More ulpan antics today.

We haven't had a vacation in what seems like ages, and this weekend is Purim, which is like a mixture of Mardi Gras and Holloween (the big selling point is tons of parties, some costumes, and a rediculous amount of wine). So everyone is getting a bit punchy and looking for any excuse to mess around a bit.



There is a contingent of Argentines in class (Alon, here, is one of them), and yesterday in the context of learning some verb (big surprise: I forget which verb), one of them mentioned wanting to drink maté. Of course none of us anglos knew what maté was, so they decided to bring in enough for the whole class, complete with all the accoutrements: gourd mugs and metal straws. Maté turns out to be the national drink of Uruguay and Argentina: tea made from the yerba plant. To be honest, maté isn't my new favorite drink. It's smokey and vegetabley and bitter, brewed to punch-you-in-the-face strength. But I probably thought the same thing about coffee the first time I had it, so I suppose if I had it frequently enough and in the right context, I might get to like it.

Oh yes, and before I forget: we're having another school assembly on Thursday. And this time our class gets to (er, more like is required to) perform in it. This time around I'll try to take sneak in some pics, both of the snacks we're sure to get (probably Haman's pockets) and of the on-stage antics. Stay tuned!