This is the reason why it is surprisingly easy to communicate without knowing Hebrew.
Nevertheless, it happens that you meet people who do not speak English. In this case I try to use the very little Hebrew I acquired in the Hebrew crash course and every other way possible. From using the hands to asking a stranger to translate and using Google translate. Asking strangers for help is something I did quite often. The locals are always happy to help and very communicative and open. It is nice to get in contact and communicate with people which often leads to very interesting conversations and personal stories.
Hebrew is obviously a language different from German or English, but it also uses a different alphabet. This means that even if I wanted to read something or if I knew the word, I simply could not read it because I was not familiar with the Hebrew alphabet. All my knowledge was restricted to verbal communication. This is what I imagine an Analphabet must experience when navigating through the world. The information is there but you do not have the means to encrypted, read, or understand it. Google Translate has a function where you can photograph a text in another language, and it will then give you the translation directly. This can be very helpful but mostly the result was a random combination of words that did not make any sense. Also, Hebrew is written from right to left rather than left to right which confused the translator quite a bit.
I learned thatdifferences in communication can also occur when people speak the same language but are not native speakers. As Israelis are very communicative and open, they also like to do group exercises at university. Every course I did at Bezalel required a group exercise and so I had to communicate a lot. Especially in one group we had a lot of discussions and looking at it now I think most of the arguments were because of misunderstandings due to our language barrier.
From this I learnt that it is essential to get the message across in the simplest way possible. It is not important to use the most difficult and eloquent words or a very complicated tense if the other person cannot understand it. Even if we live in a globalized and International world it is arrogant to assume or to expect everyone to speak English. The native language is a huge part of peoples identity. Learning the language is not only essential for getting a deeper understanding of the culture but also a good way to integrate and really feel at home in a foreign country. As a tourist or an exchange student we are still visitors and should try our best to learn the basics of the native language.
by Lilli Alice Dolderer -