Hi!

Hi!
Almost a week ago I returned from a month far away up North. There is no need to say that it is an excellent place to live, the views from the kibbutz and the community atmosphere were wonderful but is good that it lasted a month and not more because I missed my life in the big city.
And so I returned a week ago and it was simply great to return to the Tel Avivian lifestyle; to the Dan busses and above all to all my students at the Ulpan whom I love very much.
This week I got a new student who came from Eastern Europe and despite the fact that I have been in the Ulpan quite a while and taught many basic courses, the feelings with her were different. Something, whilst teaching and studying with her, was done differently. People from Europe are from a very different culture from us Israelis and it therefore is often expressed during their studies. They need to understand every little thing, it is hard for them to simply "go with the flow", something which is very natural amongst us Israelis. Not that this is a bad thing, the opposite, it is simply that the culture and education are very different.
Her studies were exhaustive and I felt like it had been a long time that a student at such a basic level (A-B) had succeeded to challenge me academically despite it being a course that I have taught a great number of times. This is precisely what I love about my work here at Ulpan Aviv, every time a new student enters the through the door, it is as if a new world has entered with a different culture and conventions. We as teachers need to take it into consideration and to use it to guide their studies and our teaching. I find this all extremely fascinating.
This week I did something that I haven't done before; on Tuesday I carried out an evaluation and initial meeting with someone who was interested in studying with us. The meeting itself was carried out in Hebrew which was a little relief for me and it went simply excellently. Immediately we scheduled classes, she paid and this Sunday she will begin.
I really enjoyed the experience of selling! It wasn't just due to economic reasons; the opposite, defiantly not for economic reasons. I enjoyed it because I know the fine nature of the product that I sell. I know that it really is as good as I say and not simply words coming out of my mouth- double satisfaction!
Have a great weekend everyone and Shabbat Shalom!
Saray Pentzak
Ulpan Aviv - Teacher