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.