I really wish that I had been more studious about learning Hebrew before we came to Israel. I keep saying and thinking this thought that it's getting a bit boring, so this shall be the last time. Now that I'm here, and discovering that the daily circles I interact with (mostly working-class) aren't that keen on English, I've been asking random Anglos who've lived here for a while where I might be able to learn Hebrew, either by getting a tutor (expensive) or signing up for an ulpan class. Sadly, the expensive factor of a private tutor is a bit of a hindrance--Daniel doesn't get paid that much to be a post-doc and we're already stretching our budget by renting out a three-bedroom apartment, and another baby on the way when we have given away or were unable to bring most of our saved baby items. Plus, in Israel, even renters need to pay property tax for the property in which they currently reside. As for the ulpan class, those are mainly reserved for people who're actually making aliyah. I could register or audit a Hebrew course at the Technion, but that doesn't start until winter term, which means I would most likely have to drop out midway through to give birth and care for a newborn plus a two-year-old.
My illiteracy makes grocery shopping, trying to find the library, trying to find books or events provided by the library and/or the city, traveling around by bus, looking up bus routes, finding essential ingredients for recipes... all very overwhelming. I really hope that, despite this major language barrier, the resourcefulness my dad claims I have a strong reservoir of will in fact assert itself and help me, by the grace of God, to eventually make an okay life here. For now, I feel very much alone and struggling to stay afloat. It's not as bad as China, because the fresh fruits and vegetables here--the essentials of life, especially while raising children--are abundant here. Yesterday, Declan and I rode the Carmelit (Israel's sole subway system) and found a small produce/fruit store at Paris Square (after much walking around and searching in the noon day heat). Today, I finally made it to the Talplot shuk via bus number 37 and then bus number 3. It reminded me of the traditional markets my grandmother and mother took me along during their weekly grocery shoppings in Taipei and Kaohsiung. A bit chaotic, messy, and loud...just the way I remembered it as a child.
It really is much better shopping for better quality and more affordable produce and fruit at the shuk than at the usual Western-style grocery stores here. Daniel and I invested in a dolly for 50 shekels for future shuk visits. Still, I've been itching to bake so Declan can eat healthier cookies, etc, but I don't know how to decipher between the various differently powders with Hebrew labels or ask for, say, vanilla extract. I don't think my friends back in the States understand this demoralizing climate of cluelessness... One of my Pittsburgh friends suggested, in response to my doubt about how to secure such ingredients, that I make my own extract. Well, yes... except now I need to ask for vanilla bean and vodka instead. In Hebrew. Still clueless, and even more bizarre to the supermarket people. I'm going to make an ingredient list, google translate it, and copy the info down with my atrocious Hebrew handwriting, then make the best of it at the store next week.
Or rather next next week, when we return from Italy. I'm going there this coming Tuesday for a wedding, and I cannot express how much I'm looking forward to not being alone all day with a child during the weekdays, seeing friends, and feeling cool weather. I vow never to complain about the cold ever again, as it is still really hot where I live. Before flying to Italy, our little family needs to traipse downtown to change our visa status so that we're allowed to return to Israel and my first prenatal checkup in Israel is also coming up.
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