In Which Jasmine Does Grammar

So today was my second day of the easier class. It was not particularly easy. As I believe I have explained, I have basically no knowledge of Hebrew grammar. About a week before I left, my parents sat me down and explained the basic grouping of Hebrew verbs and how to tell where to place the verb (again in terms of groups). They did this in about ten minutes.

I have now spent approximately four hours (out of a total 10 in class) speeding through the details of these groupings (or "buildings" as they're called in Hebrew). A lot of the time, I have no idea what's going on. Fortunately for me, I speak Hebrew, which means that I know what sounds right and can therefore get the right answer without actually following the rules. I would feel bad about this except that everyone else in my class (except for one other guy who is in the same boat I'm in) totally knows what's going on and is generally a lot better at grammar than I am. But it's okay, because they all have truly atrocious accents whereas I sound like an Israeli. (It's true; I went to go exchange textbooks yesterday and the guy I talked to asked me why I was in the Ulpan - or Intensive Language Program - since I spoke better Hebrew than he did)

After class, my teacher informed me that I actually had tutoring for an hour after class. In my head I was pretty whiny about it, I'll admit, but it was actually pretty helpful. I had this sort of "a-ha!" moment when I used the method she was trying to teach us to conjugate a verb rather than just conjugating because I know the answer. It was sort of exciting!

Then finally we were done. I met up with my friends and we took a taxi to the Shuk Mahane Yehuda, which is an open air market where you can buy delicious-looking, fresh fruits and vegetables, as well as freshly made pita (literally, I saw it come out of the oven), pastries, spices, dried fruits, etc. It is so much better than the supermarket across the street from the dorms, let me tell you! So we spent about an hour there all told, and I came home with some bell peppers and mushrooms! Guys, I love mushrooms. I can't wait to eat them.

Anyways. Tomorrow I have a test (seriously, what the hell. I've been in this class two days and already there's a test!) and then it's the weekend! We're probably going out Thursday night, and then I'm heading to my grandparents' place in Netanya for the weekend. Wish me luck!