Shalom everyone!!!!   This is week four already!  Can you believe it?  I have only three weeks left.  I am really glad to be learning Hebrew.  I was at Academy, Hebrew school for teenagers, and there was something written on the board.  I was quickly able to say in my head.  The word was pecach, the Hebrew word for Passover.  Pretty exciting stuff.

So this week, I did some research on Israel on the CIA Fact book.  Shout out to Noah G. for reminding me to research this.  Israel is the 100^th smallest country, but is the only liberal democracy in the Middle East.  It is also not only a Jewish state, but an Arab state. Israel was created on May 14^th, 1948.  The day after, it was attacked by five nations surrounding it.  People from Israel are Israeli.  The parliament is called Knesset, and they have the second elected woman official in modern times.  Israel has religious freedom, universal suffrage over 18, and equal rights for women.  Israel also developed the cellphone, voicemail, and microsoft.  Sounds like fun, right.

Notice any similarity?

 

 

I also learned about Israeli culture on culturecrossing.net.  There were some very interesting notes that are very important.  Here they are.

1.      Israeli people are extremely blunt.  They do not hold back their feelings, and they tell you exactly how they feel.  They get straight to the point and never beat around the bush.  Do not take this as offence. 

2.      Israelis talk very loud and very fast.

3.      They stand about a foot away when talking.  Never back up from a person who you believe is too close.  This is extremely rude.

4.      When meeting or greeting someone, it is customary to shake hands with a person.  When shaking hands with a Muslim, always use your right hand.  Also, if they are very religious people, man may not shake hands with women.  That is a religious thing, not a law.

5.      Israelis are very hospitable.  They will invite you to dinner, and you must always accept.  They will give you way too much food, but that’s ok.  The food there is pretty good.  Finally, after the meal, compliment the chef.  This will avoid offending the family.

6.      The last note is on the taxi drivers.  If they see you are foreign, they will try to scam you into paying more then you need to.  Always ask directly “efshahr moneh?”  This is asking about how much the meter reads.

I am really beginning to learn the language.  I learned about family and friends.  I have also learned the verbs to stand, to sit, to run, to eat, to drink, and to sleep.  I am sorry I cannot write them in Hebrew, but it is near impossible to do so. Oh and I cannot believe I did not mention this before.  Hebrew is read from right to left, as opposed to English, which is read from left to right.  I hope this has been informative blog for you.  Ian, signing off.  Shalom.

 

https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/is.html

http://www.culturecrossing.net/basics_business_student_details.php?Id=10&CID=101