Multiculturalism

In my Ulpan class there are 3 Germans, 3 Americans, one Brit, one Bulgarian, 3 Frenchies, one Korean (hopefully from the north b/c I'm a fan of jumpsuits) one girl from Hong Kong, two Arabs and only one Australian (guess who!).

It's a pretty awesome mix I reckon.

Which raises the issue of multiculturalism.

While at Ulpan and in Israel, I've been at odds with what to call myself. My parents call me by my English name (ooooo what is it?) and my very close friends call me by my Hebrew name. But what should I be called in Israel? I hate the Israeli pronunciation of my English name but I feel like such a poser/wannabe Israeli if I get people to call me by my Hebrew name.

From a broader view I reckon that this two name thing is very indicative of life outside of Israel (Chul). I feel like I'm constantly moving between my secular western Australian self and my tribal religious Jewish self. If a name is meant to be how I'm known to the world, it's pretty telling that I have two different names in two different languages.

It's times like these that I say go google cognitive dissidence, dialectics and ontological dualism. Or just use them in incorrect circumstances and see if anybody picks it up (they won't).

Yeah watevs, welcome to Modern Orthodoxy, I hear you say.

And I say Screw You!

Or at least you're gonna get a signature eye-roll and loud exhale combo from me.