Ah.....Ulpan-Aleph. My nemesis. My love-hate relationship.
I had no clue how intense this language course would be. If I had a shekel for every tear I've cried in frustration.......
I'm not writing this to discourage you. Just be aware that it will be the most intensive 5 months of your life! I came to the class on the first day thinking that we were going to learn Hebrew on an elementary school level. However, we are doing High School level work. My Israeli friends saw the curriculum and were shocked. Most had to bow out of helping me, because they weren't strong in the grammatical aspects of their own language.
Class is 5 hours a day, 5 days a week, for 5 months. Then I get home and have a minimum of 3 hours of homework. It can be writing assignments, hand-outs, our online class site, or our textbook. Usually, all 4.
We are introduced to so many new words each day. If I am busy writing them in my notebook, I may not hear the teacher translate the word into English. (And half the time, there is no translation!) So I get home, and I have exercises to do with words I don't even know yet. I spend more time on Google Translate than any other website! This is part of the reason why it takes me 3+ hours to do my homework.
Today is 1.1.2014. 75% of the class took the day off after partying into the wee hours of the morning. But the rest of us troopers dragged (drug?) ourselves in. Class started with just 4 students and then blossomed to a whopping crowd of 9 by the 2nd hour. It was actually one of the best class sessions of all time...I really learned a lot. Perhaps because of the smaller size? More personal interaction? I don't know, but if only every day could be like today.......
The final test for our class is on 30 January. We're all a little nervous as to whether or not we will be able to pass it. And get this: On Sunday, our teacher told us in Hebrew that "from here on out, the class will become really difficult". We all looked at each other like, "Say WHAT?!?!?!" If it 's more difficult than it is now, will any of us be left standing at the end of the month???
Our teacher showed her gratitude for our attendance by letting us leave an hour early, and, WITHOUT HOMEWORK!! This is the first time since 28 August!! Whatever will I do with myself having a free afternoon and evening?!?!?
I knew right away that I wanted to post on the blog explaining my absence. I am still keeping notes in my iPod about topics to write about. I just have to wait until I can come up for air (after Ulpan) to be able to express myself clearly....as I'm not doing right now!
So! :) Happy Other New Year's Day to you all. All in all, 2014 started off great. Great class. No Homework. Nescafe was on sale. Bought dark chocolate. Ate Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup.....and now, the pieces de resistance: Homemade sourdough bread (my own culture) just went into the oven! Mmmmmmmmm. Wish I could share the aroma with you!!
Hopefully another update will be posted before 30 January!
Ali
