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.
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.
sweet. im trying to learn french and italian. its not going so well lol. good luck in your meeting bro.
That's pretty cool. I wish I had the patience to learn a new language. It would probably really help my job prospects.
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.. Learning other languages, especially Hebrew sounds fascinating.
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.
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.
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?
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]
