I had a wonderful week at Ulpan Or

December 15th, 2009 • Related • Filed Under

noach-shapiro1I had a wonderful week at Ulpan Or—every teacher and madrikh/a were—to a person—interesting, supportive, generous.

Though spending multiple hours speaking with a student, struggling to speak what is their native toungue, I never felt, for a second, from my teachers that spending time with me was ‘just a job.
It’s hard to overstate how vulnerable, infantilized and frustrated one can feel as an adult learning a new language. Everyone was unfailingly supportive and kind; that alone felt great, boosted my confidence and raised the level of my Hebrew because I wasn’t afraid to take risks in the learning process. At the end of the week, I really felt like a made some friends.

I must say, though truly everyone– very much including Sharon and Michal– were great to be and work with, Moti and Aviv were truly extraordinary. In their own very different ways they inspired, challenged, and perhaps most importantly, listened in a deep and respectful way to where and how I was during the week. I am now and will always be very grateful to them for those precious gifts.

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