With three novels already published and her 28th birthday only one month behind her, Clemence Boulouque joined a group of forty students from diverse backgrounds--from ten states, from the ages of 17 to 60, with varying backgrounds of Hebrew--to study Hebrew intensively for one month this summer at the Rothberg International School ulpan at the Columbia University Kraft Center for Jewish Life. Faculty at the Rothberg School bring their teaching materials, texts, innovative methods, enthusiasm and a little bit of Jerusalem to New York for five hours daily, five days a week.

Of the students enrolled in the third annual Summer Ulpan in New York City, Clemence traveled the farthest to get here--all the way from Paris, France. Why the Ulpan in NY? "I love Israeli literature and I have promised myself to read Amos Oz' books in Hebrew." Since she had business in New York this summer, she figured the Ulpan in NY "would be an ideal combination of work and studies."

Clemence's first book, Mort d'un silence, about her life as the daughter of France's first anti-terrorism judge, will be made into a documentary to be released in France in the fall. Her second book, a novel called Sujets libres, was about transmission of Jewishness among Sephardic Jews. She awaits the release of her third--about headhunters--on September 1. In between she works as a book critic, specialized in foreign literature for the French daily newspaper Le Figaro and for France Culture and France Inter-radio networks.

What advice would she give to students considering attending the Summer Ulpan in New York City?

"Well, this is a wonderful experience. Pretty intense but so rewarding. First, I have to thank my teacher, Dalit, who was amazing - such a good-hearted person, always listening to our needs and questions. And the other students were both focused and hilarious. Going to class every morning was a pleasure - although I am anything but an early bird... If someone was asking me if they should attend - I would just tell them to sign up for it asap!"


For more information about the Rothberg International Schools' many programs in Jerusalem, please call, write, or browse: 800-404-8622; hebrewu@hebrewu.com ; http://overseas.huji.ac.il

Please visit the AFHU Alumni page and sign up for the classnotes here