebrew class and have met a few people there. Diana is a new friend of mine. She is from Ecuador and is 28 years old. She married her husband 3 weeks ago in Cypress. Cypress, not Israel, because she also is not Jewish. She lives on a Kibbutz about 45 minutes north of here and commutes every day for Ulpan. I also met another student who is new to the class. Her name is Tatiana, she is from Germany and is also 28. She has a 5 year old child. She also moved here with her husband and is not Jewish....do you see the trend? Just wait, there is another girl (24) from Ukraine who moved here with her husband as well. What crazy women we are.

I am doing well in Karmiel. I have mixed emotions during the week because I am basically living alone right now (except for Friday and Saturday), but I am happy with Ulpan and am meeting friends (girls, which is amazing for me). This week I also made what felt like a major step in the visa process. Monday morning I left Ulpan an hour early to begin a 9 hour trek down to Kibbutz/Eilat. I stayed the night at Ronit's house, however, I didn't really sleep. I woke up at 3:00 in the morning so that I could watch the game!!! Go ducks! Even though we lost, I have to say it was a game well worth getting up to watch. Thanks to Brenda, Chuck, Colleen, and mom for letting me join in on their game watching, I enjoyed it (oh the wonders of Skype).

That same morning I went into Eilat with my letter from the lawyer and had my appointment at the Ministry of Interior (Misrad Hapnim). That woman is still the b**ch that she has always been but at least she finally decided to send my files to Jerusalem. Now it is in someone else's hands! After my 10 minute appointment (10 minutes for 9 hours of travel time!), I made a few more errands and then ate Hummous where I used to work with Dan and Sandra. Then I boarded the bus again and made the 9 hour trip back up to Karmiel. Unfortunately my tourist visa is going to expire before I get the work visa (could take a month to a month and a half, which is odd since the first time she told me it would take one week!), so I have to make the trip down again on the 30th to get it extended. This time for some unknown reason Ben also has to come, which means taking a day off from Army, not an easy thing to do. I think he can do it, but what a hassle. I swear that woman just sits there thinking of ways to make our lives more difficult. However, I feel this was a positive step as now at least my papers are not just sitting idle in an office in Eilat...they are on the move!!!

Yesterday when I got home from Ulpan all I wanted to do was go to sleep, I was SOOO tired from getting up early and traveling and Ulpan was slow and I had been imagining my bed for the last 3 hours. I got to my door and turned the key, but it stopped, I tried to get it out..no luck..turn it more..no luck. So much for going right to bed. My landlord came in and I asked him why it wasn't working. Twenty minutes later we succumbed and bashed in the lock and broke into the apartment! He installed a new lock (doesn't fit right, so he is getting a new one soon) and I was able to sleep for three hours before getting up to eat, do homework, and go back to bed:)

Benny is coming home tomorrow morning and I am very excited. We thought he was going to have to stay on base this weekend but it turns out he doesn't have to stay until some weekend in February (good because I wasn't ready for two weeks without him yet, not that I ever really will be).

I don't have any new pictures yet because I am lazy and haven't taken any. I do still plan to make a video tour of the apartment and with Stacy's clever suggestions, I will give you a small tour of my neighborhood too! Thanks to everyone for all of the birthday wishes and gifts, they are all very appreciated. Ben framed some of his pictures for me and put one on a large canvas for the apartment...so beautiful...what a wonderful guy that boy is:)

These are the pics he framed:

This picture is in a frame on its own, it is from Grandma and Grandpa's garden! I love it.

These two he put in a double frame together. Sylvain, you took the one on bottom! I like this one, I need to have a picture of Benny during the week...so cute (have I said that before?)

This is the Oregon coast, taken with Ben's old camera. This one he put on the canvas...wonderful reminder of home! And Grandma Jo!

Ulpan....again

Well, well, well...once again I went to my first day of Ulpan (Hebrew class), but this time it was quite different. I have class from 8:00am to 12:30am Sunday-Thursday now and am very excited and ready to really learn some Hebrew. The teacher is much nicer at this Ulpan and speaks much slower. She lets each person try speaking and she waits for them to finish saying something before correcting. We also do a lot of repetition and practice of the same questions, which I think helps me to learn the words. In the other Ulpan there didn't seem to be any kind of plan or organization, but this time the topics that we cover seem to make sense! It was interesting though as I felt I actually knew the most hebrew in the class! This one is starting much, much slower...but since it is every day that is probably a good thing. Plus, it was nice to understand a bit.

There are 16 of us in the class. We are from the U.S. (2), Georgia (6), Ukraine (1), and Russia (7). Everybody in the class speaks Russian and only the two of us from the U.S. and one person from Russia speak English. It's very weird because I can't understand anything people are saying except when they speak Hebrew! I think it might be easier when we learn a bit more Hebrew so I can communicate with the other students. The other weird thing is that when the teacher says a new word she often translates it into Russian, sometimes I don't even know what language she is speaking! (She does translate to English at times, but so far I haven't needed it...cool).

Overall I think this is going to be a much more rewarding experience, the only disappointment is not having an easy place to meet some people (many of the students are much older and/or don't speak English!), maybe over time, we'll see. Oh, and I am actually the only person who didn't recently make Aliyah (in other words I am the only tourist).


As far as other news, I found the library. It's right next door to the class. I'm pretty excited about that and already checked out a book. Ben left for Army again today, which is always sad for me. But....he left me a friend. Meet Zimmy!

Ok, I know...he's no Maybe, and I was a little concerned at first that it was a bad idea (last time Ben gave me a fish, Aspen ate it). But I have to say, as pathetic as it may be, it's kind of nice to have another living thing in the apartment with me when Ben is gone. He's a bit shy and hides behind the fake plants, but every now and then I see him venture out for an exploration. I'm a little worried that his bowl is too small (he 's a big boy!) so I may need to upgrade soon so he can really go for a swim. I named him zimmy because zim means gill in Hebrew (hehe, maybe that's kind of like naming your dog paws or something, but I like it...and I think he does too).

Happy New Year!