התלמידה בולפנ

James and I have started our Ulpan, which is a Hebrew language school. Since many people who learn Hebrew are new immigrants, most Ulpanim are seriously intense: 3-4 hours per day, five days a week. Israelis are serious about getting immigrants to learn Hebrew. We have opted for the only Ulpan in J-town that is less intense and has evening classes. We only have 6 hours per week and I am pretty sure I can still get this transferred as a university credit.

So far, it is pretty fun and not too hard, but I know that will change soon. Our class is comprised of students from France, Finland, Germany, America (Alaska!), Russia, Cameroon, India, Canada, Mexico and Costa Rica and “Palestine” which I think in this case means the West Bank. All of our classmates are friendly although a few have a tendency to blurt out answers and ruin it for everyone else. I secretly hope those folks drop out.

James is enthralled by the classes but I don’t think it is the excitement of learning a new language. Last night as we were leaving, he was humming the Van Halen tune Hot for Teacher. Our instructor is very nice girl named Hendat who somehow gets her point across with only speaking perhaps half a dozen English words in a three hour class.

I think the hardest part right now is reading. There are the print letters, which I am pretty good at, but the script case looks completely different. With no vowels and having to think about the sound of every letter and then remembering the meaning of the word…well, it is hard work. Only practice will make me better.