Hello everyone,

My name is Naomi Bright and I am currently a student at Gratz College. I transferred to Gratz from a small town in West Virginia to get a BA in Jewish Studies. At the same time, I am also working on my MA in Cantorial Studies.

This summer I’m going to Israel to study Hebrew at the University of Haifa in their summer Ulpan. I arrived in Israel yesterday on Shabbat. It was a little hard to find transportation to the University of Haifa, but my friend and I managed it. I am staying in the Tailia Dorms, which are very nice. I have four roommates. Two of my roommates come from the same area of Philly and the other two are Israeli.

Today we took a tour of campus. I have a feeling I might get lost a bit because I hardly remember anything after making so many turns. After the tour, we to Haifa to see what we could do. I ended up buying a lot of food at a Shook because it was cheaper than at the University mini market.

After our adventure in Haifa, we have returned to the dorms and are meeting many people in our program. Tomorrow I have to take a Hebrew placement classes, then I begin my Hebrew studies on Tuesday. I am looking forward to becoming immersed in the Hebew language!