Ode to Obama: An Israeli Purim Float

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Purim: Because even Israeli children deserve Halloween

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A site dedication to Ulpan Gordon

During this last year I’ve posted several items about my time at Ulpan Gordon, the Hebrew language school in Tel Aviv, Israel. I wrote not only about my experiences there but also general information about the school that every students needs to know (contact info, study materials, etc).

After receiving numerous questions about the school from people all around the world during the last six months, I decided that it was time to dedicate a site completely to the school:  UlpanGordon.com.  Most of the information online about the school is outdated or too sparse to be of much use.  That’s why I decided to gather everything onto one site:

I spent most of the day yesterday getting it presentable for the public and I think I’ve finally gotten it! I hope that the site becomes a place to share ideas, experiences, and motivations for past, current, and future students of Ulpan Gordon.

Let me know what you think and as always, send me a message at ulpangordon.com with any questions or suggestions you might have.

Popularity: 25% [?]

I found the Ulpan Gordon Hebrew book

I was cruzing around Amazon a few days ago and came across the (very distinctive) Hebrew study book they had all the Aleph level students use at Ulpan Gordon!  It was one of those, “Hey!  I know that book!” moments and made me smile from thinking about my months in the ulpan.

Hebrew from Scratch:

I was shocked to discover that they have two parts available but I’m not quite sure if higher classes at the ulpan are actually using part two.

They don’t have the “Search Inside” feature yet on Amazon to see what the pages look like, but if you’re a future Ulpan student and want a sneak peak, send me a message and I’ll see what I can do!

It’s really fun reading what other people are saying about the book since I was both amused and tortured with it in Israel.  Apparently I wasn’t alone!

“While my family was in Jerusalem, some of our friends there were in an ulpan (Hebrew language school for new immigrants). They were using this book! So I was very excited to see it here! I have been using this book on my own and like it very much. I was glad to see that you can get CDs to go with it and will probably get those next!   By Shimrit A. Hanes “ontheroadagain”

“There are no vowel marks throughout the book. Even for me, someone who has studied Ivrit for several years, and can read Torah which has no vowel marks, this book is a struggle on my own. While it is true to how modern Hebrew is written and spoken and used today, it doesn’t make it the best or easiest way to learn.” By Whimsy Taylor “artist and avid reader”

“Presenting vocabulary and phrases a person will actually use on a daily basis (along with trendy Israeli slang), this book is a great guide to learning contemporary Hebrew”  By Langxpert

Even though I’m not in Ulpan Gordon right now, I’m trying to retain what I learned those three months I was there by studying now with the Rosetta Stone Hebrew course.  Maybe if I knew the workbook also had a CD, I would be using that too.  But they didn’t offer it at Ulpan Gordon and I simply continued on with Rosetta Stone afterward.

Anyway, it was nice moment to reminisce and a reminder for me to keep at it!

Popularity: 27% [?]

A very serious lesson learned in Israel

There’s two things that people are constantly talking about here in America right now that I was shielded from while in Israel:

• The economy
• Gas prices

Americans are “tightening their belts”.  Saving more of their money.  Concerned about job security and 401k’s.  Holding off on buying a new car.  Paying off credit cards.

Everyone agrees that it’s a scary time.  But aren’t these changes actually kinda good for Americans?  I mean, haven’t we been living above our means for far too long?

Strangely enough, I learned a lot of these financial lessons while I was in Israel and it didn’t take a complete crash of the economy to help me realize them.  Tightening the belt.  Saving money.  Living frugally.  These are all things that I had to learn the hard way with the help of a few Israelis.

There was a time that I was drowning in debt.  College has a sick way of doing that to a student.  With minimum wage part time jobs, an abundance of credit card applications on campus (for a free t-shirt!), and a lifestyle to maintain, I found myself in debt far too young in life.  But I recovered (after lots of hard work) and chalked it up to bad judgment.  I still had the American mentality though.  Even though I’m a minimalist, I was still a consumer (cough… new computers) and can be rather wasteful (cough…buying too many groceries).

In Israel, the cost of living is the same if not higher than in the United States.  The gas prices are close to $7/gal, believe it or not.  Going to a restaurant will easily set you back $15 for a meal (Even a McDonalds meal costs $10).  And since a lot of the clothes and household items are imported, they tend to have a higher price tag too.

But the Israelis aren’t in debt like Americans.  In fact, they tend to have a surplus of cash on hand.  They enjoy nice things just like an American, but they also know that there’s limitations to how much they should spend.  Simply put, they live well within their means.

This is what I think Americans are learning now.

I’m not saying that I’m glad the economy is in a tail spin.  I think it sucks that people are worrying about their jobs and their retirement funds.  But I think when we all get to that light at the end of the tunnel, we’ll have a little better perspective on how we live and we’ll change for the better.

We’ll be a stronger country for it just as I feel like I’m a stronger person for having such a great example in Israel.

Popularity: 27% [?]

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