A Lengthy Briefing

(I give everyone permission to read this entry in multiple sit-downs.  Since that's how I wrote it, it's only fair.)

The last few days have gone by in a blur. 

I learned that there actually is a real Hebrew word for “improvisation” (אלתור, instead of the Hebrified אמפרוביזציה).

I went to my first Aroma since I’ve been in Israel.  How I held off for two and a half weeks is beyond even me, but it was well worth the wait.  While Canadian Aroma is like a taste of Israel, Israeli Aroma is like a taste of home.

Okay, that’s a lie.  There’s really no difference, but the idea of drinking Aroma in Israel is much more ExCiTiNg.

I cooked my first real dinner with a friend, Cayla: stir fry with REAL chicken, REAL olive oil, REAL garlic, and REAL vegetables.  It was delicious (I know you all had your doubts—don’t be such haters), and it was extremely exciting to have leftovers to eat the next day (tonight) for dinner.  Life lessons learned: I can cook, cooking can be fun, raw chicken is not as scary as it looks, it really hurts to cut onions and, לצערי as we say in Hebrew, I’ll have to go back on a meal plan next year at Brandeis because cooking is a time commitment that I cannot afford.

I was asked by my teacher to go to the two lowest Hebrew classes as a “guest speaker” on Sunday, and that turned out to be very fun.  While the higher levels listen to professional guest lecturers once a week (Tuesday, for example, an Israeli screenwriter came to talk to us about Israeli cinema; last week an archaeologist presented on underwater archaeology), the students in the lower levels don’t participate because they don’t yet know enough Hebrew to be able to follow what’s being said.  Instead, the teachers invite students from higher levels into the classroom, and the new Hebrew students ask the guest questions about herself in Hebrew that she must then answer in Hebrew.  I was forbidden from using the past tense (do you have any idea how hard that is??), and was instructed to answer the students’ questions in the same way they were asked.  For instance: “Are you going to a restaurant on the weekend?”  “Yes, I am going to a restaurant on the weekend.”  It sounds rather mundane, but it got very funny when one teacher kept making me change my answers in front of the class to make them easier to understand, regardless of whether the revised versions were true or obviously false (and mostly it was the latter).  One notable example:

Student: “Do you play a sport?” 

Ariel: “No, I do not play a sport; I go to the workout room.” 

Teacher: “No.  You do gymnastics.” 

Ariel: “Okay.  I do gymnastics.” 

Long story short, it was fun.  Also, an ego-booster: later that day and the next, I was greeted with many “Great jobs,” “You sounded greats” and “I want to sound like yous.”  It was as if I’d just stepped offstage after a performance.  To me it’s just Hebrew (in all its glory—trust me, I love it), but to them it was an exotic song and dance number.

I apologize for the length of this entry (and at the same time, the brevity: my days here are packed, but I honestly can’t remember/don’t want to bore you with every detail).  Already a few days have gone by since I’ve started writing, and I’m trying my best to fit in as much as I can remember of the highlights without losing readers off the side of the wagon along the way.  If you feel yourself falling asleep (in other words, if you are anyone other than my parents, my grandparents, or Seena—hi, Seena!), hang in there or grab some coffee.  We’re almost at the end of the Oregon Trail.

Quickly (Ha--are my "quicklies" ever true to their word?):

I did my oral presentation for Ulpan on Ba’note.  Ba’note now has 7 more fans.  You’re welcome :).

We went to the Beit Hatfutzot (the Diaspora Museum) in Tel Aviv on Wednesday (I’d been there once before with Bubbe Ann the last time I was in Israel).  Our visit was brief, but interesting.  Fun fact: in their synagogues of the world exhibit, they have a scale model of Beth Shalom.

Last night, most of the International School went to a dancing club called The Loft (everyone went out with their own group of friends, but we all ended up at the same place).  I’ve never felt more like a piece of meat, but when you’re with a group of 10 people, each dancing rather absurdly in an impenetrable circle of friends, it’s easier to relax and have fun.  We did have a distress signal, just in case: if someone started doing weird, 80’s peace sign dancing, they needed to be rescued.  No peace signs flew last night (or rather, this morning), so don’t worry—it was all a good time.

My new favorite breakfast is Honey Bunches of Oats, plain yogurt, and honey.  Used to be granola/plain yogurt/honey, but I realized that that was just wrong.  Honey Bunches of Oats is a little piece of heaven in itself, and add to that the no-fail combo of plain yogurt and a TON of honey, you’ve got yourself a winner.  I just ate some now.  I highly recommend.

Didn’t go to Caesaria this morning.  For better or worse, I decided that I wouldn’t be able to enjoy the site on 4 hours of sleep (3am bedtime + 7am wakeup for 8am trip departure = misery).  Maybe I’ll go to Aroma with my Harry Potter and my Morfix (a.k.a. the best Hebrew-English online dictionary in the world), or I’ll walk around Carmel Center or Chorev (I still haven’t learned the difference between the two—should today be the day to cultivate my internal GPS skills?).  Either way, the buses stop running early today for Shabbat, so I have to run!

Shabbat shalom everyone, and I apologize once again for the lengthy briefing.