Final Week of the Ulpan pt.1

Hey all,

So this past week a few new things have happend. When I stopped writing last time I wrote about the upcoming game for IF Elfsborg vs. Örebro this game ended 3-3 with Örebro scoring in the last minutes of the game, which sucked. On the other hand Elfsborg just passed through the first stage of the qualification for the European League( former UEFA-Cup), by beating Iskra Stal in two games, 2-1 and 1-0 for an aggregate of 3-1. In the next round they will face a Moldavian team that also should be fairly simple. Okey enough football for a while as it is just not interesting to some of you =)

The Ulpan keeps it pace and I'm learning new things constantly. Its hard and challenging but I can feel how a new world is sort of opening up around me as I now can read and understand most of the signs on stores etc around me. I can also listen into conversations around me and sort of understand what it is about. This week its final week of the July Ulpan so many of my classmates will soon be leaving for home or other missions around the world. The final exam is on thursday and then I have a small break until classes start again sometime the week after, with new classmates and new challenges.

Last friday the final stage of Adi's grandmas funeral was also made. What happend was that the final stone and the engravings were made on the headstone and the final covering stone. The Rabbi read from the holy texts and Adi's father held a speech about his mother that I wish I could have understood more of but the parts I understood were really beautiful and moving.

Last night me and Adi went out to celebrate our 5th month anniversary of being together. We went down to Cinemall in Haifa which is a huge mall with many stores but also has a huge Cinema complex with more then 18 different lounges. We saw Toy Story 3 in 3D which was cool. The plan was also to go out and eat but we felt tiered after the weekend and just grabbed a pizza on the way home and coused up in our couch instead. Ohh and the reason we were tiered from the weekend was that we had Raz here for a visit as she came here on her day off from the CISV Village here. This village is now coming to an end and I know that they have had their ups and downs but in the end they have had an awesome time.

Til next time,

קארל אנדאלן

Ulpan continues....

Hey all,

So a week has passed since I wrote the last time, a couple of things are new. The Ulpan is really working out great and i'mm learning more and more for everyday and the language has started to make way more sense than used to. Last week we had a midterm and today we got results and I'm pretty happy about my score which was 87/100. Within the Ulpan there are also a few trips and party's arranged. The day after my last blog-post we went to Nazareth to see the city and its sites. As I had been there before and know many of the stories form there I choosed to walk with an all-hebrew guide to see if I had a snowballs chance in hell of understanding him when was talking about different things and is it turned out I did understand at least half of what he said.

Last friday we went to Safat and a hike in Nahal Amud. Safat is one of the four holy cities in Israel and it is said that this is the place that the messiah will reappear ones he/she/it does. In Safat we were guided around to see different parts of the city, like the fort on the top of the hill that has been of much historical importance for many hundred years and its been sieged by both crusaders, mamluks, arabs, british and israeli troops. We also saw a couple of synagogs and other older parts of the town. The hike in Namal Hamud was beautiful. Fo those of you who are unfamiliar with the area its basically a river valley/crossing with high hills around. On top of the hills few things grow but the further down and the closer to the streams you get the more vegetation and bugs appear. You could also see old mill-houses, terraces and buildings. The hike itself wasn't so hard but the heat made the walk a real challenge.

This weekend we also had three kids from CISV Village here in Israel staying at the house. It was fun time and I think they did enjoy themselves, Maya and Adi took them to many different places. Yesterday we drove them back to the campsite to drop them of but also to help cook the evening meal. As we were cooking I first cut my thumb while chopping onions for the pasta-sauce and the some half hour later we ran out of gas for the stove so we couldn't boil the past so in the end all they got was big salad, bread and different sauces.

Yesterday the swedish football league started again after the World Cup break. Today Elfsborg are facing off against Örebro, a team that is usually in the mid of the table but after a really good spring they are currently placed as nr.4 and Elfsborg as well all now are nr.5 so hopefully after todays games the places will be switched.

Til you all read again,
Carl

Ulpan and other things

שלומ

Sorry for not updating you all in the past three weeks but a lot of things have been going both very good and some very sad. Last time I wrote we had just been to Shay and Danits wedding and I had finalized my application for the hebrew Ulpan at the Haifa University. A week after Shay and Danits wedding something really sad and depressing happend as Tzipora, Adi's grandma passed away after being sick of and on during this spring. her leaving left a huge hole in this family sense she was such a sweet and unselfish person that always looked after you and your well being. I only knew her for some 4 months but she was always happy to see me and to try to speak german and hebrew with me. Her passing also showed me how you grief within Judaism, which again is different from what I know from before. The burial is hold as fast as possible and then its an open house for 7 days in the passed persons house. Were friends and family can come to grief and send their condolences to the family. So for a week me and Adi spent many hours in Tziporas apartment together with family and other relatives. When the 7 days had passed we went back to the graveyard to say a prayer over the grave and when 30 days will have passed the final stone will be put on the grave to mark the end of the burial.

On a happier note I have also started the Ulpan at the University so right now all that is spinning in my head is hebrew, homework and new friends. Which is one of the reasons I havent written in the blog there has been no time. At the Ulpan there are some 180 people from 24 different countries. The 180 people are split over 12 classes depending on your prior knowledge of hebrew. I'm in class with 8 other people and our teacher Ornit. It really good class and we are learning lots every day. When its not class time the University had fixed with different sorts of entertainment such as Movie nights, trips, volunteering and barhopping. Tomorrow theres a trip to Nazareth that I'm going on hopefully its gonna be really great.

Another happy story is about the CISV Village that is taking place here. Me and Adi have been out there three different times helping them out with cooking and preparing the campsite. This weekend it was also the Open Day so we were there to help them out. What is always impressing in CISV Israel is the amount of people that show up on an Open Day, last year for the seminar some 200 people showed and for this Open Day some 450-500 people showed.....its Insanity! Anyway the show was good and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves.

A lot of more things have happend over the past weeks but right now I need to take a nap and then do my homework...and btw congrats to Spain for winning the World Cup even thou I thought that Webb played to much with his cards and that spanish players "fall" to easily.

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