FluenTLV

Over the summer I started going to a language exchange event called FluenTLV. This event facilitates mother-tongue speakers of at least a dozen languages helping others practice their language. I have regularly gone as an English "ambassador". I spend half of the evening helping others practice English and then I practice whatever language I want during the second half of the evening.

About a month ago I started "working" with the event! I now help a few times a month with coordinating the ambassadors during the evening. This includes setting up the tables, making sure that there are enough ambassadors at each of the tables, ensuring that ambassadors switch half way through the evening, and other such tasks. It's fun to once again be a part of a team that is very language focused!

I don't get to practice my Hebrew or Dutch as much, now that I'm working, but I still find time to wander over to those tables and get in brief conversations.

I think every international city should have a similar event.

I Can Read!

I'm loving reading all the signs here that are written in three languages: Hebrew, Arabic, and English. Now, I can even read all three languages. The names sound slightly different in each of them though.

Yerushalayim, Al-Quds, and Jerusalem, for example.

I didn't have the assistance of Hebrew or English when I read this sign the other day though and yet I think I understood it! There's a market coming near my home, alas I've already missed it.

And Now...

I just finished an intensive 3-week-long crash-course in written Arabic. The course was amazing. The teacher covered more information in 3 weeks than I ever could have hoped for. I can now read and write in Arabic, I can speak in the past tense, a little in the present and future, but my vocabulary is limited to about 200 words.

On top of the course itself the program planned multiple outings for us so that we could get a feel for some of the Palestinian culture. We had an evening of Dabke dancing (traditional Palestinian dancing) and another evening of Oud music.

We were also taken on a day trip to Akko, a city a bit north of Haifa. We ate delicious hummus, visited a beautiful and old mosque, toured some Crusader ruins, and generally wondered around the ancient city.

So, what now? My master's courses don't start until the middle of October. What better way to work on Arabic than to go and live in an Arabic town - Abu Ghosh. I am volunteering at a guest house in exchange for room and board. I'm surrounded by Arabic speakers!!!

I picked up a book that teaches Arabic to keep me focused and motivated. It's a double challenge. It teaches Arabic from Hebrew.

So, here's to getting better at both Arabic and Hebrew in the coming months!

All About Languages

I've completed my first week of Arabic studies and I now know the alphabet. That might not sound like much for a whole week's worth of work (6-8 hours of work a day), but it is. The Arabic alphabet is complex! I've thoroughly enjoyed learning it and my brain is still recovering from the amount of stretching that it has been through thus far.

It hasn't been all Arabic though. I've also been working on improving my Hebrew. There is a group in Tel Aviv that gets together on a weekly basis providing opportunities for language learners to speak with native speakers. I signed up as an "ambassador" for English. I spent the first half of the night improving my Hebrew with native speakers. Then I spent the second half of the night speaking English to help others. What fun!!!

Polyglot-hood here I come!