...That means, "I love to speak Hebrew!" After today's Ulpan, I really felt like I needed to dedicate an entire post to learning Hebrew and my fascination with the language and my experiences while attempting to learn it. I've always been a bit of a nerd....I LOVE to learn new (usually useless facts). Language is something exciting to me. Currently, I speak English, Spanglish, and now kitzat eevreet (a little Hebrew).
My beginner Ulpan class is exactly the way I've always enjoyed school...it's a VERY small group of 5 students. I like the individual attention we get, and I find that when I know I HAVE to participate, I try harder to do well. I would consider myself a great student in Ulpan because I ask a lot of questions, I try not to just read my notes to figure out an answer, and I am genuinely excited to learn. It's not like we're being graded, but I really want to be comfortable with my Hebrew. I think I can say the same for at least the other girls in the class, Erica and Leah. We like to be paired the 3 of us to practice having conversations in Hebrew because we usually slip into a convo about what we're going to eat, going to the beach, or scoping out cute boys (bachurim yafim)! We've learned SO much, soooooo quickly! I made a list of all the verbs I know, and it's up to about 25! That pretty much means I can get by with really simple sentences, but it works! ....except if I try to say anything in the past tense (that comes later). I always attempt to order my food in Hebrew, even though I need an English menu to read. I TRY to communicate at the shuk, which usually works unless it's Friday afternoon and I get nervous from the huge crowds! Our Ulpan class went to the shuk on Sunday to practice buying food in Hebrew, and I was pretty successful! I even managed to understand all the prices, the measurements, and could ask to try some of the fruit before buying! P.S. I have a new found love for borekas (this danish kind of thing stuffed with cheese or spinach or potato) and a fruit I'd never seen before called shesek.
I should also mention that I LOVE our teacher, Ruti! She's Israeli (obviously) but we have a common bond because she lived in Sherman Oaks for a long time, and she also studied/worked in theatre. She's become a great mentor, teacher, and aide in adjusting to this new world! I hope to maintain a relationship with her even though she'll no longer be our teacher after this week.
Last night, I wrote a 3/4 page long story about my day on Sunday...all in Hebrew! And it was formed almost perfectly, so I'm really excited!
Being in a place where everyone speaks Hebrew and it's written everywhere is still a big shock to me. It makes me smile to read the English words like pizza translated into Hebrew all over the city! Maybe I'll get used to it, but I kind of hope I don't. My coordinator told me today that my face always looks like I'm lost and wandering, but really I think I'm just taking it all in!
Hebrew phrases for today's post:
Kitzat: a little bit
Ech haya?: How was it?
Efshar l'kabell: Is it possible to get...?
Ani makirah sefarim shell Shakespeare: I'm familiar with Shakespeare's stories
Ani mesaperet al kelev sheli l'chaverim: I tell my friends about my dog
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