This blog post landed me in the Dean’s office, even before it was published

Last Wednesday, I managed to get myself into a disciplinary hearing at the University of Haifa, just three days into the semester and seven days into my one-year stay in Israel.

How did I navigate myself into this situation in a fairly short period of time?

1. The day before my MA program started at the university, I was shocked to learn that the language courses had already started a few weeks earlier, hence I could not join any Hebrew language programs.
2. I submitted a request to join an ongoing course, which request was bluntly denied by the director of the department without addressing any of my concerns.
3. The denial resulted in me requesting a few answers for the purpose of this article from the directors of the school,
4. which act resulted in me being summoned to the Dean’s office for some kind of a disciplinary hearing.

A long story, short. My problem seems to be resolved, as the Dean turned out to be quite responsive to my case and only questioned my somewhat pushy attitude towards his staff.

Israel lesson 101: being nice literally leads you nowhere, find your chutzpah and see where it takes you.