Reading Hebrew is different than any type of romance language because, for the most part, the vowels are not in the alphabet; they are their own category of signs and are only use in writing for kindergarten level. So i guess I am a kindergartner. It does not make sense to me how you can see a word and know what letters will make what sounds. For example, when you see a "bet", you know it will make some sort of sound that begins with a B but you do not know if it will sounds like ba, bu boo, bo, bi, be, bee, etc. In Hebrew they just know because of context and different patterns in the language. As a beginner, this is way over my head. So I am sticking with the vowels for now.
When reading "Figuring Foreigners Out" I thought of a class I took with Professor Scinicariello called "French at Work". It was a class about how the business world works in France. We learned about many cultural differences which ranged from eating dinner to giving gifts to punctuality. That class really showed me how important it is to be culturally aware when interacting with people from other places and that actions you may find rude or inappropriate are commonplace for them.
For Israelis specifically there are a few main differences to be aware of: their straightforward and blunt attitude, their concept (or lack) of being politically correct and their informality. Attire for a wedding in Israel consists of jeans and naots (the Israeli version of birkenstocks). That is unheard of in the US and would be insulting unless you understood where someone else is coming from; it is also good to know if you are going to a wedding in Israel (it would be awkward to be the fanciest person there!).
This reading enforces the importance of cultural relativism and being self aware. Two things that are not only important when living in such a global and interconnected society like we do today but also important for those of us learning another language and wanting to travel to new places.
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