Ani Lo Medaberet Ivrit.

By: Amanda Schwartz
ENP Volunteer
Summer 2014, via Hillel Onward Israel
Student at University of Michigan-Ann Arbor

Ani lo medaberet Ivrit.  When I came to the volunteer-organized ENP summer camp at the Gonen school in Jerusalem on my first day, this was the only Hebrew expression I knew.  How was I supposed to teach English to a group of children when I couldn't even speak their language?  While waiting in the lobby for the kids to arrive on my first day, I could hear them arrive before I could see them.  I heard excited shouts coming from down the hall and then I saw my future students running by in a blur of color.  The first hour I had with them was a challenge because my coworker could speak Hebrew to them, so everyone understood each other except for me.  My moment of clarity came later in the day, not in the classroom, but in the gym.  The boys all wanted to play soccer and I automatically went to sit on the sidelines and watch, a habit perpetuated from years of gym class sitting on the sidelines and letting the athletic kids take the field.  I was touched when one of the kids invited me to play on his team, but I didn't know how long I would be able to hold my spot on the team once they realized how uncoordinated I was!  Even after I let in the first goal (....and the second), the boys were nothing but encouraging, shouting "Good!" and cheering me on.  When I finally blocked my first goal, all of the boys on my team came up and high-fived me.  I'm taking Ulpan classes to improve my Hebrew, but it means so much to me that the boys make an effort to speak in "Anglit" as well.  During our English lessons, we all collaborate as a group to learn together.  For example, when we played Around the World, I would say the word in English and they would have to translate to Hebrew.  Secretly, they were teaching me as well!  My goal is to make English as fun as possible for them so it doesn't feel like a chore.  I often catch them trying to listen to music on their phones, which is easy to spot because they can't help dancing along!  Matt and I decided to integrate their love of music into a game of Hangman, using popular pop culture artists as the key word.  This camp has inspired me to find new and creative ways to communicate and I'm looking forward to what the upcoming weeks will bring at my internship at ENP!