Friday, June 13, 2008

My Hebrew Sucks

Last night was a typical night in the life of a 23-year-old guy with a lot on his mind. Well, I wouldn't say staying out until the wee hours of the night is typical, and I haven't done it for a long time now, but it should be standard operating procedure at least once a month. That's been a motto of mine for years. You have to go all out one night a month - it keeps you young!

I digress into my own philosophical ramblings. At the end of the night, as is usual for such nights, I found myself wanting to purchase vast quantities of food, junk food, at my local twenty-four hour supermarket. I walked down to the market, noticed that the cashier seats were empty, and slowly looked around before I entered. Hey, I didn't want anyone to think I was robbing the place.

One of the regular cashiers walked quickly around the corner, broom in hand, and asked me what I wanted. I told her I just needed a couple things. She said sure, just a couple things? You aren't going to get a bunch of things? So, it'll just take a minute? OK, fine, you can go in.

That's what I thought she said. That's not really what she said. Let's just say I felt like an idiot when she scolded me for being so rude as to walk in directly after she said "I'll be a couple minutes. OK?"

Twenty-four hour supermarket? More like twenty-three hours, fifty minutes. Not my fault you have to sweep the parking lot. Not my fault that Hebrew can be so fast that even if I understand what was said, I often switch the meaning of the sentences around.

You'd be surprised how important little words like "you," "I," and "them" are to languages.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

very funny! Be careful out "late at night!"" Mom

Israeli by Day said...

I'm safe. It's just a lot of walking because the buses aren't running. No biggie.

Esser Agaroth said...

B"H

Hey! Give yourself a break!

It gets better. If go into the army, that's better than any ulpan, too.

They say that the hardest time after aliyah is during the first year, and during the fourth/fifth years.

Hang in there!