This is not a story about Moses and Caleb, and the two protagonists of the short text presented in this lesson are not talking about military intelligence regarding Canaan. Theirs is a colloquial modern Hebrew conversation on a favorite topic: going abroad.
This lesson is another step towards correct vocalization. It deals with the vocalization of what is formally called àåúéåú ùéîåù – otiot shimush, literally, “usage letters”. These are letters that are prefixed to words, such as the definite article ä and the conjunction å. The full list of these letters is easily remembered through the acronym Moshe ve-Kalev, or îù"ä åëì"á – that is: á, ä, å, ë, ì, î, ù (double-quotes before the last letter indicate that the word is an acronym).
You already know how to use them. Now we will review their nikud. Note that many Hebrew speakers do not follow the vocalization rules in current language and you will probably take the easy way, vocalizing these letters identically in most cases, like the rest of us do. However, you must be aware of the correct sound pattern.