Some more highlights...
My apologies for being so "out of it" the past few weeks. We've been internet-less at home, so during the free moments I have to blog, I generally do not ahve a computer nearby. And I am generally the impulse-blogger type.
Some highlights of the past few weeks:
* I took my first tests in Hebrew where I had to answer in Hebrew as well. The other tests I have taken so far were either multiple choice, or essays where I was allowed to answer in English. I have no idea how well or poorly I did, but I'll let you know when grades come back!
* I finally felt like a contributing member of my class. About 2 weeks before the final, our psychology professor tacked on 2 additional chapters to our already burdensome syllabus. The chapters were in English, from an english textbook. This was wonderful news for me, but not so much for the other class members, none of whom speak English at a textbook level. She actually added on 2 chapters before the midterm as well, but these were in Hebrew. This meant I barely passed the last exam (but I did pass).
Anyway, several people asked me to translate the chapters to Hebrew for the class. Now, my Hebrew is decent, but my typing is garbage. Plus, I have such a full plate right now, I barely have time for my own schoolwork! Anyway, I ended up translating for the class. They offered to pay me, which I refused, mostly because I figured the quality would be awful.
But alas, I did a good job, and the group was so thankful, they (unbeknownst to me) took up a collection in order to buy me a gift from the class. I am just so happy that I was finally able to contribute something to the class - usually it's me asking the others for a translation!
* The other night, I went to an engagement part of a fellow classmate. This would be the girl who got engaged after 1 month. B. was very excited to come - in part because he would finally get to meet more of my class mates - but mostly because he has so few opportunities to improve his Hebrew, and now he'd finally have a chance to speak with real live Israelis. His vocabulary is better than mine, I think. he definitely knows more words than I do, but because he never gets a chance to speak it, his speech is incredibly slow. B. keeps asking me to speak in Hebrew to him, like having an all-Hebrew day, but I find myself getting so frustrated, I want to stick my hand in his mouth and pull out the next word. I have the same reaction around my friends from Georgia though. I need to chill out about that and give B. a chance to develop his Hebrew.
Anyway, it was a lot of fun going to a real Israeli event. I've been to a few non-Anglo weddings/engagement parties, but usually as the guest of someone else. For the first time I was the invited guest! I was participating in all the conversation in Hebrew. I was the one who knew what was flying! It was really wonderful.
* I've refrained form blogging it until now, because somehow things always go wrong with this kind of stuff, but in 1 month I will be flying to America for 5 days in order to give some speeches on Aliyah, through the Nefesh B'Nefesh Ambassador program.
I'm really excited about this - I am being sent to New York City, to my old stomping grounds, to talk about Aliyah and my expereinces. I love doing this kind of PR work for Israel and Aliyah, and all the more better on someone else's dollar. Of course, because its the middle of the semester, I can only afford to miss a few days of class, so I am making my trip super-short. But I'm trying to pack in seeing as many friends as possible. So if any of you live in New York, and want to see me from March 2 -7, send me an email or a comment. Maybe we'll do a mini-blogger get-together.
Some highlights of the past few weeks:
* I took my first tests in Hebrew where I had to answer in Hebrew as well. The other tests I have taken so far were either multiple choice, or essays where I was allowed to answer in English. I have no idea how well or poorly I did, but I'll let you know when grades come back!
* I finally felt like a contributing member of my class. About 2 weeks before the final, our psychology professor tacked on 2 additional chapters to our already burdensome syllabus. The chapters were in English, from an english textbook. This was wonderful news for me, but not so much for the other class members, none of whom speak English at a textbook level. She actually added on 2 chapters before the midterm as well, but these were in Hebrew. This meant I barely passed the last exam (but I did pass).
Anyway, several people asked me to translate the chapters to Hebrew for the class. Now, my Hebrew is decent, but my typing is garbage. Plus, I have such a full plate right now, I barely have time for my own schoolwork! Anyway, I ended up translating for the class. They offered to pay me, which I refused, mostly because I figured the quality would be awful.
But alas, I did a good job, and the group was so thankful, they (unbeknownst to me) took up a collection in order to buy me a gift from the class. I am just so happy that I was finally able to contribute something to the class - usually it's me asking the others for a translation!
* The other night, I went to an engagement part of a fellow classmate. This would be the girl who got engaged after 1 month. B. was very excited to come - in part because he would finally get to meet more of my class mates - but mostly because he has so few opportunities to improve his Hebrew, and now he'd finally have a chance to speak with real live Israelis. His vocabulary is better than mine, I think. he definitely knows more words than I do, but because he never gets a chance to speak it, his speech is incredibly slow. B. keeps asking me to speak in Hebrew to him, like having an all-Hebrew day, but I find myself getting so frustrated, I want to stick my hand in his mouth and pull out the next word. I have the same reaction around my friends from Georgia though. I need to chill out about that and give B. a chance to develop his Hebrew.
Anyway, it was a lot of fun going to a real Israeli event. I've been to a few non-Anglo weddings/engagement parties, but usually as the guest of someone else. For the first time I was the invited guest! I was participating in all the conversation in Hebrew. I was the one who knew what was flying! It was really wonderful.
* I've refrained form blogging it until now, because somehow things always go wrong with this kind of stuff, but in 1 month I will be flying to America for 5 days in order to give some speeches on Aliyah, through the Nefesh B'Nefesh Ambassador program.
I'm really excited about this - I am being sent to New York City, to my old stomping grounds, to talk about Aliyah and my expereinces. I love doing this kind of PR work for Israel and Aliyah, and all the more better on someone else's dollar. Of course, because its the middle of the semester, I can only afford to miss a few days of class, so I am making my trip super-short. But I'm trying to pack in seeing as many friends as possible. So if any of you live in New York, and want to see me from March 2 -7, send me an email or a comment. Maybe we'll do a mini-blogger get-together.
posted by Noa at 3:31 PM
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