The end - #1

Yesterday was the last day of summer ulpan at Hebrew University. It's hard to believe I have three whole weeks off already before the regular university semester starts. It went so fast! I expected it to be torture because I'm really bad at languages, but it really wasn't. It was boring at times because I knew the grammar already, but my teachers--especially אירה--did a really good job of keeping it interesting. I feel a lot more comfortable with Hebrew now, and as much as I wish I could have moved up to Gimmel, it's probably a good thing I didn't. HU ulpan is "learning Hebrew in Hebrew," and I think I was in the perfect level for adjusting to this. It was overwhelming at Brandeis, for all of the couple weeks that I was in 40 level Hebrew, and I think I would have had the same problem here if I was in a higher level.

It's amazing how much I've improved. It's still hard for me to speak, but if people are talking slowly enough I can definitely comprehend conversations with words I know. There was also a rather amusing incident in the Old City last week in which someone asked me in English if I was looking for a hostel and I answered "לא"--"no"--in Hebrew without even thinking. It's a small phrase--just one word--but the man's reaction ("Oh, you speak Hebrew!") was priceless. No, I'm not an American tourist who can be taken advantage of. Yes, I'm an American, but I'm here for the year and I'm learning. This is after two months; where will I be after a year?

Yesterday was also my last day of feeding cats before class. This week I realized that there's no predicting my audience. I'm pleased to say that they recognize me now and come running when they see me--even before I sit down if the law librarians haven't fed them already--but other than that, it varies. On Tuesday I had 14 at once, and there was enough turnover that I don't know how many I fed. On Wednesday there were only 8, but a grey cat curled up in my lap. I ended up being late to class, but I didn't care. The only thing that would have made me move would have been if someone had yelled "Fire!" and then I would have taken the kitty with me. Usually the cats get along, but there was a day this week when they started howling at each other. Not hissing, howling. What in the world does that mean? I've never seen it before.

I can't say goodbye to my cats now. I know we're on break, but I'm going to continue to go up and feed the cats on weekdays, at least until I see that the librarians are getting there first. They know me. They want my food. Who am I to withhold it? Estie pointed out that I won't always be here, but I don't want to think about that. January--and my winter break in the States--is a long time away.

A note on language

An article in the NYT, "Modern Love: Once Political, Now Just Practical," has me thinking a bit about language, especially as I recently met a queer woman who is recently married and uses the word "wife." I really don't like the word "wife." I don't know why, exactly, but it sounds ugly. Maybe it's the historical background that this article talks about; I don't know.

Yet, our English words of "husband" and "wife" are far better than the Hebrew. Husband is בַּעַל - also the word for "owner." Wife is אִשָּׁה - also the word for "woman." A husband is the owner of his אשתו, his woman? That just reeks. And while I've never seen so many pregnent women in one place as I have since coming to Jerusalem, I have to wonder about these words in a time where women are enlisted in the army just like men are, if their mandatory service time is shorter (two for women, three for men). There aren't passive women here who are under the thumbs of their husbands. I can't imagine a woman coming back from service in the army only to become submissive to her husband.

I need to ask an Israeli about this. Is there, or has there been, a debate around this terminology? Are there people who use different words, like people in the US?

Somehow, though, I like the word אִשָּׁה better for a gay marriage. Maybe because there's no more connotation of possession than there would be if you said "my girlfriend."