My island of Sanity

People ask me why do we (Rob and I) not speak more German at home. I tell them that we try sometimes (which isn't a lie) but that mainly I am the kind of person that needs time to absorb the language slowly slowly. The main reason I don't really feel like speaking German at home is because home is my sanctuary. My island of sanity. The place where I can express myself in all kinds of ways, whether it's in English, or some words in Hebrew that Rob knows, or even a few words of Chinese, some inside jokes, and some mimics we use with each other. When we speak German I feel as if I'm in a classroom, not in my own comfortable home. I feel like a student, not like a girlfriend or just me. I feel like I'm being tested. Yes, I do learn a bit in those moments we actually try to speak German, but only as long as it's a few minutes that we both had decided to practice the language in. If suddenly I'll be surprised in my own home with this language- the only thing I'll wanna do is throw the person that did it out the window with his German words...
Outside I'm forced to use the language. I do rely on Rob a lot when it comes to doing all the talking everywhere, but slowly I do know what to say when someone asks me: "what would you like to drink?" and when Rob isn't around- I get along fine. I know myself better than all these "smart" ppl that wish to preach me on the right ways to learn a language. Thanks for your interest ppl, but I've been though a thing or two in my short life, and the last thing I need right now is another person to tell me how to do things. I know it comes from a good place, these ppl just want to help, and they think that sharing these so called 'unknown' pieces of information helps me so much. Well ppl, it doesn't.

The Do's and Don'ts for a friend of a person learning a new language:
(written in male- but obviously refers to women too)

1. First and foremost ask your friend if he's even interested in your help.
2. Then you can ask in what way you can help. For example: you can speak the language to him more often, or just check his homework, you can help him write a diary in the new language, you can translate to him things ppl say around him- so he still hears the language but also is involved in the conversation.
3. After your friend told you the ways he would like you to help him, try to keep to these things, don't take more initiative- remember- each person has his own pace.
4. Be extremely patient! The last thing someone like your friend needs is someone sitting on his tail to make him learn faster or better.
5. Listen to him. Sense when he's getting lost in the language, and pay attention when he had enough and all he wants to do is express himself in his own language or just English.
6. Try to understand: for some ppl languages are hard to learn and for some it comes easily, but even those ppl are still human beings, and that means that in some level- they do not like feeling stupid. Interpret that anyway you like- just keep it in mind.
7. Let your friend know that he's more than welcomed to make mistakes. One thing I learned from teaching English as a second language was that it gives ppl a great sense of accomplishment if they can have a whole conversation in the language they're learning. Don't correct their mistakes while they speak!!! Try to remember what they said wrong and let then know about it later. To any mistake they make- let them know what was wrong- and what is right.
8. One of the things you can do is learn the grammar rules of your own language. At least enough to know how to answer your friends questions.
9. You are not a teacher- these tips are only for a friend - close friend who wants to help. Remember that yourself- you are not a teacher (But if you are a teacher - remember that this isn't a student of yours- it's a friend- big difference).
10. Appreciate the fact that this person in front of you is trying to learn your own language. I can speak only for myself- but I always feel honored when ppl want to learn Hebrew- my mother tongue, even though I didn't invent it or have no ownership on it- it makes me appreciate ppl who want to learn it - and that changes the way I feel about them.

* One more thing that I thought about tonight (just came home from a nice night out): most ppl learn best from just being exposed to the language - as long as you speak correctly next to them - they will learn a lot - even if you don't intend on "teaching" at the moment. And something about slang: it's always nice to know what words mean in slang- especially these words that mean something totally different in the "normal" language- so - don't be afraid to use slang and contemporary language.

** Adding this after a night out of speaking a lot of German:
A nice method to teach the right way of speaking in a certain language is to reflect what the other person said but without the mistakes. Meaning- don't stop the person in the middle of the sentence to correct his mistake, and you even don't have to tell him he made one- just say what he said, but this time correctly.
For example:
Learner: "I spoked to her last night......"
Teacher: "Yeah I know, and when I spoke to her she said....."

Alice in wonderland

There is no doubt that "Alice in Wonderland" by Lewis Carroll is my all time favorite book. I've read it in a few versions, obviously in the original as well, and read some research about it, and lots of theories.
Here is another theory about it that I found today: "The Neurology of Alice" in English and Hebrew.


And here are links to Lewis Carroll's 2 most famous books: ( I love finding whole books online!)
1. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
2. Through the Looking Glass and what Alice found there


Enjoy!

Around the world

So there's this website, where among other things you can make this kinda map, so I tried to find out in how much of the world I've been to. And I got so disappointed... I mean... 9%??? how little is that???
I wanna go to so many places still that if I start writing their names down it'll never end...
I can't even choose one place I really wanna go to first. I mean - if i have to choose one- should I be practical and choose a country that's close to where I am now? or somewhere far far away? somewhere cheap coz I have no money now, or somewhere that will be affordable only when if I'm rich? you see, there's almost no place on this planet I don't want to visit and check out. When will I ever do that??? with what money??? It's the chronicles of a known failure. Hopefully I'm wrong.

Autumn and some arts and crafts

Autumn. My first real one as an adult (since we lived in the states). I have to admit that I like the word "Fall" much better. It describes it so well. It's cold in this country. It's still not too cold for me- but when I look outside, or when I am outside- I realize that this is only the preview for winter. It's gonna get much colder. On the bright side- we already turned on the heating a bit at home. I like living in a house with good heating. It's such a relief. So here are pictures of what I see from our bedroom window nowadays:

Look at all these nice colors.
It's a shame they predict
a very long and deadly sleep.

In a few months all these trees will be naked,
and the scenery will look like
a black and white picture
(if we're lucky enough to have snow).

***

I got an old desk from Rob's parents- to use it for studying. It was painted green and it looked hmmm lets say- not so much to my taste... Rob and I scratched it till our hands almost fell off, and then I painted it with 3 layers of bright paint. You can still see the bits of green that we couldn't take off- but only if you really look closely. Here's a picture of the finished product:

I used Mosaic squares for the decoration.

So as you can see now I have my own corner to work on and sit next to. And study.... I have to study. German is not just hard. It's complicated and stupid. I must say that until now it's my least favorite language from the 5 I ever learned... Too many rules. Tomorrow I have a private lesson with my x-German teacher, she's so nice- I asked her if she is interested in giving me some grammar lessons before I start the next course.

***

It's Rob's birthday tomorrow. I'm going to bake him a cake in the oven his mom got him for his bday. Happy birthday sweety!

In Germany. Again.

2 days ago I took a flight back to Germany. It was at 16:20 from Israel to Istanbul (Turkish Airlines) and my connecting flight to Berlin was only the day after at 08:40am. I was already planning my 13 hours at the airport waiting for my flight. My dad advised me to ask the at the transfer desk if it's possible to stay in one of the airport's lounges until then. So I went there and asked. The guy there told me that it's better if I take a hotel. He said that Turkish Airlines will provide me with transportation to and from a hotel, and a night there- on their own expense! I was so surprised and pleased! So I went through passport control in Istanbul (how lovely it is that the British need a visa to Turkey but us Israelis don't???) then they took me to a really ok hotel in town, and in the early morning they took me back to the airport... It was great having my own room and my own shower and a bed for the night...
Got to Berlin and Rob picked me up from the airport - we met Aaron his friend for lunch, and then drove to his parents' to be here for a few days - coz they're not around and they wanted us to be with his little bro a bit.
Today we didn't do much, Rob was kind enough to give me a drivers lesson here (I feel that I need the reinforcement to know the local weird rules and all) and met his former piano teacher (when we picked up his bro from a lesson). She's one of the coolest ppl I ever met- a 60++ year old that looks much younger, dances around and jumps and moves like a little girl. She's an x-Russian (Jewish too) who lives here for years and years, and I understood almost everything she said in German so it was nice- I wasn't left out of the conversation at all... She suddenly opened her kitchen door and on the table she had food and cakes- coz it's her Birthday today. Did I say she's really cool???
The weather here is really shit. Cold (about 13°c) and gray and rainy- but it's still gonna take a few days until I'm sick of it so... I'm not complaining yet!
Liya from China just moved to Germany after a year in China, came here after a boyfriend too- and I'm so happy she's closer now!!! Liya!!! when are we gonna meet??? miss ya!
That's all for now, gotta do my nails... (I'm such a girl sometimes... lol)

Happy birthday Blog!!!

I'm such a bad blogger, I didn't even realize that on September 2nd was the anniversary of my blog. It's been a year that I've been writing it. Sometimes I feel inspired and I write things that later I like reading again. Sometimes I feel like I'm writing just to write. Sometimes I write just to update you guys on my life, which sometimes comes out nice and sometimes I feel like words are better left unsaid. Anyway just wanted to mention this day (even though I'm late by almost a month). I wish for my blog to be more interesting, and exciting, more deep and insightful, funnier and more sensitive. May I always have the muse to write in you - my blog.

Pictures

Here are some pictures from our month in Israel. A little bit of everything:

Caesarea - the city of Herod



This used to be a private pool
of a rich Roman...

The Negev desert, on the way to Eilat


Sunrise from our window, Sinai

A stray camel coming for a visit



A colorful store in Tarabin, Sinai



A hazy morning next to the Kineret




The El Aktza mosque in Jerusalem

My new computer

This is my first post from this computer! Mine was very sick as you already know from all my stories about it from China, and now I have a new laptop- and I'm getting used to it. I like it that's for sure.
Since we came back from Sinai, we went traveling in the north part of Israel, slept on the beach of the Kineret lake for two nights, and traveled especially in the Galilee. It was very nice, and again I promise to put pictures soon. After that we went to Jerusalem, to spend Yom Kippur there- that's the day the Jewish ppl fast for 24 hours to ask for forgiveness for their sins. We spent it with my friend Yifat, who just moved to Jerusalem to do her 5th and 6th year of med school there. This day almost nobody drives in Israel, and the streets are filled with ppl and kids riding bicycles and other wheeled things. The most religious ppl don't do that of course. Jerusalem as usual is amazing, the feeling you get when you're there is so special, it's really hard to explain. Rob & I fell in love with it again. On Sunday, right after the holiday, we went to a museum- that shows all of the city's history- it's called Migdal David (the tower of David) and it's very recommended.
Adi, my best friend from school gave birth to a pre-mature baby, on the 6th month of her pregnancy - now the baby is gonna stay in the hospital until it's strong enough to leave... I cross my fingers the baby will be strong and healthy!
Rob left to Germany 2 days ago, and I'm going back there in less than a week- it feels weird to leave again for so long... My mom is going today for a week which means I won't see her again b4 I leave... It's a very weird feeling.
I've been trying to learn German alone here, yesterday I was good- sat for more than 3 hours. Today I'll do it after mom leaves, until the evening- it's another holiday today- and I'm going to my aunts place for dinner.
I really need to start doing sports again, especially Yoga. I feel so bad about not doing anything, a real icky feeling. I hope I'll find a good Yoga teacher in Germany, coz even though I have a really good Yoga book - I have no self discipline and I need a class to actually go to. I fear the fact that I'm not going to understand the teachers again- which really makes all the difference for me. I'll try to find out where there's a teacher that teaches in the method I like, and I'll see how much it costs. But even if it's gonna be paying money that I don't have- I'm going back to doing Yoga... Until I find a good Yoga teacher- I'll try to go to the gym at least...
I'm stressed about not having a job in Germany yet, I keep using the money I don't have (my savings...) and I really don't like this feeling. I haven't worked in a year, and it feels so useless... I really need to know that I'm making money, and not just spending it.
I'll write more in the next few days, I'm going to have lunch with my mom now (who bought so much food for me for the time she's gone- it's amazing).

Quiet comes from inside

Thursday morning, we're all set and ready to leave to Sinai with the car. My mom is just getting the last things from home, and Rob and I are already downstairs waiting. I put my sun glasses on my head- to be able to see in the hallway- and they break. hmmm... can't drive without sun glasses all the way to Eilat! not in Israel! My mom says she'll drive to Tel-Aviv until we get to my sisters who's joining us 2 days later, but forgot her passport at my moms place- so we had to go through TLV. I find a good sun glasses store where my sister lives, a chain store in Israel, they have sales for the end of the summer, I find there a nice pair of glasses for only 104 NIS, I'm happy, we go on our way to Eilat. We get to the border with Sinai at about 17:00, cross it, someone we know is waiting for us to pick us up to our usual beach (where we know the owners and we always go to). The place is beautiful and charming as usual. The days go by, The heat isn't so terrible, there are just some really strong and hot winds at night, but we go through it. There's no electricity, so we live according to nature, wake up with the sun (and the flies all over us buzzing and driving us crazy) and go to sleep early, after watching the billion starts and the milky way in the sky. I saw so many shooting starts (always wished for the same thing- not gonna tell you - so it comes true), and was almost relaxed- couldn't stop thinking about my little and annoying country that decided it wants to bomb something in Syria (stupid stupid stupid). A vacation with your mother could sometimes be too much, and I must say that I wouldn't have minded if we went there for a little bit less time. 5 days were a bit too much. We did go see a Bedouin village, and then walked around those amazing red mountains a bit, and one day the sheikh of the tribe there took us with his jeep to the mountains to see some nice colored sand (red, yellow, white, purple, orange...). There was one dog fight at the beach we were staying in, and while I was deciding that I shouldn't be next to it, the dogs pushed me (while fighting each other) I ran and tripped, and got lots of bruises all over. At the same time my glasses, who were laying on the floor (coz the beads jewellery lady was there showing us her stuff on the floor) got stepped on by someone (could be anyone there- there was a big mess) and there went a new pair of glasses to the garbage... I was very annoyed... The rest of the time we just tried to pass the time in the shade, swim in the sea (Rob went snorkeling a lot- I tried once and was too much of a chicken- afraid of all those fish!) caught a tan, ate good food and read a lot.
There's one main thing I got to realize there, even thought it's such a cliche: Being relaxed and quiet comes from inside of you. No nice beaches, no good food, no silence outside will make you happy and peaceful. It must come from you. It can help bring it out, but it'll never happen if you're not really interested in it. And one more thing: Those beaches there can be very deceiving: it's all so beautiful, and almost virgin, and so mesmerizing, but the Bedouin culture, once you're not just a tourist there, and you are exposed to all they're ways, is very complicated and very very chauvinistic. I think I couldn't live in such a culture, coming from where I do.
Tuesday morning we drove back to Israel, I bought the same glasses (but different color) in Eilat (might wanna go change the color here, if they'll have it), and we drove to TLV to drop my sister off. Got home really tired, but still went to meet Yifat who came to Haifa today (needed to have a nice night out in civilization!).
Tonight is the Jewish new years eve- that we celebrate having a big dinner with our family (how can we celebrate something without food??? we're Jewish), and we're spending it at my aunts house.
Everybody: have a SHANA TOVA! (which means- a good year in Hebrew)

Vacation?

I've been asked if it's the heat that stopped me from writing here lately (thanks M :-)), so I decided to write one just before we're going to Sinai on Thursday. Rob's here and I guess that's the main reason for me not writing here, and even though we haven't been doing much- we still went to some nice places. One place that is definitely worth mentioning is Ein Hod- an artists village a bit southern than Haifa. We just went there to see the nice galleries (and we did) but we found something much nicer: BEER!!! There's a small pub there - called Art Bar- where the owner makes his own beer - and it was the best beer that I ever tasted in Israel! He brews 7 different kinds of beer, and he gave us a few to taste. It was even quite cheap... We had a really nice afternoon there in his small yard, that had some chairs (you couldn't find the same chair twice) and some tables (not the same as well), some rugs, a fan, a big speaker for the music, a cat and a dog. I would like to go back there one more time before we go back to Germany.
Tomorrow we're going to Ceasaria (Keysaria in Hebrew) to look at the ruins of the Roman Empire, and on Thursday we're going to Sinai with my mom. Will put pictures when I'm back!