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Reflections on my time at HU

By Lisi Tesher, Toronto

I went on the one-year program at Rothberg in 1987-88 and it was one of the best years of my life! I remember convincing my friend at the time to go with me, filling out her application and packing her bags! We were roomies for the year and are still friends to this day.

When we arrived for Ulpan in July, with all of the other Canadians, we were put in dorms at Givat Ram. Simply due to location, we became most friendly with all the other Canadians. We also became quite close with the group of Australians who arrived for half the year. Though they live far away, I have managed to stay in close contact with two, and have been to see them, and they have come here to visit. So, intense lifelong friendships were definitely made that year.

My penchant for language just grew and grew that year. I spoke Hebrew as often as I could, with whomever would be kind enough and patient enough, and I dare say I am fairly fluent, and I speak Hebrew daily.

We had so many fabulous adventures that year! I spent Sukkot in Eilat learning how to scuba dive, which had a huge impact on my life as I became an avid underwater photographer. Years later, I spent several months living and working on a boat in the Sea of Cortez; and I also lived and worked with Jean-Michel Cousteau in Fiji assisting clientele on an underwater photography course.

During Passover, two friends and I made a reverse exodus and took a bus tour to Egypt! We were the youngest on the bus by about 4 decades! We sailed a faluka down the Nile, rode horses across the desert, and ate nothing but the matzo we had brought with us and rice. For a week!

After finishing the program at Hebrew University, I returned to graduate from McGill University with a BA in Humanistic Studies. Doubtful anyone else has a credit for Archaeology from that program! I then continued my education and received another degree in Applied Photography from Brooks University in California with a minor in business and accounting. The travel bug had bit me hard that year in Israel, so I then worked on cruise ships for several years, and was back in Israel several times with Birthright and Roger Nielson’s Hockey Camp.

I have managed to travel to over 80 countries thus far. I met my husband (while working on a cruise ship!), started a family, and I now live and work in Toronto as an editor. I’m very involved in the Jewish community in Toronto, both through my synagogue, where I take courses and volunteer, and my children’s school, where I am president of the Parents’ Association.