Today, I had my 2nd driving lesson with Sharon. Again, I am amazed about many things. This time, our major focus was on me driving to the "DMV" of our area to turn in my application for an Israeli license. All drivers have to fill out a particular application, which involves going to an eye doctor and a family doctor to certify that one is healthy enough to drive. I think this is a fair request; although most practitioners don't take it all that seriously. The road to the "DMV Office" was one that I had never driven on and is a local 2 lane highway. Naturally, I was very nervous about this prospect. In addition, there were two ladies in the backseat - both Arabs. Again, very interesting, as my Jewish Israeli Driving Instructor is helping these Israeli Arabs obtain their licenses - see we do work together sometimes!
Thankfully, my application and supplementary paperwork (record showing American driving history) was accepted. One never knows in Israel how bureaucratic procedures will transpire, as the simplest thing can turn into a nightmare in a matter of seconds. Funny enough, the clerk reviewing my paperwork was talking on the phone while looking things up in the computer and stamping my document, all at the sometime. THIS IS ISRAEL! haha
On the way home, I drove around our town a little bit more before Sharon directed me to a certain neighborhood. We then switched cars, as we dropped his work car off at his home and then picked up his personal car. At this point, Sharon took the driving seat and proceeded to drop me off close to my home. It was really cute because in the 5 minutes we were driving together, he shared with me about his daughter, who evidently is around my age and plays volleyball for an university in New Haven, Connecticut. Sharon said that it's been about 4 years since she's been back and how much he misses his daughter. Such a Jewish Papa!
Overall, my lesson went very well. I still need to work on some minor things in order to pass the test. Really, all of this is in effort to learn how to pass the test since I already know "how-to" drive. I believe in a matter of just a few weeks, I could be the proud owner of a new Israeli Driving License (for automatic cars only) :-)
I really want to share that this experience has helped boost my confidence in speaking Hebrew and interacting with the "outside" world. I speak mostly (about 80-90%) in Hebrew to Sharon. Last week, I went to the local hair salon and again conducted business in Hebrew. Both of these actions are without Yonatan by my side. Naturally, I prefer to have Yoni around, but these experiences have shown me that I CAN do things without him using the Hebrew that I know. I've always know this fact, but it's nice to see it play out sometimes. I've also begun to realize that throwing in some English words when I don't know something is not a sin. haha. In the past, I have felt really bad when I had to revert to English, as if I had failed. More recently, I have realized that it's really okay because I'm learning and this is what we do. Israelis love speaking English anyways.
So, today, I'm living on the mountaintop and enjoying the view. I'm starting to see that I do have a future in this Hebrew-speaking environment. This has always been my heart's desire - to speak, read and write Hebrew fluently. I'm slowly inching my way toward this goal and have re-adjusted expectations and time lines. A very good move, if I do say so!
Perhaps, one day I may even write a blog in Hebrew - you just never know :-)
Thankfully, my application and supplementary paperwork (record showing American driving history) was accepted. One never knows in Israel how bureaucratic procedures will transpire, as the simplest thing can turn into a nightmare in a matter of seconds. Funny enough, the clerk reviewing my paperwork was talking on the phone while looking things up in the computer and stamping my document, all at the sometime. THIS IS ISRAEL! haha
On the way home, I drove around our town a little bit more before Sharon directed me to a certain neighborhood. We then switched cars, as we dropped his work car off at his home and then picked up his personal car. At this point, Sharon took the driving seat and proceeded to drop me off close to my home. It was really cute because in the 5 minutes we were driving together, he shared with me about his daughter, who evidently is around my age and plays volleyball for an university in New Haven, Connecticut. Sharon said that it's been about 4 years since she's been back and how much he misses his daughter. Such a Jewish Papa!
Overall, my lesson went very well. I still need to work on some minor things in order to pass the test. Really, all of this is in effort to learn how to pass the test since I already know "how-to" drive. I believe in a matter of just a few weeks, I could be the proud owner of a new Israeli Driving License (for automatic cars only) :-)
I really want to share that this experience has helped boost my confidence in speaking Hebrew and interacting with the "outside" world. I speak mostly (about 80-90%) in Hebrew to Sharon. Last week, I went to the local hair salon and again conducted business in Hebrew. Both of these actions are without Yonatan by my side. Naturally, I prefer to have Yoni around, but these experiences have shown me that I CAN do things without him using the Hebrew that I know. I've always know this fact, but it's nice to see it play out sometimes. I've also begun to realize that throwing in some English words when I don't know something is not a sin. haha. In the past, I have felt really bad when I had to revert to English, as if I had failed. More recently, I have realized that it's really okay because I'm learning and this is what we do. Israelis love speaking English anyways.
So, today, I'm living on the mountaintop and enjoying the view. I'm starting to see that I do have a future in this Hebrew-speaking environment. This has always been my heart's desire - to speak, read and write Hebrew fluently. I'm slowly inching my way toward this goal and have re-adjusted expectations and time lines. A very good move, if I do say so!
Perhaps, one day I may even write a blog in Hebrew - you just never know :-)
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