07/17/13
Israeli flag

Israel: Modern Hebrew Slang and Other Common Expressions

I grew up speaking Hebrew with my mother, and spending 5 weeks in Israel this summer has definitely given me the opportunity to practice and improve my fluency, as well as pick up on modern slang (I was pretty out-of-the-loop until now). I thought I’d put together a list of slang and other words / expressions I’ve noticed people here use frequently. This was compiled with my brother in mind, who has recently begun teaching himself the language (woo!).

Notes: The “i”s are pronounced “ee”

The “ch” sounds like this.

The italicized syllable is the one you stress when you say the word.

Phonetic spelling:                                         Translation (more or less)

Achla……………………………………………….Awesome (borrowed from Arabic)

Al hakefak…………………………………………No problem/you’re welcome (borrowed from Arabic)

Al hapanim………………………………………..Terrible/a disaster (literally “on the face”)

Baktana……………………………………………Not a big deal

Ben/bat zona……………………………………..Son/daughter of a bitch

Chatich/chaticha………………………………..Good-looking guy/girl

Chaval al hazman……………………………….It’s worth it/it’s a great time (can be said about a place, experience or even person; literally “a waste of time”)

Esh………………………………………………….Awesome (literally “fire”)

Magniv……………………………………………..Awesome/cool

Noo??………………………………………………….And?? (used when you’re listening to someone tell a story and you want to hear what happened next, or if you are waiting on someone to do something; it’s a word whose sole purpose is to expresses impatience — how Israeli..)

Sababa……………………………………………..Cool/sweet/okay (can be used to say something is cool or as an affirmation; really common)

Sagoor………………………………………………Solid/okay/done deal

Yeshhhh……………………………………………Yesssss

Yala…………………………………………………Come on/let’s go/hurry up (usually precedes or follows “noo??”)

 

Terms of Endearment:

Achi………………………………………………..Bro (usually among boys/men age ~14 and up)

Chooki……………………………………………..Honey/Sweetie (usually directed at a girlfriend, boyfriend or dog; the “ch” is pronounced like it is in the name “Charlie” in English)

Mami……………………………………………...Honey/Sweetie (directed at a significant other, a close friend – among girls, or a child)

Motek………………………………………………Sweetie (literally means “sweetie”)

 

Informal Greetings:

Maamatzav?………………………………………What’s up? (literally “what’s the situation?”)

Ma kore?…………………………………………..What’s happening?

 

Do you know any slang I didn’t include? If so, post phrases in the comments below. Special thanks to Tal and Niv for adding to the list!

Much love from Israel,

Nirel

 

06/12/13
Source: pjmedia.com

Mural.ly: A Creative Platform for Visual People

Playlist: Cuban music station on Pandora (for those of you in Canada over the summer, I’m sure you can find a similar station on 8tracks or last.fm)

Creative Intelligence Mind Map

Sample Mind Map; Source: Google Images

ATTENTION ALL VISUAL LEARNERS OUT THERE:

Allow me to introduce you to your new best friend.

I’ve just discovered Mural.ly, a brilliant web-based platform that allows users to create mind maps and vision boards of all sorts and work on them solo or collaborate with others. I don’t know about you guys, but this is one of the most exciting moments of my life. That may sound hyperbolic, but I do love my mind maps — I wrote my university application essay on them and ended up going to a preeeeetty sweet school, soo…

In all seriousness, though, I added it for free as a Google Chrome application earlier tonight and have been fooling around on it non-stop since. Check out some of the demo murals on their website for ideas and go from there. A mural can be as simple as a sticky-note-filled cork board and as complex as a giant diagram you have to zoom in and out from to view the various components and finally the big picture.

So far I’ve made a bulletin board of what I have to do before I leave for NYC in two days (eep! Excited.) and started working on a giant map of my short- and long-term goals. I know once school starts again in the fall I’ll be aggregating my class notes into big, beautiful mind maps. What will you do with your own web-based creative space?

More exciting things to come,

Nirel

06/8/13
books

Neekoo Philanthropic Society Grant 2013

Calling All Iranian Students!

I received this message and investigated the grant a bit, and it looks legit! Sorry it’s a bit last-minute (the deadline is in two days!!), but if you think you can complete and submit what is necessary by then, by all means go for it!

“Please post this on your website as your readers/students may find it very useful.

Deadline for Neekoo Grants: June 10, 2013

Neekoo Philanthropic Society proudly launched the Grant Program in the late summer of 2012 with the aim of providing financial support to young Iranian students as they pursue post secondary education in a field of their choice.

We are pleased to be able to provide financial assistance once more to deserving students who have aspiration of advancing their studies at a British Columbia accredited educational institution.

All grants are up to $4,000 to be awarded by end of June 2013

For more info, please visit: http://neekoo.org/programs/grant/ ”

If this applies to you and you apply for the grant, good luck!

Love, Nirel

05/28/13

(Vegan) Voodoo Doughnuts in Portland

Playlist: Rodrigo y Gabriela – Diablo Rojo

I don’t have a huge sweet-tooth, but it’s hard not to be a sucker for delicious vegan doughnuts. Thankfully, I know exactly where to go to satisfy that craving: Voodoo Doughnut in Portland, Oregon.

Voodoo Doughnut box

The notorious pink box, albeit a bit weathered by the rain.

I’ve been to Portland a handful of times since I moved to the Pacific Northwest and I’ve never gone down and not gone to Voodoo – it’s just part of what Portland is to me. So, naturally, I stopped by their hole-in-the-wall shop the day I arrived (I was there over the weekend for Vida Vegan Con 2013, a conference for Vegan bloggers – whadduya know?!).

Voodoo Doughnut vegan doughnuts shelf

Rainbow vegan shelf of awesomeness.

While many vegan doughnut-lovers are excited to discover that Voodoo Doughnut has raised vegan doughnuts, I prefer those that are not raised  – they have a sort of chewy, grainy texture that I fancy. I particularly like the one covered in frosting and crumbled peanut butter-flavored candy crumbles. (:

Voodoo Doughnut vegan doughnuts

Vegan doughnut selection: vegan apple fritter, mini vegan doughnut with peanut butter candy bar crumbled on top and, of course, a signature vegan raspberry jam-filled “voodoo doughnut”!

Vegan or not, if you’re in Portland (or any of their other location cities in Oregon), I definitely recommend you grab one of these rad pink boxes and fill it with doughnuty goodness!

-N

Eating a yummy vegan classic!

Eating a yummy vegan classic!

05/22/13
space needle top - seattle 2

Dream Dance

Playlist: Nahko Bear (Medicine for the People) – Aloha Ke Akua

Imagine a place where artists are invited to paint as they please, musicians encouraged to play to their hearts’ content and where everyone celebrates warmth, happiness and love through dance. Welcome to Dream Dance.

Over the weekend, my parents took me to Dream Dance for the first time. They have been going every month for the past 6 or so months and, being in Vancouver, I was never able to join them until now.

It was awesome.

Going around the huge circle-shaped room, I noticed one area where people were welcome to sit and have tea, an area with a bunch of couches and pillows where people talked and cuddled, a spot for anyone to set up an easel and paint, a stage where attendees could play music and a huge wall that someone broadcasted his art onto (while he was making it on his laptop).

My favorite part was doing AcroYoga for the first time (which you can learn more about here). It was both relaxing and exhilarating to balance and take various poses – all while being held up by someone else’s hands and feet.

I also drummed for a bit on a djembe that someone had brought and left a note on the giant sacred-looking dream catcher that sat at one side of the room. By the end of the dance, it was filled with drawings, what people dream for and why they come to Dream Dance.

I think the best description of ecstatic dance I can think of is that I like to dance wildly around my room, in my underwear, to the pulse of the music (something my roommate would get a kick out of last year)…Now it seems I’ve found a bunch of other people who like to do that, too.

WHAT: Ecstatic dance to a combination of live and DJed trance music in a welcoming, non-judgmental environment.

WHERE: Om Culture yoga and dance studio in the Wallingford neighborhood of Seattle

WHEN: 3rd Saturday of each month

WHO: Smiley people of all ages (there were children running around and septuagenarians getting their groove on) and walks of life (from corporate-by-day to hippie-all-the-time)

COST: $5 for students; $9-$15 otherwise

If you’re in Seattle on a 3rd Saturday (or close enough to get here one month) and you enjoy free-spirited dancing, good music and art and friendly people, you should definitely check this out. Psssst… Let me know if you do, because I might be in the area and attending, too!

Love, Nirel

05/2/13

Totem Park Celebrates Holi

Playlist: Santigold – L.E.S ArtistesPanjabi MC – Mundian to Bach Ke

Totem Celebrates Holi

Some friends from Haida and Salish, post-celebration.

HOLI IS A Hindu celebration of colors that takes place each spring. Participants in festivals commemorating Holi typically throw pigments at each other, resulting in a colorful mess and many smiling faces. This year, I was out of town for UBC’s massive Holi festival but was here to take part in the one we had at Totem Park Residence – which was a total blast! Definitely a fun and carefree way to de-stress before finals.

Love, Nirel

Totem Celebrates Holi

Feeling colorful (:

03/14/13
research definition

Useful online research resources!

research definition

I am a dork.

There’s no denying it. But why would I want to? I embrace my inner dorkiness – in fact, I celebrate it.

That is precisely why I’m awake at 4:30am, doing way more research than is required for a genetics presentation I’ve been assigned. Because it’s fun!!

Don’t believe me? See for yourself – visit a few of the sites below and browse through a topic that peaks your interest. Check out JSTOR’s collection alone for a few ideas.

Pssst… Even if you can’t find anything interesting enough to read about for fun, these sites will at least be super useful when you need to do any of the following things (at least one of which you will inevitably do, being a university student):

  • (Research) paper
  • Presentation
  • Critical review
  • Other stuff

Some lovely resources for your researching pleasure (in no particular order):

ScienceDirect

JSTOR

Scientific American

Web of Knowledge

PNAS *cue immature giggles*

Wiley Online Library

Oxford Journals

SagePub

Nature

Google Scholar

^ So long as you are a UBC student (and have a standard campus-wide login, or CWL), the links above will grant you FREE access to collections of thousands of journals, containing probably millions of really neat articles and research papers. Thank you, UBC Library!

*NOTE: If you are not a UBC student, do not be discouraged. You may still have access to many of these articles and papers, even if you don’t have access to all the journals that contain them.

Have fun exploring!

Nirel

01/27/13
books

Freeeee Boooooooks!! (and some music)

Playlist: Gemini – Fire Inside

Martin Solveig – The Night Out

Swedish House Mafia – Greyhound 

(Yes, I’ve caught the electronic music bug that since I arrived here have noticed is super popular in Vancouver.)

books

Oh my gosh. If you’re currently taking an English or philosophy class in high school or university, check out these websites before you buy your required reading books. They allow you to download e-books for free that you can read on your computer, iPhone, iPad or e-reader. This has made me so happy.

http://www.planetebook.com/

http://www.gutenberg.org/

http://www.free-ebooks.net/

http://www.openculture.com/free_ebooks

Psst… It’s worth checking out all the links, as some of the sites only have classic books while others include contemporary ones as well. Also, these are only the first few sites that came up when I google-searched “free e-books” – so feel free to google key words yourself and see what you can find! (Just make sure the websites are legit so you don’t get a virus. The ones above are.)

Happy reading!

-N

01/16/13

Upcoming Guest Lectures!

Hey guys!

I know this is a little short-notice, but here’s a list of the upcoming guest lectures/lecture series/film screenings/discussion sessions that I know of at UBC. Most of them are free or of low cost. Come check one out if it fits in your schedule and you think you might find the topic interesting!

 

Big Mouth Speaker Series

When: TODAY! (Wednesday, January 16 2013)

Where: Buchanan Penthouse – Buchanan B, 1866 Main Mall, UBC

Time: 5:30p – 7:30p + reception

Cost: Free.

Brief description: A Speaker Series about Art and Education
Big Mouth is an evening dedicated to redefining the relationship between the arts and education. Seven speakers from various creative industries will give seven short speeches, sharing their life experiences, perspectives and passions with a crowd of UBC students.
Big Mouth emerges out of a distinct need to shift a specific paradigm in this crucial time for Arts students in Canada. Our goal is to disrupt the stereotypes and doubts surrounding turning an arts education into a career, and to inspire and convince students of real possibilities to direct an arts education into a career and a lifestyle.

Website: https://www.facebook.com/events/458103884226614/?fref=ts

 

“Miss Representation” – Film Screening & Panel Discussion

When: Thursday, January 172013

Where: Room: HA 098 of Sauder School of Business – University of British Columbia 2053 Main Mall Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z2

Time: 6p doors open, 6:30 film starts (90 mins), panel discussion to follow

Cost: Students/staff: $5.00
Sauder alumni: $8.00
General public: $15.00

Proceeds from ticket sales will be donated to The Minerva Foundation for BC Women.

Brief description: Written and directed by Jennifer Siebel Newsom, the film exposes how mainstream media contribute to the under-representation of women in positions of power and influence in America. The film challenges the media’s limited and often disparaging portrayals of women and girls, which make it difficult for women to achieve leadership positions and for the average woman to feel powerful herself.

Website: https://secure3.sauder.ubc.ca/events/miss_representation/

 

Mel Chen, Visiting Scholar, GRSJ Institute

When: Monday, January 21 2013

Where: UBC Liu Institute for Global Issues – 6476 NW Marine Drive, Vancouver V6T 1Z2

Cost: Unsure.

Brief description: Associate Professor, Gender & Women’s Studies at U.C. Berkeley, Animacies: Biopolitics, Racial Mattering, and Queer Affect (2012, Duke University Press). “Toxicity Incorporated: Toxic Assets, Privileged Bodies, and the Affects of Toxic Management”

Website: https://www.facebook.com/events/421895057880658/?ref=22

 

Helpful websites for this sort of thing:

The Institute for Gender, Race, Sexuality and Social Justice

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Social-Justice-Institute-UBC-Events/512911055409313

Sauder School of Business News & Events

http://www.sauder.ubc.ca/News

 

More to come soon! Busy working on my RA application that’s due today. (:

Love,

Nirel

01/10/13

I want to do something!

For those of you who do not receive the UBC FYI student newsletter, this is the post I wrote for the most recent one, themed: “I want to do something” (as part of the “I want to have fun” campaign).

Some people go to university to get a degree – and that’s it.

I, however, think those students are missing out on a huge part of the overall experience – which includes what you do outside of school. There is SO much to do on and around campus!

One sunny day, I went for an outdoor run and discovered the amazing UBC Botanical Garden. Once the weather got a bit dreary, I signed up for a free splatter-painting class through Healthy Minds at UBC (twitter: @HealthyUBC) and had a blast making art! I have also attended several lectures – outside of class – that have been super interesting (which you can read about here).

Taking time off from academics every once in a while and doing something other than going to class and studying is something I highly recommend. It gives you a chance to unwind and take advantage of all that UBC and Vancouver have to offer.

We live in a beautiful, international city and go to a school that is on the beach, hosts all sorts of events and has hundreds of student clubs and teams to join, as well as forests and gardens to explore.

Bring a friend, or don’t, and just have fun!

-N