Define the word “blob.” If you think about it, it’s really hard to do. Googling it now, the first thing that comes up is blob in the context of computer science, and the second refers to a comic book character. The definition is officially “a drop of a thick liquid or other viscous substance.” What I ended up saying, when asked by a newly-made Israeli friend on the bus to the Golan was “…like a drop of dye? or like liquid in a ball? does that make sense?”
The reason I found myself defining blob is because we’re playing a trip-long game of “Assasins.” Long story short, you get a target (a person) and a word (in my friend’s case, Blob) that you must get your target to say. But, if you don’t know what the word means, how can you get someone to say it?
Reflecting on that experience, I find it very interesting that, even considering myself fluent in Hebrew, or my friend considering themself fluent in English, there are words that are just so hard to translate or to transfer over. The same goes for concepts and and ideas and even experiences.
I stumbled upon a group’s conversation (of all Israelis) in which they were discussing all of the times that they forgot their gun (in the army) and the different funny (at least in retrospect) ramifications that it had for them. It was a brand new version of “my dog ate my homework.” I had no way to relate besides for making a joke about losing a gun that I never had.
This whole trip is very much about sharing experiences and outlooks. But I’m learning that before I can get to that, I’ll first need to learn how to define the world “Blob.”
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