13. Parlez-vous Hébreu?
Let me begin this post with the following declaration: I enjoy studying languages, and I love learning Hebrew. Not that I’m a great linguist, by any means. But if language is a window to a culture, Hebrew is the key to understanding a people, a religion, a history — and is crucial for day-to-day survival in Israel. It might even save you from accidentally getting married.
I can’t understate the importance of fluency in Hebrew. It’s a totally worthwhile investment. With it, the opportunities in Israel are limitless.
I learned Hebrew in several stages — starting with a weekly lesson at the Houston Jewish Community Center, then in Israel at a language immersion course for immigrants, and then, on the job and while wandering around my new home town, Tel-Aviv. Despite my concerted efforts, it took me a whole year until I was finally able to eavesdrop on the conversations taking place around me.
I continued my self-study during my interim period in the states. In pre-Internet New York, you could purchase Israeli newspapers at the newsstand, and listen to a nightly Hebrew-language broadcast on the polyglot WEVD, “the radio station that speaks your language”.
And in case you’re wondering… yes, after 40 years, I still have an American accent — and it’s most easily identifiable when I’m tired or under pressure.
