Well, there's a little more to the story. I wasn't able to take my final examination because I was out sick with the flu for the last week of class. And I finally got "over myself" to be able to share my humiliating experience with potential new Olim, so you get a little insight to the reality of Ulpan.
Our class would be ending on 30 January. First we would have an Oral Interview with the Director of the Ulpan, and then 2 weeks later, our final written test. Our teacher had coached us for a few days on the questions we would be asked by the Director, so that we could answer with confidence:
*What is your name?
*How old are you?
*What is your address/city?
*When did you make Aliyah?
*Are you employed? / What do you do?
* What do you like to do in your free time?
*Where would you like to live in Israel?
*Will you go on to take the next Ulpan level, or will you travel?
*If you will travel, to where, and who will you visit?
Straightforward and simple, right?
No. I arrive to the 3-5 minute oral interview. I say Shalom. She asks me my name. I tell her. She asks where I live. I tell her. She asks where I lived in the USA. I tell her. Then she asks me WHY I made Aliyah. (Not when). I told her that I had many reasons. She asked me to explain. I told her I don't have the words to say my feelings in Hebrew, as we have not learned the vocabulary for that.
She then asked me, "Ma Bat Yisrael?"
Did I hear that right? She asked me "What Daughter Israel?" ?????? I said, "Slicha, ani lo mevina hashe'ala shelach.....od pa'am, bevakasha?"
She leaned forward, and s-l-o-w-l-y and deliberately and somewhat sarcastically said again, "Ma Bat Yisrael?"
Ok. Lama (why) would make sense. Mi (Who) would make sense. But MA???? (what). The sentence did not make sense!! If she was asking me how OLD Israel was (from statehood) she might have asked, "Bat Kama Yisrael?" But that's not what she asked me.
I was dumbfounded. I said that her sentence did not make sense to me, and therefore, I did not have an answer for her.
All of the speaking to this point was done in Hebrew. (In Hebrew!!!) At this juncture, she started speaking to me in English. "You are not ready to take the final."
What? Because I could not answer ONE question that made no sense? I had worked so hard for the last 4.5 months, and she fails me over one answer? I later find out that the oral exam is 40% of my final grade. To pass the written final, you needed to get a 69% to pass. Because I am not a quitter, I still went to class even though I had no chance of passing the written because of failing the oral.
We spent a lot of time preparing for the test. We even had a "mock" final that included all the sections that would be on the real deal. It was 6 pages long, and we had 2 hours to complete it:
*Two stories that we had to read and then answer the questions.
*Multiple choice to select words from to complete the sentences.
*Write a story about one of three themes suggested.
*Changing verbs from present to past and to future.
*Writing out a small note (select from a thank you note or a congratulatory note)
Actually, I thought I did pretty good. I know I didn't ace it or anything, but I felt that my answers were correct and complete to the best of my knowledge. The whole class used the allotted time of two hours to complete it. It wasn't easy by any means, but we all tackled the challenge. That was on Thursday afternoon.
On Sunday, I woke up feeling fine. But 20 minutes before I needed to leave, I started feeling strange. Really dizzy and I had a fever. But Ulpan was the driving force in my life, so out the door I went. By the time I got to class, I alternated between flushed and then chilled, and my body felt like I had been run over by a truck. It went downhill from there. I had a headache, and I couldn't concentrate. I couldn't wait for class to be over so I could go home and go to bed!!
Then our teacher handed us our mock finals. I got a whopping 53%!!! Oh My Gosh!! This was devastating to me! I always got straight A's in school....never had to study....retained almost everything I heard or read....and now I get 53% on this test that I've studied for almost 5 months for!! It was insult to injury. I went home and gave in to the illness and stayed in bed for 3 days straight. Went to the Dr. with a fever of 103.9 (almost 40 degrees C!) He put me on antibiotics as I had a sinus infection and an ear infection. Needless to say, I wasn't able to take my exit exam.
I am going to try and take the class again this Fall. But this time, I will go to an evening class, because I am NOT a morning person. I think this was 1/2 of my problem or battle. I need 10 hours of sleep, and with Ulpan so early in the morning combined with my night owl tendencies, I was only getting 5 or 6 hours at night, and then a 2 hour nap in the afternoons. Which still didn't give me all the sleep I require, and I was always tired.
Buyer beware!! This class is "no picnic", as our teacher used to often say. It's hard. It's intensive. It's all consuming. It's fast paced and demanding. Apparently there are people who actually DO pass the first time around.
I am just not one of them!
