Author: Harold
My journey as a Jew. A comment, a mish mash, a start.
One of our readers, Julian, has asked ( comment, 19 July, 2012; http://learnetarium.com/2011/09/22/learn-foreign-languages-by-having-fun-reading-part-2/) about the different attitudes of secular and orthodox Jews. He specifically wonders, “Are these tensions similar (not identical) with the feelings of the Maccabees and the Hellenised Jews back in antiquity? “ This is a good and…
Learning Hebrew in an Israeli Ulpan.
Previous to meeting Michel Thomas in the mid-90’s, my experience in learning languages was entirely based on using books and, in some cases, having others instruct me using more traditional approaches. However, I could never really communicate in any of these languages. In fact, the very idea of comfortably conversing…
Tim Doner, an amazing polyglot.
When Timothy Doner, a 12 year old boy in New York City, was being instructed in Biblical Hebrew in preparation for his bar mitzvah, he became fascinated with the language. So he decided to learn Modern Hebrew. He bought a grammar book and found someone with whom to speak. In…
New learnings in osteopathy.
As promised, I am passing along part of my journal on what I learned from other osteopathic physicians during my time at the American Academy of Osteopathy convocation, 2012, in Louisville, KY. ===== The convocation I am attending is held annually. Osteopathic physicians who want to learn more about hands…
Five regrets of the dying.
This contains some nuggets of wisdom which we can all use in some way. === Bronnie Ware is an Australian nurse who spent several years working in palliative care, caring for patients in the last 12 weeks of their lives. She recorded their dying epiphanies in a blog called Inspiration…
Letter from Jeffersonville, Indiana. Day One. A new life.
Today I landed in the Louisville, Kentucky airport and was met by the husband of the woman who runs the bed and breakfast where I shall sleep for the next four nights. I have come to Louisville because I am attending a convocation for the American Academy of Osteopathy. The…
A boyhood with Hebrew.
Since I was a young man I have been exposed to Hebrew. My parents sent me to a Hebrew school for many years during my pre-teen and teen years. I would finish public school and then go to this school which was held in a local synagogue two to three…
The book sickness. Part Two.
The first part of The book sickness was published on this blog in February, 2007. http://learnetarium.com/2007/02/05/the-book-sickness/ ====== Mr. Turetz had a daughter. She would appear occasionally. They didn’t get along at all. The daughter wore a cotton print dress, had dark hair, a small moustache, a face adorned with glasses…
Learn foreign languages by having fun reading. Part 2
I once asked Michel Thomas about studying on my own. He urged me to read in the language I was studying. “Read what you enjoy and don’t look up words in a dictionary. Just keep on reading,” he told me. His advice was built on the fact that when we…
Reading Chinese the easy way.
One of the major hurdles for anyone wanting to read real Chinese, Chinese written for Chinese natives, is the simple fact that Chinese has no alphabet. The characters in which it is written can appear overwhelming to the neophyte. This in itself discourages many from plunging into reading as would…
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