Door knobs... and somethin' other

I know. Random. Very very random.
I had such a sudden random realization about door knobs.
I was thinking about how I like unkosher foods because it makes me feel like Im back home with my favorite foods. In the USA its hard to be kosher. Its not like Israel where kosher is a regular thing.
So getting to my point of the door knobs I realized that Israel has different door knobs. In the USA its those round ones that look like little stubs bulging out from the door while in Israel, they are long and you push them down.
I don't know why Im just realizing this now or why its even important. I cant think of a single place in this country that has the door knobs like they do in New York.

My somethin' other is gonna be about language.
I remember in I think it was senior year I got really sick. It was before school started and I was sitting in the parking lot waiting for my mom to come pick me and this Asian girl- either Japanese or Korean; I don't remember- came up to and asked in broken english why wasn't I inside. She was so nice. I never forgot her. I always admired her courage for coming to the states and my school to learn. It was hard for her to speak. She was so nice. She told me to feel better when I told her I was sick. For some reason she made my day a little better.
I think about it now and I realize that Im in a similar position as her. I'm in a new country where I don't speak the language fluently and I've been thrust into an environment where I need to write,speak, listen, and at times think in a brand new language. People take language for granted. Not many people realize how important a language is. We all know our mother tongue and its what we are used to. Sure, we know that people speak other languages but we don't actually realize that the verbal language is different from own. We know it but we don't ever care or really understand it. Everyone speaks body language but not verbal.
I hope that the girl had an okay time and easy time learning english. I know being in my school meant she probably did get made fun of. I have never made fun of someone learning a language. Its hard. It really takes a huge toll on you. Imagine you are surrounded by hundreds of people and something bad happens. You need to tell someone but you can't because you don't know how to speak their language.
It takes a huge mental and emotional toll. You can't tell people what you need or how you feel. They cant tell you how they feel or what they want or need as well. Its frustrating. It makes you feel small, weak, and stupid. You feel like you're trapped and it doesn't feel like it's going to get any better and it can only get worse.
In the army here, some people don't realize how difficult it really is. Some people don't care and some people find it hilarious. They love when ever you say something wrong. I know with me it pisses me off. Learning hebrew has been sort of therapeutic in a very weird unorthodox way. Yeah it pisses me off to know end that I can't speak and communicate but it has also been an anger management type thing. I can't say what I really want when I get mad so in ways thats good. Lord knows I got a mouth on me. So in ways it helps me hold my tongue.
In the army I hate when people make fun of me. Being in the Neshkiah and being around a bunch of people who hate the army(Yeah thats a whole other story in and of itself), its a big blow. People aren't nice. They don't care. They think you are stupid for coming to the country and even stupider for being in the army. "Why leave America?" "What's here that isn't America?" "Why would you leave to come to this place?" No one likes to hear such mean things about decisions you make. You know what its like to live here and I know what its like to live in America. When they tell me that they want to live in America I ask them the same questions they ask me. Some times they get the hint and others, they naively answer. They want money, the "American Dream", open up a falafel shop. I know that their ideas of America are all from movies. We don't have money. We aren't rich. Life in America is just like life in every other country.
Yesterday I was at the Beit Hahayal speaking with a russian boy. He's in Michve Alon now and it's Country week. Country week is where you tell people about your native country. He asked me what I thought of Russians. The stereotypes we learn growing up. Not all the stereotypes are wrong but some are right just like when I asked him about Americans. His first answer was Hamburger. We all eat Mc Donald's and fast food and are fat. The second was video games. World of Warcraft and those computer games. Most people think we are a fat, lazy country. And most people in America are. It's sad because you can't really deny it.
Anyway being here has really been an eye opening experience. You really learn many different points of views and so many different ways of life. You learn words from so many different languages because there are so many different languages being spoken here.
Some people get that. They understand it. They know its difficult. Others don't. They are very ignorant and just don't give a damn about anyone. But these people are EVERYWHERE in the world not just America or Israel. Look at the Islamic countries in the middle east. They don't accept change at all. Anything new is wrong.
The people thinking about doing Mahal or Olim Hadeshim who ask me for help and advice about the army usually ask about hebrew. "Did you know hebrew before the army?" "Are you fluent?" "Was it hard to become fluent?" "Does everyone really speak english, Ill be okay with english?" Before joining the army I was not fluent at all. I didn't know enough. I'm not fluent at all and it is damn hard getting there. The only way to really become fluent is to surround yourself with hebrew. Speak it all day every day. Read books and the newspaper, watch the t.v., listen to songs in hebrew. Being in the army certainly helped. I would probably still have bad hebrew if it weren't for the army. Yeah, my hebrew is still bad but I've learned a trick. When those people get you down just think about where you started from. I think about how it was for me at Tel Aviv University and then Michve Alon and all the way up until now. I think about everything I've done to get up to this point and how hard I'm working. I can only go up from here. They might want to laugh at me now because I can't pronounce a word right or I have an accent but I know that if they were in my shoes they'd quit and go home crying. Being so rude and ignorant to someone who is different only shows your weaknesses. To everyone who is learning a new language: It's hard and it's only going to get harder. Expect it to get harder and take the challenge head on. You will only feel better about your self at the end of the day and at the end of the challenge. Don't go into such a negative attitude and only think positive. Learning a new language helps open your eyes and mind. You learn more then a new language. Let the haters hate while you laugh all the way to the bank.