I am going to take a moment to congratulate myself here for two things.

First, this will be my shortest post ever - yeah for all of us! I don’t think I realized the work involved in writing for an audience, even if it is a very small one. The process is a cycle of writing it, reading it, having someone else read it then comment on it, re-writing it, re-reading it and all through the process adding more thoughts and searching wikipedia to confirm or inform what has been written. For me, a blog post takes about a week to finish. I’m planning to finish this in (i’d like to say in an hour) but lets say in one day.

Second, and more importantly for me, I have mastered the Hebrew Alphabet!

Thanks to my iPhone and the App store, I have Apps that teach you the alphabet, how to draw the letters, and test you in both the serif and sans serif versions. So In just a few months I am at the reading level of an Israeli 6 year old and have mastered an unfamiliar character based alphabet! I think it’s because of my background in graphics that i’ve managed to memorize each of the letters as a logo of sorts. But the 6 year old is still way ahead of me because they understand, speak and probably read it.

All Israelis speak English and some Arabic in addition to their native language. I think its a shame that as Americans we don't make learning a second language mandatory, at least not when i was growing up. And, as my years and years of struggling with French and Italian has proven, as adults we just don't have that neuropathway paved to facilitate an easy ride in a foreign tongue.

While I cannot speak Hebrew, except to for the basics - Excuse Me, Good, Yes and No, Lets go, Good Morning and Good Night, I can now roughly read a street sign or identify which restaurant or store a receipt is from.

I can also ask for the check. A and I often eat at Cafe Noir down the street. They are famous for their schnitzel, so we eat at the bar and talk to the bartender there who is headed to the States in a few months time. I mentioned I was learning the Hebrew alphabet and he was impressed. When i asked for the check he slapped a blank sheet of paper and a pen in front of me.

“If you can right the word for check (Hashbon), your dinner is free” he said. I had bragged too soon. I got a few obvious letters correct, but i haven’t worked out the vowel situation yet. A few weeks later he issued the same challenge. I was closer, but not perfect. If he’s there the next time - I will be ready.

I’m excited about the AlephBet - A and B in hebrew - just in time to leave the country, and in all likelihood, forget it until next time. If there is a next time.

[Note : I should actually retract the first congratulation to myself, because while the post is indeed short, it has taken me the better half of two weeks to post it because of travel, etc.

I think I cursed myself in advance by even writing that! ]