Thursday, February 28, 2008

WE DID IT!!

Well, it's over. We did it. We survived. We conquered Ulpan!!
Our final test was today at 1:00 p.m. (Israel time, of course) It was challenging to say the least but we completed it, and that's something.
It was a very exciting day, a very happy day and a very sad day for me. I so enjoyed this adventure. I did not want it to end. It's such a fascinating language and it just makes sense to me. I thank God for giving us an amazing and challenging teacher. Sarah pushed us, believed in us and inspired us to advance, to learn and to grow. I hope our paths cross again. I also thank Him for giving me a mathmatical mind which greatly contributed to my ability to pick up on the structure of the language. I am praying for the opportunity to continue my study of Hebrew once we return to the States.
I am sad because I am going to miss seeing every day the friends we made in our class. We formed a bond as we struggled through the class and getting used to life in a different country, a different culture among a different people. I admire those who have made "Aliyah"; immigrated to Israel. It takes a lot of courage and strength to do such a thing. Sarah, our teacher, even commented on what a difficult and challenging thing it is for them to do. She said she did not know if she would be able to do such a thing. I especially admire those who came by themselves, without friends and family. What courage!
It's amazing to me that I got to meet and know people from almost ten different countries. For the time we were together everyday, it was as if we were one people group, without differences, without language barriers, a family. We struggled together, we laughed together, sometimes we even cried together. We invested over 500 hours of classtime together. (This does not include the number of hours spent studying outside of the classroom!) It was a bonding experience and I will treasure each of my classmates always. I pray that we will meet again. I know there are some who we will stay in touch with and visit when we return to Israel. For this I am thankful.
Now we begin the next phase, the next adventure. One more month in the Land.
Then comes the next adventure....Returning to the USA!

p.s. I must thank my sweet friend Kirsten for loaning me her camera for our party yesterday. Ours is still fried. We are in the process of researching what is out there and what is the best camera. Got any opinions? Let me know!
p.p.s. coming soon.....the final number of verbs we learned in the six months we were in Ulpan.

5 comments:

terriH said...

YAHOO SISTER! I am very proud of you...you go girl and Brent, you go guy!

What will you do now for the next month??

Natalie Witcher said...

Great job! My camera ROCKS! Nikon D40X I think

Kris the Girl said...

YAY!!!! Congratulations to both of you on FINISHING!!!!!!!!

I'm no help with the camera question, though. I hear good things about Canons and Nikons, though. And not just from Natalie's comment. :)

amber said...

Yea!!!!

I just bought a new digital camera about 6 weeks ago (after I dropped my old one and broke it) and did a ton of research.

Let me know how many pixels, how much money, zoom, and any other stuff you want and I'll provide you my research free of charge!

areader said...

Congrats to both of you!!! The mission team has been praying for you and were happy to have been partners with you in this adventure.