I started ulpan (hebrew language classes) this week at Ulpan Akiva in Netanya. Monday was full of horribly inefficient testing. Tuesday and Wednesday were real classes, from 8:00 to 13:00 with an hour break. I feel comfortable in my class level, kitah bet (the second level), but I know I'll still be challenged because I have trouble conjugating verbs and we will learn past and future tenses.
I've been staying with my friend Gabe in Herzliya this week. Gabe made aliya (immigrated to Israel) and works as a security guard. He and I went to hebrew school together when we were growing up.
"Hebrew school" is a misnomer. You don't learn hebrew. You might learn the alef-bet (hebrew alphabet) and some prayers.
The teachers at ulpan told the students to watch TV, in hebrew, obviously. I have been watching the news in hebrew a little. I am skeptical that it will actually teach me anything. If I can only recognize one in ten words, am I just going to magically figure out the other nine? I've been studying vocabulary on my own. Hopefully I can get up to three out of ten words by the end of the month.
Friday, July 31, 2009
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
guatemala pics
Gordon observed that people reading blogs like to see pictures. I haven't taken any pictures of Israel yet, but I think it couldn't hurt to post the pictures I took in Guatemala for those readers who haven't seen them yet:
http://picasaweb.google.com/
http://picasaweb.google.com/benmeiselman /OzielMeiselmanGuatemalanOMGTiyul?authke y=Gv1sRgCJPi-qabmK-pqQE&feat=directlink
Sunday, July 26, 2009
misrad hapanim
Skyscrapers in Tel Aviv confuse me a little. There are a few along the coast, which makes sense because they're trying to take advantage of the view of the sea. But there are other skyscrapers scattered around the city, which makes less sense to me. Aren't skyscrapers supposed to be clustered together because of high real estate values? From the window of my friend's apartment on Zvulun Street, I see a single building that appears to have more than thirty stories, and no others that appear to have more than eight.
The visa department of the interior ministry is on the third floor of a skyscraper at 125 Derech Menachem Begin, which is across a busy intersection from the Azrieli Center, a distinctive group of three skyscrapers. I arrived around 8:30 a.m. and took number 635. The big board was on 592. While I was waiting, I read Amos Oz, filled out my visa type change form (i.e. from tourist to work visa) and bought passport-size photographs at a store on the second floor. I also filled out an entry form for a Bulgarian woman. When she asked for my help, she motioned to her eyes, so I assume either that her eyesight was too poor to read the form or that she could not read Hebrew even though she spoke it. Her English was worse than my Hebrew, but we succeeded in filling out the form.
The waiting room included a surprisingly diverse group. Russians, southeast Asians, and Africans were abundant. I only saw two kipot (yarmulkes), and I would guess that around 200 people rotated through that room while I was there. Some had appointments and bypassed the number system. It is possible I was the only American Jew in the room, but I'm not sure. The people who had appointments were instructed (by signs in Hebrew and English) to talk to the guard rather than take a number. I thought the guard looked a little like Bibi Netanyahu. He barked instructions in Russian, Hebrew and English as was appropriate for the visa applicant.
My turn at the misleadingly labeled "information desk" (it was actually where all the processing occured) came around 10:30 a.m. A woman behind me was holding number 697. She thought it could not possibly be the same sequence, but of course it was. I had all my application materials (form I filled out in the waiting room, form from the Jewish Agency, letter from rabbi, letter from employer, birth certificate, passport, photos), so I had my work visa 5 minutes later.
If instructions for obtaining a work visa are in English online, I could not find them. I am extremely grateful to advice from Sager, Ruth, Sammo, and Smikes, without whom I would surely have a more convoluted story to tell about getting a work visa.
The visa department of the interior ministry is on the third floor of a skyscraper at 125 Derech Menachem Begin, which is across a busy intersection from the Azrieli Center, a distinctive group of three skyscrapers. I arrived around 8:30 a.m. and took number 635. The big board was on 592. While I was waiting, I read Amos Oz, filled out my visa type change form (i.e. from tourist to work visa) and bought passport-size photographs at a store on the second floor. I also filled out an entry form for a Bulgarian woman. When she asked for my help, she motioned to her eyes, so I assume either that her eyesight was too poor to read the form or that she could not read Hebrew even though she spoke it. Her English was worse than my Hebrew, but we succeeded in filling out the form.
The waiting room included a surprisingly diverse group. Russians, southeast Asians, and Africans were abundant. I only saw two kipot (yarmulkes), and I would guess that around 200 people rotated through that room while I was there. Some had appointments and bypassed the number system. It is possible I was the only American Jew in the room, but I'm not sure. The people who had appointments were instructed (by signs in Hebrew and English) to talk to the guard rather than take a number. I thought the guard looked a little like Bibi Netanyahu. He barked instructions in Russian, Hebrew and English as was appropriate for the visa applicant.
My turn at the misleadingly labeled "information desk" (it was actually where all the processing occured) came around 10:30 a.m. A woman behind me was holding number 697. She thought it could not possibly be the same sequence, but of course it was. I had all my application materials (form I filled out in the waiting room, form from the Jewish Agency, letter from rabbi, letter from employer, birth certificate, passport, photos), so I had my work visa 5 minutes later.
If instructions for obtaining a work visa are in English online, I could not find them. I am extremely grateful to advice from Sager, Ruth, Sammo, and Smikes, without whom I would surely have a more convoluted story to tell about getting a work visa.
Saturday, July 25, 2009
getting settled
I am typing on my laptop in my friend's apartment on Zvulun Street in Florentin, which is near Tel Aviv's central bus station. I arrived on Tuesday (July 21) and I will begin taking Hebrew classes at Ulpan Akiva in Netanya on Monday.
On Wednesday I bought a cell phone for 300 NIS and a sim card with 200 pay-as-you-go minutes for 200 NIS. The number is 054-901-0850 (dial +011-972-54-901-0850 from the US), and I'm on the Orange network. Even though I was only without a cell phone for one day, I felt like getting one was an emergency. I think the fact that I was moving around so much -- from the airport to a friend in Ramat Gan to a friend in Florentin -- made my inability to communicate more frustrating.
On Thursday the Jewish Agency officially recognized that I am Jewish. I went to the office (at 99 Hachashmonaim) and presented my passport, a letter from my rabbi and a letter from my employer. The Jewish Agency's recognition is important for facilitating my acquisition of a work visa. I entered the country on a tourist visa, which is good for three months. Tomorrow I'll go to the misrad hapanim (Interior Ministry) and hopefully get the actual work visa.
As long as I am taking classes in Netanya, I need to be in the Tel Aviv area. The lodging offered by Ulpan Akiva is grossly overpriced, so I'm planning to crash with friends in Tel Aviv and Herzliya for at least the next four weeks.
On Wednesday I bought a cell phone for 300 NIS and a sim card with 200 pay-as-you-go minutes for 200 NIS. The number is 054-901-0850 (dial +011-972-54-901-0850 from the US), and I'm on the Orange network. Even though I was only without a cell phone for one day, I felt like getting one was an emergency. I think the fact that I was moving around so much -- from the airport to a friend in Ramat Gan to a friend in Florentin -- made my inability to communicate more frustrating.
On Thursday the Jewish Agency officially recognized that I am Jewish. I went to the office (at 99 Hachashmonaim) and presented my passport, a letter from my rabbi and a letter from my employer. The Jewish Agency's recognition is important for facilitating my acquisition of a work visa. I entered the country on a tourist visa, which is good for three months. Tomorrow I'll go to the misrad hapanim (Interior Ministry) and hopefully get the actual work visa.
As long as I am taking classes in Netanya, I need to be in the Tel Aviv area. The lodging offered by Ulpan Akiva is grossly overpriced, so I'm planning to crash with friends in Tel Aviv and Herzliya for at least the next four weeks.
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