A-TAP!

Entirely too much time has passed and too many things have happened since the last time I wrote. Zeh lo tov  (this is not good)! I do not even know where to begin.  I suppose I will simply give a recap on last week, although that would mean I’d have to break my promise of sorts to keep my entries short and simple.  I guess it is not as easy to do as I thought it would be/ would require me to write much more often than I do.  It might just be six in one and half a dozen in the other, right?

In any case, at the start of last week, I successfully switched levels of ulpan….although, before I go into that I suppose I need to explain that after takng the placement exam I was placed into Ramat Bet-Bet, or Level 2-2.  I was pretty happy about that until I spent the first week in class.  It appeared that the ulpan at the University of Haifa was an academic ulpan, and rightfully so, I suppose, being that it is being run out of a university.  However, an academic ulpan was not what I intended to complete when signing up for ulpan and I was quick to realize that this ulpan was going to be JUST like the JTS Hebrew classes, except in Hebrew.

That being said, it turned out Level Bet-Bet was entirely too easy.  We moved at a snails pace and I basically had to endure being re-taught all the Hebrew binyanim  (Hebrew verb structures) as if I had never learned them before.   I ended up being pretty much at the top of my class, a place in which I am not used to being .  At first I was ok with it, but as the first week progressed, I began to feel like I did at JTS: wanting to dig out my eyeballs…which brings us back to the beginning of this post and how I successfully switched levels of ulpan. 

I am now in Level Gimmel-Aleph (Level 3-1) and am much happier.  While we are more or less still learning things I learned at JTS, we are moving much more quickly and the level at which the students in the class can speak Hebrew is much higher. The advantage of basically relearning all the grammar is I could theoretically focus on learning vocabulary, which is really what has been holding me back in speaking with confidence.

The week continued with, finally, a trip to Hof HaCarmel (The Carmel Beach).  I met up with my friend Ilene who was in Israel following a gig as a madrich (counselor) on a Young Judea summer program.  She was my first visitor and it was fun to meet up with her.  Eventually, a whole group of ulpaners descended on the beach and I got to go swimming in the Mediterranean.  The water was incredibly warm, something I am not used to in NJ, where the Atlantic Ocean is always cold.  The sea was also extremely salty which was interesting, but at the same time not surprising considering how much smaller it is then, let’s say, the Atlantic Ocean. 

Sunset over the Mediterranean Sea

What I am also not used to are sunsets over the ocean.  Thanks to NYC, I got used to the idea of sunsets over water, but the sun sets behind buildings in NYC, while in Israel, the sun sets behind the horizon of the sea.  It was beautiful and, although I did not have my fancey dSLR, I was able to get some really great pictures.

Tuesday, the ulpan sponsored a trip to Caesaria.  I had been there once before with my second Birthright group, Bus 731, however, I was able to enjoy this trip much more because 1) I did not arrive in Israel only an hour before after a 10 hour flight that was preceded by a three-hour delay 2) I was not in charge of anyone but myself 3) It wasn’t about to storm.  At one point I gave my dSLR to a friend and let him go to town while I actually enjoyed and experienced the site.  I am usually too busy looking through my viewfinder, finding that awesome shot, to actually experience the places in which I am.

Cubby enjoys ancient Caesaria

Wednesday was more of a low-key day.  I started to not feel well and began to worry that my Crohn’s was actually not as under control as I excitedly initially thought it was.  This simply made me cranky all day.  I did not end up going anywhere after class and just attempted to get homework done since I had the ulpan midterm the next day.  Of course, I did not end up studying enough and still managed to go to bed too late.

At this point in the week, my constantly on-the-go schedule was about to catch up with me.  After class, my friend Marla and I headed down to Mercazit Herov because we initially thought we were going to go food shopping for Shabbat. We ended up waiting to go to the shuk (open air market) since we thought we were meeting up with some friends there to do shopping together.  It ended up being a miscommunication, but we were at the shuk anyway and just did our shopping.  I got 2 kilo (or about 4 pounds) of sweet potatoes for 12 shekalim (rougly 3-4 bucks).  How crazy is that! In the end, I would not have minded shopping in the grocery store, as I actually needed food for the week since the University is on a vacation this week and all non-essential services are closed (including the cafeterias/restaurants). 

While at the shuk, undetected dehydration began to hit me full force.  Upon my return to campus, I ended up passing out for a bit, trying to make myself feel better in time for the arrival of my friend Charles, who had been on a Birthright trip and wanted to come up to Haifa to visit me after spending several weeks touring around the Middle East.

Black Falls of Nahal Elal

Friday, the ulpan sponsored a tiyyul (trip) to the Golan Heights for a hike.  I have mixed feelings about this hike.  It was cool to be able to swim in three different fresh water areas/underneath two waterfalls, and because of my love of taking photos, my group of friends coined a new nickname, of sorts, for me. It is A-TAP, an acronym for Aviva, Take A Picture, for when they want me to take a photo of something. However, between the heat, being dehydrated the day before, and my being out of shape, I had a difficult time completing the hike and absolutely wanted to die at the end. 

While I was in my state of defeat, I swore to myself I would not do anything that required so much uphill walking.  That promise did not last long as, later in the weekend, a group of friends and I decided to check out these suspension bridges in Nesher Park nearby the University.  

One of the suspension bridges in Nesher Park

The whole walk there was downhill, which of course meant the whole walk back was very much uphill.  Silly University of Haifa building itself on top of a mountain!   All in all, I was proud of my accomplishments on both hikes.  I completed both of them and had to face my fear of falling during both experiences.  NBD (no big deal).  :-P

Joannie and I, both afraid of heights, conquer the bridges

This week is already proving to be much different than last week. I am scheduled to give a class presentation in Hebrew, and our weekly tiyyulim (trips) are going to be much more low key than last week’s tiyyulim.  I am also hoping to get more sleep, although considering it is after 1 am as I write this entry, I am already failing at the goal.  Oh well, there is always tomorrow.