savoy096

Hebrew ulpan teacher Michal.  Hebrew teacher : How was your weekend? (Eykh hayah sof hashavua shelcha?) Me : I ask fish. (Ani mevakesh dagim.) Hebrew teacher : What? (Mah?) Me : I ask fish. (Ani mevakesh dagim!) Hebrew teacher : You ask what? (Mah ata mevakesh?) Me : Fish (Dagim) Hebrew teacher : What did you do? (Mah ata asita?) Me : I ask fish, and I eat fish. (Ani mevakesh dagim, ve ani ochel dagim.) Hebrew teacher : Ahhhh, you cook fish. (Ahhh, ata mevashel dagim.) Me : What? (Mah?) Hebrew teacher : You cook fish, not ask fish. (Ata mevashel dagim, lo mevakesh dagim.) Me : I cook fish? (Ani mevashel dagim?) So goes many of the interactions in my first year Hebrew class. Despite the daily reminder that I couldn’t hold a conversation with a four year old, though, learning Hebrew is an interesting little side project. From practicing the phlegmy throat sounds required for certain letters (think lechayim here) to understanding necessary phrases (where is the bathroom?) to read...

Procrastination is usually pretty fun. That’s what I was thinking this morning when I was riding through the hills outside of Beer Sheva on one of the many mountain bike trails that surround the city. I should have been studying for the upcoming microbiology quiz. Or the upcoming histology quiz. Or the upcoming immunology quiz. I probably should reviewed gluconeogenesis for biochemistry, and I definitely should have looked back over my notes on recombinant DNA technologies for molecular biology. But, procrastination is fun, so I kept riding. And after our two week break for the Jewish High Holidays, I’ve rediscovered the importance of little vacations like that. Nitzanim Beach Weekend --- When you imagine your own personal getaway, the one in the forest, or on the beach, or in the city  you’ve always wanted to visit, you do it for the solitude. Your own kind of solitude. You might do it for peace and quiet, or you might just do it for the difference that isn’t in a daily grind. It...