Slice of Life Tuesdays: Hebrew Online Update
Posted by blk1 on August 5, 2008
It was nice to be back for MM yesterday and Slices today. Nice to see a comment instantly from Stacey, thanks Stacey.
I’m coming to you from Portland, Maine and the weather forecast for lots of rain is not exciting, but vacation is vacation and I’ve never been to Maine.
It took many hours to get to Portland yesterday but with just my laptop and a headset, I could stay in touch in my Hebrew Online class. We had enough time to grab something to eat, unpack, relax a bit and Tuvia left me alone to prepare for the class.
There’s lots of room in the Marriot Residence hotels. II took over the bedroom for class. I am one of 4 students. All of us are adults- two men, two women. Three of us live in New York State and one in Boston. Even though there still seems to be tech problems for Peggy, the rest of us have been able to get on and remain for the class. It’s been a rough tech ride in that this is their first Mac class which is great for me. Peter is a pastor living in upstate New York and is learning Hebrew because he loves Israel and takes groups to visit the country a few times a year. We get to chat just before the class begins and of course creating some community makes the class more interesting and powerful.
I remember being ready to quit the class after the third week of frustration, but I’m glad I hung in. It’s been great. We are now in a groove and the teacher, Niva is comfortable with us and moving at a good pace. Of course, I have a built in tutor and it’s been fun, sometimes annoying, to learn with a partner, but mostly it’s been great to move from phrases. to sentences and even to conversation.
What’s really amazing is how comfortable I feel learning a language. I have tried this one before: Spanish in high school, German in college, Hebrew in Hebrew School, in college, in Israel. None were successful. But now I’m older and maybe after listening to Hebrew for the last 12 years, I am finally ready to enjoy the learning process and you know, I’m good at it. I have lots of words that seem to be finding a place to land.
I look forward to more and more. I did also purchase a copy of Hebrew created by the Rosetta Stone company. It’s not cheap but I figured why not hit hard when the fire is hot. Still haven’t had a chance to work with it, but it’s on my downtime list to explore.
Okay, time to explore more of Maine, We are off to Rockland today. I’m hoping I can use my camera.
Can’t wait to start catching up on reading MM and Slices.
Bonnie
August 5th, 2008 at 10:18 am
Hebrew feels to me like more than a language - it is history and faith and meaning - I hope you fall right into it.
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August 5th, 2008 at 6:10 pm
Hi Juliann,
Thanks for your comment. Can’t wait to get to reading your latest slice.
As for my interest in Israel and Hebrew, it’s not much about religion but the dynamic life of the present. Tuvia, his family and grandchildren and friends. They are driving me. I want to be there with him and not be dependent on their remembering to switch to English. I feel the life of Israel with its history, but I’m not connecting modern Hebrew with the Hebrew of the Torah. That was Hebrew School when I was a kid and my teachers then, really didn’t care enough about my using the language beyond the religious service. Now I am in the present.
Bonnie
From Slice of Life Tuesdays: Hebrew Online Update
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August 5th, 2008 at 6:35 pm
So interesting! This is so out of my interest! This is so cool! I tried Spanish and did not learn Spanish. I am so proud of people who learn a foreign language. It is great! You do not need me to be proud of you, but it is awesome!!!!
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August 6th, 2008 at 7:14 am
Wish I were there. I know very little Hebrew (e.g., Ha eparon al ha shulchan. HOW OFTEN DO I NEED TO SAY “The pencil is on the table?!??!”)!
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