Wednesday, October 03, 2007
Personal Log Stardate 0310.07
I've been lazy about my blogging again.....I forgot the password and got busy with stuff.....this is a new year and I'll try to be more diligent.
Happy New Year everyone.
I feel good. I changed my looks. I got the fuzzy eyebrows trimmed--I had runaway eyebrows that were trying to bridge my nose. Got those trimmed, the bridge fuzz removed and changed my hairstyle. The hair is now close-cropped on the sides with a bit of spikiness on top and high-lighted. I think it looks pretty good. The question is, Will Girls Notice?
Enough about this.....
I had a good summer, sort of.....I spent a bit of time in a summer ulpan. I took August off and spent most of it at the pool.
I'm out of ulpan now and in school full-time. It's hard because of the Hebrew: speaking Hebrew to guys is okay but understanding the response, usually delivered in staccato, is hard. This makes me feel a bit stupid--I am always asking "Ma?" (What?)
My mom is the opposite--she has more trouble speaking it but understands a lot of what is said to her. But she has the same problem: she'll say something to someone but then the person rattles back a quick answer and she has to say "Od paam?" (Again?) or "Liat" (slowly)
I like the school for these things: there's Torah learning; I have friends there from last year and they were glad to see me return; my Hebrew is getting better because I need to use it 6 hours per day. I like my vision consultant, Judy, who helps me a lot. She helps me with vision issues but also helps me with Hebrew. I don't get an aide this year to help with language.
A friend of mine at school, Shalom, asked me what was difficult about the Hebrew...Shalom, of course, grew up speaking Hebrew so doesn't find it hard at all. I explained to him that I don't understand 100% of what is said to me, especially when its quick. Shalom offered some consolation, telling me "it will come in time." There is a well-used phrase in Hebrew, "Liat, liat" which means "slowly, slowly" but also it means "take it easy" -- and Israelis offer this advice to newcomers all the time. They have enough immigrants in Israel that they know it takes us a while to learn the language and learn our way around.
So far, so good. This is my first year without assistance, and I think I'm doing okay....but we'll see how it goes.
For Rosh Hashanah, I went to "Uncle" Yossi's mom's house....we had Moroccan food that seemed endless and I got to hang out with Netanel and Liel, his boys, and Rose, his daughter.
On Yom Kippur we fasted--and I made it all the way through the fast. It's easier here in Israel because the country goes OFF Daylight's Savings (called "Summer Hours" in Hebrew) right after Rosh Hashanah precisely so that the fast on Yom Kippur will be shorter, unlike the States where we fasted until 8:30 at night. We went with our neighbors to their synagogue a few blocks away. It's a Sephardi synagogue, and the people there were nice but it was really hard to follow the service because it was totally in Hebrew and a different order of the prayers.
Lt. CMDR Worf Out--End Transmission
Happy New Year everyone.
I feel good. I changed my looks. I got the fuzzy eyebrows trimmed--I had runaway eyebrows that were trying to bridge my nose. Got those trimmed, the bridge fuzz removed and changed my hairstyle. The hair is now close-cropped on the sides with a bit of spikiness on top and high-lighted. I think it looks pretty good. The question is, Will Girls Notice?
Enough about this.....
I had a good summer, sort of.....I spent a bit of time in a summer ulpan. I took August off and spent most of it at the pool.
I'm out of ulpan now and in school full-time. It's hard because of the Hebrew: speaking Hebrew to guys is okay but understanding the response, usually delivered in staccato, is hard. This makes me feel a bit stupid--I am always asking "Ma?" (What?)
My mom is the opposite--she has more trouble speaking it but understands a lot of what is said to her. But she has the same problem: she'll say something to someone but then the person rattles back a quick answer and she has to say "Od paam?" (Again?) or "Liat" (slowly)
I like the school for these things: there's Torah learning; I have friends there from last year and they were glad to see me return; my Hebrew is getting better because I need to use it 6 hours per day. I like my vision consultant, Judy, who helps me a lot. She helps me with vision issues but also helps me with Hebrew. I don't get an aide this year to help with language.
A friend of mine at school, Shalom, asked me what was difficult about the Hebrew...Shalom, of course, grew up speaking Hebrew so doesn't find it hard at all. I explained to him that I don't understand 100% of what is said to me, especially when its quick. Shalom offered some consolation, telling me "it will come in time." There is a well-used phrase in Hebrew, "Liat, liat" which means "slowly, slowly" but also it means "take it easy" -- and Israelis offer this advice to newcomers all the time. They have enough immigrants in Israel that they know it takes us a while to learn the language and learn our way around.
So far, so good. This is my first year without assistance, and I think I'm doing okay....but we'll see how it goes.
For Rosh Hashanah, I went to "Uncle" Yossi's mom's house....we had Moroccan food that seemed endless and I got to hang out with Netanel and Liel, his boys, and Rose, his daughter.
On Yom Kippur we fasted--and I made it all the way through the fast. It's easier here in Israel because the country goes OFF Daylight's Savings (called "Summer Hours" in Hebrew) right after Rosh Hashanah precisely so that the fast on Yom Kippur will be shorter, unlike the States where we fasted until 8:30 at night. We went with our neighbors to their synagogue a few blocks away. It's a Sephardi synagogue, and the people there were nice but it was really hard to follow the service because it was totally in Hebrew and a different order of the prayers.
Lt. CMDR Worf Out--End Transmission
Tuesday, January 23, 2007
Worf's Personal Log Stardate 1230.7
I am just NOT able to write my blog....am I able to keep this up or should I just forget about it? I know I haven't written in a while, and in my free time I've chilled by playing computer games, cruising the Internet...but I haven't been very good about keeping this up.
What's new?
Well, it snowed. I've never seen snow falling before. It surprised me. It's REALLY cold! Brrrrr! But my mom took a picture of me outside in the snow fall in the park in front of our building.
So anyways.....I'm still in ulpan 5 days a week, but I'm now going to yeshiva Mondays and Wednesdays after the ulpan to study Torah, and again on Fridays to listen to the students give dvarei Torah -- it's a lot of fun, actually. When I get out of ulpan on Mondays and Wednesdays, I walk over to my high school for the afternoon class of Torah study. The high school isn't that far from the ulpan--maybe about a half a mile. My legs are definitely getting stronger with all this walking. I walk from the apartment to the ulpan (about three blocks) and then to high school. From high school home, though, always seems to be a really long trek. Maybe the 30-lb backpack at the end of a long day and having to walk uphill for the last couple of blocks makes it seem longer. I really need to unload that backpack!
What's new?
Well, it snowed. I've never seen snow falling before. It surprised me. It's REALLY cold! Brrrrr! But my mom took a picture of me outside in the snow fall in the park in front of our building.
So anyways.....I'm still in ulpan 5 days a week, but I'm now going to yeshiva Mondays and Wednesdays after the ulpan to study Torah, and again on Fridays to listen to the students give dvarei Torah -- it's a lot of fun, actually. When I get out of ulpan on Mondays and Wednesdays, I walk over to my high school for the afternoon class of Torah study. The high school isn't that far from the ulpan--maybe about a half a mile. My legs are definitely getting stronger with all this walking. I walk from the apartment to the ulpan (about three blocks) and then to high school. From high school home, though, always seems to be a really long trek. Maybe the 30-lb backpack at the end of a long day and having to walk uphill for the last couple of blocks makes it seem longer. I really need to unload that backpack!
The yeshiva class is from 2:00 to 4:30. It's getting harder....as a new immigrant, I get extra help at the high school with Hebrew. The teacher who helps with the Hebrew has really cut back on her translations to make me use my Hebrew more. She's really nice and it helps to have someone who can translate when I get stuck. But sometimes I'm on my own. I guess this is good--it makes me use my Hebrew but, well, it's getting harder.
That's all for now. I'll try to write more often--but remember, school here is SIX days a week, Sunday through Friday....so be patient. Have savlanoot, which is Hebrew for patience.
WORF OUT -- END TRANSMISSION
Sunday, August 20, 2006
Worf's Personal Log Stardate 820.06
Long overdue entry log--I've been busy!
School starts soon, both high school and ulpan--but I'm only doing ulpan to start. It's 8:00 to 1:30 five days a week of speaking, reading, writing Hebrew. On Fridays, there's no ulpan but the plan my parents and the schools have come up with is for me to go to the high school on that day and get to know the teachers and students and the routine. It's a half-day so its not so bad.... I should have been keeping up the blog but I've been distracted--reading emails (thanks, everyone) and cruising on the 'net, enjoying having a summer off for a change! NO homework!! That will change on September 1st--ulpan has lots of homework. Worries me a little.
We've been checking out shuls. My friend Effie was here and we did the Kotel, and a shul down the street from us, and after he left my parents and I went to another near-by shul that was Sephardic---really cool building and great music. The people are nice, too, but the siddur is different so the service is hard for me to follow at times. We went to an Anglo shul when we first came here and we'll try that again; and we went to an Israeli shul that was really big and had lots of people and good nigguns and might go back there again. Haven't made it to Chabad yet but we're working our way in that direction.... The interesting thing about non-Chabad shuls is that all the bar mitzvah and older wear tallit, not like Chabad where only married guys wear them. I'd like to wear a tallit--maybe I'll get one for when we go to non-Chabad shuls.
Today we took the day off and went to the Israel Museum--we were trying to get there earlier but between doctor's appointments, tutoring, school stuff, insurance stuff, visitors, etc. we never did the tourist thing. I really like the Israeli museum. There are two museums right there-- the other is the Bible Lands Museum which is across the parking lot, which I haven't been to yet. The Israel Museum has this really cool model of the ancient city of Jerusalem during the reign of Herod--it shows the second Temple and the city dwellings, the houses of the Cohanim, the Hasmonean palaces, and the geography that made the city so defensible. It also showed the Roman fortress, the Antonia, built next to the Temple Mount -- all those strong walls and fortified buildings and great geography didn't do any good if you let the enemy into the front gates and allow them to build a fortress next door. I liked being in the museum--the stuff was really neat but my feet got tired after a while. There's so much stuff its hard to make sense of it all. I think it would be neat to work in a museum.
--End Transmission--
School starts soon, both high school and ulpan--but I'm only doing ulpan to start. It's 8:00 to 1:30 five days a week of speaking, reading, writing Hebrew. On Fridays, there's no ulpan but the plan my parents and the schools have come up with is for me to go to the high school on that day and get to know the teachers and students and the routine. It's a half-day so its not so bad.... I should have been keeping up the blog but I've been distracted--reading emails (thanks, everyone) and cruising on the 'net, enjoying having a summer off for a change! NO homework!! That will change on September 1st--ulpan has lots of homework. Worries me a little.
We've been checking out shuls. My friend Effie was here and we did the Kotel, and a shul down the street from us, and after he left my parents and I went to another near-by shul that was Sephardic---really cool building and great music. The people are nice, too, but the siddur is different so the service is hard for me to follow at times. We went to an Anglo shul when we first came here and we'll try that again; and we went to an Israeli shul that was really big and had lots of people and good nigguns and might go back there again. Haven't made it to Chabad yet but we're working our way in that direction.... The interesting thing about non-Chabad shuls is that all the bar mitzvah and older wear tallit, not like Chabad where only married guys wear them. I'd like to wear a tallit--maybe I'll get one for when we go to non-Chabad shuls.
Today we took the day off and went to the Israel Museum--we were trying to get there earlier but between doctor's appointments, tutoring, school stuff, insurance stuff, visitors, etc. we never did the tourist thing. I really like the Israeli museum. There are two museums right there-- the other is the Bible Lands Museum which is across the parking lot, which I haven't been to yet. The Israel Museum has this really cool model of the ancient city of Jerusalem during the reign of Herod--it shows the second Temple and the city dwellings, the houses of the Cohanim, the Hasmonean palaces, and the geography that made the city so defensible. It also showed the Roman fortress, the Antonia, built next to the Temple Mount -- all those strong walls and fortified buildings and great geography didn't do any good if you let the enemy into the front gates and allow them to build a fortress next door. I liked being in the museum--the stuff was really neat but my feet got tired after a while. There's so much stuff its hard to make sense of it all. I think it would be neat to work in a museum.
--End Transmission--
Thursday, June 29, 2006
Worf's Personal birthday Log Stardate 629.06
Today is my 16th birthday. We're not really going to do much today--instead we're going to go out on my Hebrew birthday, Tammuz 6 which falls on July 2nd---this way, Yona and I can celebrate together because her birthday is on July 5th.
I'm glad we're in Israel and we got the computer set up, and that I have email again. I'm glad I'm in Jerusalem. I'm glad that before I left, my friends gave me a gameboy to use on the plane. Thank you, Schreibers. Also, thank you Scops for the Othello game--we played it on the plane, in the waiting room in Toronto, and here in our flat. It's fun and I'm getting pretty good at beating my mom.
When we were in LA, I told my mom I was serious about being a Black Hat--and our friend, Mr. Bruemmer, told us about Hollywood Hats which carries black hats. I promised my mom if she got me a black hat that it wouldn't be a game and I would seriously daven/pray three times a day and lay tefillin every morning. So far I've kept that promise.
--END TRANSMISSION--
I'm glad we're in Israel and we got the computer set up, and that I have email again. I'm glad I'm in Jerusalem. I'm glad that before I left, my friends gave me a gameboy to use on the plane. Thank you, Schreibers. Also, thank you Scops for the Othello game--we played it on the plane, in the waiting room in Toronto, and here in our flat. It's fun and I'm getting pretty good at beating my mom.
When we were in LA, I told my mom I was serious about being a Black Hat--and our friend, Mr. Bruemmer, told us about Hollywood Hats which carries black hats. I promised my mom if she got me a black hat that it wouldn't be a game and I would seriously daven/pray three times a day and lay tefillin every morning. So far I've kept that promise.
--END TRANSMISSION--
Sunday, May 07, 2006
Worf's Personal Log Stardate 507.06
wow what a not interesting week it has been for me because i had to catch up on math, science, not fun at all. sometimes maybe i need to think about what i do to be in this situation and how to get out of it but susan my reasource teacher let me listen to music which was relaxing and helpful for the science part that i had to do.
Worf out
---End Transmission---
Worf out
---End Transmission---
Wednesday, May 03, 2006
Worf's Personal Log Stardate 502.06
Just had the Parent-Teacher Conference. Looks like I might pass if I can keep the grades up and get caught up on some social studies assignments. Organization is not my strong point and most of my lousy grades come from not getting stuff done on time.
We have a date! We're leaving for Israel the 19th of June---I'll be in Israel in time for my birthday AND for Yona's birthday! No more school for the summer! I get to play tourist and tour Israel, practice my Hebrew. I get a break from high school while I go to ulpan (language school). There's a ulpan just for teenagers in Jerusalem which is why we're living there.
I'm nervous a little bit over the language stuff. I think I'll pick up the Hebrew pretty quickly because I've taken it at Jewish Day School and kept it up with my tutor--I speak Hebrew better than my mom, definitely. I hope I can make Israeli friends.
We have a group of vision impaired students in the county who all do mobility therapy during the year -- sometimes we pair up, like me and Jessica, my friend. But every year we all go to San Francisco on a field trip to use all the different kinds of public transportation -- buses, BART, ferries, trolleys, cable cars. This year we took the ferry to the city, and took BART and Muni buses around. We got to meet the mayor, Gavin Newsome and spend time at City Hall. We took lots of pictures and made a CD of our trip and Jessica set it to music. I wanted to help with editing and the music but I had the flu and missed it.
---End Transmission---
We have a date! We're leaving for Israel the 19th of June---I'll be in Israel in time for my birthday AND for Yona's birthday! No more school for the summer! I get to play tourist and tour Israel, practice my Hebrew. I get a break from high school while I go to ulpan (language school). There's a ulpan just for teenagers in Jerusalem which is why we're living there.
I'm nervous a little bit over the language stuff. I think I'll pick up the Hebrew pretty quickly because I've taken it at Jewish Day School and kept it up with my tutor--I speak Hebrew better than my mom, definitely. I hope I can make Israeli friends.
We have a group of vision impaired students in the county who all do mobility therapy during the year -- sometimes we pair up, like me and Jessica, my friend. But every year we all go to San Francisco on a field trip to use all the different kinds of public transportation -- buses, BART, ferries, trolleys, cable cars. This year we took the ferry to the city, and took BART and Muni buses around. We got to meet the mayor, Gavin Newsome and spend time at City Hall. We took lots of pictures and made a CD of our trip and Jessica set it to music. I wanted to help with editing and the music but I had the flu and missed it.
---End Transmission---
Sunday, April 16, 2006
Worf's Personal Log - Star Date 416.06
Well this is the last day of Break from school. On Monday and Tuesday last week I got to play with my play-station, which I'm ususally not allowed to do during the school year. But I also helped Ima with the Pesach shopping and cleaning--BORING but it was a mitzvah. Watched Ima and Abba go crazy making the house ready for Pesach on Wednesday while I met with my tutor and got my assignments mostly done. I still have a lot to do today. I haven't done them sooner because of Pesach. We went to the rabbi's for one seder and to our friend's house for another seder and had Shabbat at home. I was glad it didn't rain because we walked to shul and back both days and walked to the seders and home again. Yesterday we went to another friend's house for kiddush so we did a lot of visiting. I slept in really late because the seders aren't over until like one in the morning.
__end transmission
__end transmission
Subscribe to Posts [Atom]
