Category: bar ilan
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Students strike out.
I just read this article by Nehemia Shtrasler from Haaretz about why the student strike is a bit ridiculous. I can’t help but agree with his logic. I come from a world where university is a completely different animal altogether, so I can appreciate the Israeli government’s role in providing a heavily-subsidized tuition. On the…
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Dead for deadlines.
Bar Ilan University is officially out for between-semesters break. That is, unless you have finals. Then you’re screwed. I don’t have finals, but I have tons of fun in the form of papers. I owe two papers from last year: One on narrative mediation and the other covering the Jewish language war in pre-1948 Palestine.…
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The students strike.
I’m not sure how far the news has traveled surrounding the university tuition increases in the face of the university budget decreases. I suppose if you are not an Israeli university student, the news wouldn’t particularly interest you. The state of university education is becoming more and more dismal here in the state of Israel.…
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Two + two = I hate Bar Ilan.
I spent four hours straight either waiting for or riding on a bus today. Two on the way to Bar Ilan (for a 12 minute meeting with a professor) and two on the way back to Jerusalem. Do I want to rant and rave about how inefficient Bar Ilan, Egged and the whole country are?…
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On lacking style… American style.
The (typically quiet) religious Ethiopian Israeli girl in my class was up for talking about her thesis topic and getting suggestions. She began to describe her topic, having to do with religious authorities in Israel discriminating against religious Jewish Ethiopian practices. One student in the class, a (typically argumentative) Ashkenazi secular guy, offered some information…
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Anglos, Anglos, everywhere.
Is it a coincidence that every semester so far, all of my professors have been originally Anglo except one? Is it strange that I’m always watching them differently than my peers – searching for clues for successful aliyah?
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Bar Ilan students: Givat Shmuel vs. Jerusalem.
Someone asked, and I thought there might be someone else out there who was curious, so I’m putting this up as a personal reference on the topic. The topic is: Bar Ilan – Is a modernly-religious student oleh better off living in Givat Shmuel (small community next to the school in Ramat Gan) or living…
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Cr->zy.
Right: My tremp never showed -> The taxi driver took the long way to get to the tachana and then got mad that I got out early -> Missed the bus because it left early -> Second bus took forever leaving the station and getting on the highway because the bus driver was a little…
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Grad, you ate?
A little something on Israeli university culture as opposed to what I’ve known (in relation to my academic culture shock in the last 2 weeks): In the States, university was a hardcore 24/7 experience. I lived, ate, breathed college in dorm, lecture hall and frat party forms. As far as work, it was intense from…
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From the mouths of babes and professors.
The two secrets2success I’ve been told about aliyah, have, unsurprisingly, to do with the manner and condition of the self-image. The first The second: My Jews & Conflict in the Modern Age professor gave me a lift home tonight. He’s originally from Chicago; he’s been here for over 25 years. Impeccable hebrew, by the way,…
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Yalla, t'dabri.
i arrived at class early.my heart sank as i realized the teacher was 100% hard-ass. blonde hair tied back, tightly bunned. blond people scare me.her thin drawn lips – her short-squat posture – were reminiscent of Israeli teachers in the past… enough to make me wince at the thought of speaking Hebrew in this class,…
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Two years in the making; and…
…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…