Muck's thread on what we were doing ten years ago has reminded and inspired me.
Five years ago last Thursday, December 31, 2004 I arrived at Ben Gurion airport as a new immigrant in Israel. A lot of you probably remember my threads from back then. I actually have a second anniversary on Tuesday, 14 Tevet since the Hebrew calendar is lunar and therefore doesn't run the same as the Gregorian.
So what's it like after five years?
I live in Jerusalem and I love it.
I haven't adjusted to the cold. Yes, it gets very cold in Jerusalem in the winter and it rains at the same time. I don't complain because I've had my fill of heat for my life.
I've made a lot of friends since arriving and I'm especially close to a family that adopted me a few years ago when I lived in the Tel Aviv area.
I never have a Sabbath alone. Last night I had dinner with a few friends at the home of a French family. The wife makes delicious Tunisian-style food.
I speak Hebrew and French fluently now. Hebrew because I live in Israel, French because I've been teaching English to mostly French people for the past four years.
I make about $900 in a good month.
I may have found a way to use my skills and have an actual career. We have a big meeting tomorrow.
I've learned to read and write in Arabic. Speak, maybe one day.
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I found this fascinating...how can you read it without speaking it?
Meaning, when I read english, my mind is pronouncing the words? Therefore I speak them in my mind to comprehend it...same with writing it.
How do you READ it or Write it, but cant Speak it??? -
Semitic languages like Hebrew and Arabic don't usually print vowels. In Hebrew they're printed for elementary reading or in religious texts. It's sort of like English like this:
MDRN (modern).
In Hebrew, I can usually recognize the word and I understand the grammar so I know how to pronounce it. In Arabic that's just a guess. I usually will say a word with a long "a" sound and a long "e" if I see that a "y" sound comes after.
For example the word for street is
ضرع
I've been pronouncing it as "shara(gh)" but I could be wrong about that.BigDogsHunt likes this. -
sweet. im trying to learn french and italian. its not going so well lol.
good luck in your meeting bro.Miamian likes this. -
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That's pretty cool. I wish I had the patience to learn a new language. It would probably really help my job prospects.
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Mossad agent? :shifty:
But glad to hear your enjoying life man, keep it going! :up:Miamian likes this. -
There's a special unit in the army called I think Mastiraravim who pose as Arabs.
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That's wonderful.I'm happy to hear you like it there.
I would probably go into culture shock if I ever had to move to Jerusalem,but it sounds like you found your niche.
I have a hard enough time typing,(and speaking) for that matter English.. :lol:
Learning other languages, especially Hebrew sounds fascinating.Miamian likes this. -
I'm fluent in "redneck" and ebonics. I'm also pretty advanced in Spanglish. Ya'll crackas comprende?
Miamian and Sethdaddy8 like this. -
what made you leave the state for israel?
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Lucky for you I'm arabic, lol. I can help you out if you need anything as I am very fluent in arabic.
The word you are trying to pronounce, street, is close. The Shara is right. in the end though, it isn't gh. The letter ع is pronounced in a way that needs to be shown to you in a video. I'll try to find one if I can.Miamian likes this. -
Long story. There are a lot of reasons but, primarily I was miserable at work and needed a change. I didn't see myself going anywhere and didn't want to live in another city in the U.S.Sethdaddy8 likes this.
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Thanks. Something I had forgotten is that the Arabic ع is similar to the Hebrew ע. Most Israelis pronounce it as a silent letter, however Yemeni Jews still pronounce it like it had been historically pronounced, in the throat and pushing the air up into the mouth. Is that right?
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Here you go Ashraf
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yK9kq0UMDdY&feature=player_embedded"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yK9kq0UMDdY&feature=player_embedded[/ame]
And a couple of fun videos for those who may be interested in Hebrew
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K7UEGjV2XHU&feature=related"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K7UEGjV2XHU&feature=related[/ame]
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-R_zO_KAKQ&feature=related"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-R_zO_KAKQ&feature=related[/ame]