Wednesday, May 5, 2010

Crash course in Hebrew

I don't know if I've mentioned it before, but in just another week, Annette and I are going to be traveling again. We'll both be going to Israel on the Taglit Birthright program, a guided tour that lasts 10 days. I'll be traveling in a group full of my peers, jewish young adults from 18 to 22 years old, from all across the US and other countries.

I'm extremely excited for this trip. I've only been to Israel twice in my life (once in 2000 and the other in 2007), but this will be the first time without my parents or my younger brother Adam. I'll be hiking, camping, riding camels, floating in the Dead Sea, and eating lots of pita and falafel. ^_^ I hope I make some good friends and pick up a good amount of the Hebrew language.

Speaking of Hebrew, my siblings and I found a great way to get a crash course on Israel's native tongue. Yesterday we found a translated version of The Lion King on YouTube, entirely in Hebrew. It is really an amazing experience, hearing a beloved Disney classic that we know inside and out with new ears. ^_^ One appreciates the story and the animation even more. The voices were matched up really well to the characters, and the translated words go pretty nicely with their mouth movements. Not all the time, but still.

Let me show you what I mean:



There's even a whole YouTube channel (right here) that has entire Disney movies all translated into Hebrew! Beauty and the Beast, Monster's Inc, Alice in Wonderland, even Enchanted, which came out recently. I don't know a lot of conversational Hebrew, but it's so much fun when I recognize the words I do know.

You should try watching a beloved animated movie in a foreign language. It's really mind-blowing. And if you have to see it in a different language, why not make it Hebrew? ^_^

Also, here's a link to a hilarious Daffy cartoon spoken in Hebrew, Duck Amuck.

3 comments:

Hebrew Scholar said...

Studying the Hebrew subtitles of well-known movies is a great way to learn Hebrew, in fact! You learn colloquial Hebrew, and also topical films that you can discuss in Hebrew conversations. It will make you feel part of the Hebrew/Israeli culture.

Rainy said...

I rode a camel on a trip to India before. It was sooo fun. Who needs a horse right!
Mmmmm falafels.........
Not sure if you guys will have internet there (based on the adventures you'll be having probably not!) so hopefully you'll keep a journal and blog about it later? I want to learn about Israel from a primary source!

Magenta said...

Yeah, don't worry Rani. Since I won't be able to blog, I'll be journaling all the time. ^_^ I just hope I'll be able to find words to share it all when I come back.

Thanks for being interested. ^_~

I'm really looking forward to the camel ride!

Oh, and you should also try seeing a movie you like in Hebrew, or another language. It's really cool.