Ulpan

Hello! Sorry it has been a few days since we last posted, but the good news is that we think we found an apartment! We are still talking with the potential landlord and trying to work on a lease contract, so we still have some work to do, but we are getting closer! Once it is more finalized, we will post pictures and tell you all about it.

Today, we wanted to write a bit about our experience in the Hebrew Ulpan we have been taking since we arrived. "Ulpan" usually refers to modern (as opposed to biblical) Hebrew classes - generally focussed mostly on conversational skills. Our ulpan is called "Beit Ha'am" and is located in the heart of Jerusalem at the Gerard Behar Center, about a 5 minute walk from our "August" apartment. We are in our 3rd week of classes, which meet Sunday through Thursday, 8am to 12:30pm (with a break from 10-10:30). This ulpan (there are several throughout the city of Jerusalem) is fairly informal - anyone can take classes (you don't have to have a BA or be in Israeli or speak any other languages), you can begin classes at any time (although they recommend starting as close to the first of the month as you can), and you pay for the time you plan to spend at the school and then you leave when you want. As we completed an ulpan class last year in Chicago, we luckily didn't have to start at the beginning - which was a very good thing considering that when we arrived on August 1st we learned that if you had not already pre-registered for the beginning level, there was no room for you! I was quite relieved that we weren't in that position since I'm not sure if any other ulpans started this late in the summer and Pardes had told us pre-registration was not required. Anyway, we were told to join a beginning class that had started in July and therefore was about 1/3 to 1/2 way through the first level, Alef. Luckily, the level and pace of the class seemed about right ... and so we quickly jumped right in!

Needlesstoday, this classroom environment has been very different to any we have experienced in the U.S. First off, it is EXTREMELY informal. People seem to come in and out as they please throughout the morning and show up and leave class when they want. Of course there is a group of us that arrives on time everyday, that sits relatively quitely and tries to listen to the teacher and to participate in the class, and that returns from break ontime and stays until the end of the class, but we are definitely in the minority! Many students feel at liberty to talk throughout the class and to joke-off. We think part of this is related to the fact that this type of class doesn't really "count" for anything - although we have homework and some tests, we don't think that anyone has to "pass" out of alef level (although we're not sure if there is some type of standard for employers who want a certain level of Hebrew language to be achieved before they will allow you to work here). But you might think that if people were paying for this class and devoting 4 hours a day to learn Hebrew that they would want to pay attention, but that isn't necessary the case here.

The make-up of the class is also interesting - I'd say about half of the 25-30 students (not that they all show up everyday!) are either visiting tourists/students or new immigrants from the U.S., Canada, Russia, Mexico and parts of Europe and that the other half are Israelis who speak Arabic (not sure whether to call them Arab Israelis or Palesitinians or just Israelis). Among the students, English, Russian, Arabic, Spanish, Italian, Finnish and French are spoken as first languages.

Many of the Arab speaking students are quite young - like 18, 19 - and many make up the "goof-off" contingency. We are curious if perhaps this class is just something that their parents are making them do over the summer so that they can ultimately have an easier time finding jobs ... or if maybe they are bored since Hebrew is a lot like Arabic and maybe they don't need the repetition ... but we really are confused exactly why they are here.

The other half is also quite diverse - and ages range from 20s to 50s. We think we are the only ones who are in Israel to study Judaism - and people actually find this almost odd - and ask us why would we do that? Which is a question we received all the time in the U.S., but we were surprised to hear it here until we recalled (as we had realized when we visited Israel 9 years ago) that for many Israelis, living in Israel has nothing to do with Judaism, or any religion for that matter. They are Isralis just like we are Americans - period. Others in this group are scholars who are working on PhDs and are around for the summer to learn some Hebrew and work on their research. There are also several "new immigrants" who are learning Hebrew in order to ultimately find work and set-up their lives in Israel. If you are not aware, new immigrants are constantly arriving in Israel - it is very common - and the government will actually pay for Alef (first) level ulpan (and maybe Bet/second level too) just to get you on your feet. The government is relatively helpful towards new immigrants - also giving them a monthly stipend and helping with housing and all sorts of other things.

Overall, it is quite an entertaining group - many different accents and personalities! It's funny that when we learn a new word, everyone wants to know what it is in their language, and so I am actually recalling much of my Spanish vocabulary!

To share in our ulpan experience, click on the video below:



Anyway, we are chuggling along in our book, called " Hebrew from the Beginning," and trying hard to get as much out of the class even with the disruptions. As our main goal is just to become as familiar with the language as possible in order to aid in our text studies that we will begin in September, we found that some of the "Evrit B'Rachov" (Hebrew of the Street) that we are learning isn't as applicable for us. It is actually quite possible to survive in Jerusalem without speaking Hebrew on the streets - almost everyone knows English and many signs and menus are in English as well - as compared to Madrid and Paris as I recall. But of course we are hoping to pick up conversation skills along the way, and it is fun and interesting to try to learn some of the slang - much of which is actually arabic!

For now though, we are learning many verbs - the whole organization system is much more complex than other languages and certainly harder than Spanish! - and trying to retain some vocabulary. Pardes has already emailed us a Hebrew placement exam that we must submit by the end of the month and will be used to place us in our classes. Interestingly though, the email from Pardes specifically stated that for beginners, the entire exam would seem quite difficult and it was okay if we couldn't answer much if any of the questions ... so hard to know how much (if any!?) of the modern Hebrew will ultimately help with our studies ... for now we will enjoy the couple weeks we have left!

One last video of us showing the center where the ulpan is located to get a bit more perspective :) Enjoy!