Last week was wonderful, as you will see from the last blog post, I was holidaying in the north of Israel in a little Moshav called Kalanit. It was simply beautiful and very quiet.
All of my family came and since we have a lot of children amongst us, things could get a little crowded at times but all in all it was really great being with everyone. I have three older brothers and no sisters which was a little tough growing up but now I have got used to it and have a very special connection with my brothers!
On Wednesday I came back to Ulpan. I have to say that it was a little bit hard at the beginning but after an hour everything was back to normal again.
Going into the classroom this week made me think again about something we need to handle here on daily basis; the psychology of adapting to Israeli life. Coming to study Hebrew with us is not just about learning a language; it is also about slowly learning to bridge the cultural divide so evident when one spends even just a short amount of time in Israel. It is a process that also involves support and listening to broach topics such as the different temperament Israelis have (or at least are stigmatized to have). It is always the same question for me: what should I do? On the one hand, there is a lot to learn and a lot of things to go over, but on the other hand, maybe that is not the most pressing issue at that particular moment? Usually I just let my students clear their head and talk about what is bothering them and then we move on to Hebrew.
I wish you all the best and Shabbat Shalom,
Saray Pentzak.
Ulpan Aviv- Teacher
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