A MONTH OF LEARNING

The one immediate and positive result that came from the Ministry of Absorption was that we were given our papers to take to ulpan, so that we could begin the five months of free Hebrew classes to which we are entitled.

So we went along on Sunday morning (Sunday being the beginning of the working week here) to register. Because I couldn't write, I was immediately consigned to the beginners class, Kita Aleph (Class A)n David was required to sit a test before it could be determined where he could go.

So I started the next morning and found myself in what was truly a beginners' environment. It was all a bit much (ie. way too easy), but I liked the teacher and I liked the class, so I wasn't sure whether it would be such a great idea to change and go to a more advanced class. Either way, I wanted to last the week out in order to get my writing skills up.

In the meantime, on Tuesday morning, David took the ulpan test. He took the harder test, for which he was allowed to take one and a half hours to complete, and he (naturally) finished it in 20 minutes and got 98%. Well, they said, we don't really have anything for you here, Mr Solomon. Mr Solomon, on the other hand, wanted to do an ulpan, to tighten his fluency and expand his vocabulary. They told him that there was a possibility that there would be an advanced course after the chagim...when we, of course, will probably be in New York! Ho hum.

Actually, it was a real shame, because David was really looking forward to it. And I sympathise. After a week in the beginners' class, I moved up to a class that had been going for about two months, and which is at a level much more appropriate to for me. I am really enjoying it and the general ulpan environment is great and I know David would have gained a lot from the system and structure, even if his Hebrew is not as needy as mine.

In place of a formalised ulpan, David has been trying to go through Israeli newspapers with his new friend Lior, who defines the occasional word for him and chats with him about the issues being discussed in Hebrew. Shame for him.