…did it. taxied to the central bus station in 20 minutes, got to Bar Ilan in an hour, arrived at class early. made an Israeli friend in class. hung out with him during breaks. spoke Hebrew more than i ever did in a 4 hour period. sat through 2 Hebrew lectures. got all jists.
spoke up in class when everyone had to go around introducing themselves and what they studied in undergrad.
“ani elisheva, lamadati politica b’New York.”
“New York? matai ba’at?”
“aliti lefnay shana…”
everyone wants to be my friend because most the texts are in English. that’s ok.
new Israeli friend bought me a coffee.
“at rotza chazak?”
i figured, what the hell, why not. i’m hard-core now. i could taste the granuals between my teeth – Israeli coffee.
found a possible carpool on the bus.
“at ba’a b’sha’a ha’zot kol yom? rotze l’asot carpool?”
…and i’m an Israeli grad student.
Whadya got: