The Ulpan: A Whirlwind of Friendships

Some Ulpan students are just that. Some will move to a different program in Israel once the Ulpan is over. Some will return to their respective home countries and continue with their regular lives.

Yet some of those are pretty awesome people, too.

This is an unfortunate occurrence for any short-term program. One makes many good friends and then rarely communicates with them afterwards. We just aren't allotted the time to build strong, lasting relationships. Beyond the shortness of this program (4 weeks), we have Hebrew classes that occupy a vast chunk of our time away from the larger group. In some ways, I have less time to bond with people during the Ulpan than during my Birthright trip a year and a half ago or during my three week trip to Oxford in 2006. There are some friends that will, eventually, only be considered "good acquaintences."

That I lost my phone has only made a difficult situation even harder. I lost my phone two Fridays ago, and, in part due to my hopes of finding it, I did not receive a new phone until Thursday. The new phone, however, only lasted me several hours before losing all signal with the world. For over a week I have had to rely on my roommate and on luck to plan afternoons or evenings with some of my friends.

Thankfully, fortune has granted that most of my new companions will remain in Haifa for the semester. I will travel with a few in September, and then I will have a full semester to build on many friendships I have already created.

One of the coolest aspects leaving all friends behind for a long-term trip is that one easily meets some of the most fascinating people. I say this due to my experiences through three weeks, but I've only experienced the tip of the iceberg. There will be less international students at the University in the Fall than there are now, but there will be many more Israeli students and a lot more time. I'm looking forward to that.