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Thursday, September 29, 2011

Drinking Water

Yesterday Bow did not feel well. He suddenly took ill with some kind of stomach virus and refused all food. He accepted water, but promptly threw it up. He spent most of the day sleeping on a big thick quilt, and he didn't even get up to look at guests.

Today Bow is feeling much better. He ate all his breakfast and lunch, made a tear in the quilt and is up to his usual antics. And he's drinking plenty of water to make up for what he lost.

9 comments:

  1. Uh oh, I hope Bow didn't eat one of those killer cantaloupes that are going around. Scary stuff! I'm glad to hear he's feeling better. It makes me wonder though... In your situation, what do you do when Bow requires medical attention? Is there a veterinary clinic nearby with people able to tend to a chimpanzee? Or perhaps someone who does house calls?

    On an unrelated note, I found your Hub about how to learn a foreign language. What a gem! I am planning to learn Hebrew while in Israel so I found it most interesting and educational. It seems I might have some difficulty though since most Israelis speak English and therefore I will not be immersed in the language. I was thinking I'd try to prep myself by getting a few Hebrew audio books from the local library and listening to them while I jog. Do you think this would be useful?

    Cheers!
    Alan

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  2. Oh, I was so sad to read the first paragraph, but so happy to read the second. I'm glad you're feeling better, Bow and taking good care of yourself.

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  3. Alan, thanks for your concern. I don't know how he got it. He did eat a big, giant peach the night before, but then we all did, and Sword and I did not come down with anything. Bow was the only one to open up the pit and eat its insides, but he's done that before with no ill effects. Usually, if there is a cold going around, he is the last one to get it, not the first. But he's fine now, big appetite and plenty active.

    How much instruction in Hebrew have you had so far? You probably ought to take a conversational Hebrew course after you master the basics of the grammar. Watching movies and listening to book tapes can help, but they cannot replace the interactive, conversational practice that is essential to becoming fluent. There are online tutors available for that kind of practice these days. Let me know how that goes!

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  4. Victoria, thanks! He is much, much better!

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  5. Well, I'm a blank slate when it comes to Hebrew. I've just started familiarizing myself with the alphabet and learning how to enunciate basic words by watching instructional videos on Youtube. Something I am finding very awkward is writing from right to left with my right (dominant) hand. Interestingly, switching to my left is much more comfortable. Is this normal?

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  6. Alan, you don't have to switch hands to write in a different direction. If your right hand is dominant, stick with it for writing. ;-> But that's probably the least of your problems with Hebrew at the moment.

    How many other languages do you speak? If you have already encountered a language with a similar structure, the transition will be easy. If this is your first Semitic language or your first highly inflectional language, then it will be more of a struggle.

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  7. Yeah, I doubt I'll proceed that way, but I am surprised at how natural writing Hebrew with my left feels.

    Sadly, I'm monolingual...that is, unless you count programming languages. My high school Spanish has withered to a handful of pathetic and mostly nonsensical sentences, the bit of spoken Navajo I picked up as a child living near a reservation is completely gone, and the German I've learned recently from my native-speaking flatmate is barely at the level where I can determine the gist of a conversation. I fully expect learning Hebrew, especially as an adult, to be tortuous! But, it will also be a highly rewarding experience.

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  8. Alan, you might consider enrolling in an ulpan when you arrive in Israel. They have a lot of experience teaching people from all over the globe, and they can even offer immersion programs. For a monolingual English speaker, picking up Hebrew without that kind of help would be a real struggle.

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  9. That's a great suggestion, Aya, thanks! An intensive immersion program might conflict with my postdoc, but I see there are less intense ulpans...er, ulpanim...that will conform to my schedule. I might opt to arrive early and take a week-long crash course before I start work, and then enroll in one of their more flexible programs afterward.

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