Eilat of Fun

I walked out of my room this past Thursday night at 10 PM with a large Vera Bradley "weekender" bag packed to the brim with multiple options for the weekend (because that's how a girl like me packs) and a big smile as I went to catch the 12 AM midnight bus to Eilat. Eilat is Israel's southernmost city, a tourist attraction and a serious, serious hotspot to be -- because of how hot it is, if you didn't catch that one. Myself and four other friends arrived at the central bus station in Eilat at 5:45 AM, we wanted 3 full days in Eilat, so we figured we'd take the midnight shift bus until we got to our hotel and were unable to check in...woops. So instead, our loopy, delusional no sleep selves went to the beach boardwalk and watched the sunrise which was beautiful.

 As the day got later, we checked into our room and headed to meet our other friends in their room where we surprised one of them for her birthday! It was one of those plans that went extremely smoothly, although rest assuredly I almost ruined it multiple times leading up to the trip. Anyway, we tanned on this "mattress beach" for the day, and went to two bars at night: 3 Monkeys and then The Bear Bar. Both had a completely different vibe than the ones in Tel Aviv - 3 Monkeys felt like a bar mitzvah...I kid you not, congo lines and all, but the Bear Bar was funky and the music was great. The next day, we tanned and some friends and I walked around the beach boardwalk of Eilat because needless to say, I was burnt-out (pun seriously intended). Although thankfully, this was the least amount of sunburn I've ever gotten -- I'm learning Mom :) !!! We went out again that night to another bar called: Beatles. Ironically, in a party city like Eilat, the club scene isn't too big on Saturdays so we stuck mainly to the bars. The best part about Eilat is how small of a city it is, everything is within walking distance of each other, so on the walk home, I got some killer calve muscles in my wedges #wedgesarethenewsneakers. This weekend was my vacation getaway, a well-needed, relaxing weekend with friends who I've gotten so close to in the past 3 days, friends that I know will be friends even when abroad ends.

The craziest thing about Eilat is it's location...it's in between the surrounding countries of Jordan, believe it or not, I could see the Jordanian flag and some of the city on my boat ride around the red sea. And off to the distance on the other side is Saudi Arabia. I found it mind-boggling that here I was, a 21 year old Jewish girl on vacation in Eilat, maxin' and relaxin' in the sun and to the left of me is Jordan and to the right farther out is Saudi Arabia (which at the time I thought was Egypt). But like...what???? I can't even explain it in words, but to see some of the houses - now that was insane. I've never really thought of Israel being surrounded by other Arab/Muslim countries, and there I was, sitting on a boat staring into Jordan. Needless to say, it was quite an experience.
Eilat was EI-LAT of fun and I hope to go back soon, but next time, I'm making it across the border to Petra, Jordan - one of the 7 wonders of the world with my mom, dad and brother by my side and a camel waiting for us at the entrance.

I scream, You scream, We all Scream for Purim!

חג פורים סמח!(Happy Purim!) If you guys don't know what Purim is, it's like Halloween...but on steroids. For American kids, this is a free-for all; a weekend of dressing up in funky, fun costumes and interacting with other Israeli's. I was here for Purim back in 10th grade when I spent the semester abroad on TRY in Jerusalem and was excited to see what Purim in Tel Aviv had in store for me. Saturday night was definitely the best night of the weekend by far. I decided to dress up as...wait for it, you'll never guess (you will), as a H!PP!3, original right? el oh el, I crack myself up. This time though, it was a more relaxed version of a hippie, so much so, I continuously got asked: "so...what are you?" in reference to Mean Girls, I pointed to my peace sign necklace and said, "a hippie, duh." People these days...

Okay, all kidding aside, for someone who loves dressing up, especially in fashionable outfits, I felt pretty cool and trendy in my patterned floral "Shuk" (the outdoor market in Tel Aviv) pants with little flower stickers next to my eyes. Anyway, we started off the night in a Synagogue on Ben Yehuda street in the center of Tel Aviv, dressed to impress, ears ready to hear some Megillah reading, and obviously, because it's a mitzvah...we were ready to drink (no judgements, we were doing it for the holiday). At first, the room was empty and within a matter of 10 minutes, it was packed to the brim with Jewish students from all over the world, studying in Israel. I met people studying at Haifa University, Hebrew University in Jerusalem, others from Tel Aviv University, and of course, my brother who has been visiting me for the past week. Side note, this past week with my brother was amazing, I was able to see Israel through his eyes; whether it was taking long walks on the beach, watching the sunset while shivering in my "it feels like summer" clothing, or just having deep conversations with him about his experiences abroad, and my experiences abroad. I am so happy we were able to spend the week together!

Okay and back to Purimweekend (get it, like Halloweekend?), after the big pre-game, some of us decided to head to Rothschild Street - a popular street in Tel Aviv filled with restaurants, bars, coffee shops, etc. We went to a bar called ועעד הבית (Vaad Habayit), the bar itself was crazy packed, and the music felt like we were in a club. It was the best of both worlds and probably one of the most fun nights I've had here so far! Speaking of which, two of my friends from pre-school (shout out to HZT) were with me, in times like these, after going more than 5 years without having constant communication, it amazes me that we were able to have so much fun together, no matter how long apart we've been from each other. Thank you mom & dad for sending me to Hebrew school, I appreciate it now. We decided to come home around 2 AM...an early night out in Tel Aviv. I sadly, deliriously sleepy, said goodbye to my brother but am happy he was here. I am learning after this week, how to put things in perspective, when it comes to being abroad. I am growing and learning so much about myself, this semester it's been a real focus on myself as an individual and I am beginning to understand who I am. It's pretty cool, having an inside perspective to my life. From here on out, my abroad experience is about to be filled with new adventures and I am ready to tackle them head-on, head-strong. Except...do I really have to wake up for class tomorrow? #abroadproblems

Down South Ya'll

This past weekend I was on top of the world (hey). Okay maybe not actually on top of the world but on top of a mountain, in the middle of the Negev ( desert) called the Peres hike of which I believe is named after the past Israeli Prime Minister, Shimon Peres. The OSP (Overseas Program) at TAU took us on a trip to the southern part of Israel, Arad. It started Friday with a short 2 kilometer hike in the Makhtesh (a geographical landform in the Negev of Israel) and then a couple hours of relaxation in our "hotel" (hostel). During those hours, a friend and I wandered around the hostel and ended up hanging out with our 5 Madrichim (counselors), drinking coffee and talking. This was the first time I've really talked to any of them on a deeper level, they're all students at TAU as well, ages 24+ who are counselors for the OSP program during the year. Later that night we had a Shabbat dinner in the Hadar Ochel (dining hall) of the hostel and a fun music filled night with the special guests, Ja'man! Some enterntainment, musical group who taught us how to play the Didgeridoo - a long wooden wind instrument.
On Saturday we woke up at what seemed like the crack of dawn (7:30 AM)...haven't woken up that early since Ulpan (don't miss it)! We began a 5-6-7 (not sure) kilometer hike, The Peres Hike, as mentioned above, through a crater in a southern Negev desert of Israel. We hiked up, down, up, down...it was the most intensive hike I've ever done in my life! The best part was when our tour guide told us that in order to get off the mountain we were going to have to hold onto small ladders that were imprinted in the side of the mountain and climb up. Slicha, Mah? The ladders were incredibly scary, but I managed to make it up, mostly on my own without much help...a rewarding adventure. The hike, although extremely exhilarating, resulted in an unfortunate stress fracture or ankle sprain or some complication in my right lower ankle..oy.

For the final leg of the trip, we slathered on mud and floated in the Dead Sea. Did you know if you just let yourself go, you'll float? It was my second time there, but I didn't remember that much from the first time. It was a lot of fun but suuuuppeer salty!! This was probably one of the best weekends that I've had so far in Israel, but I'm happy to be back in Tel Aviv - I'm beginning to realize how amazing of a city it is and why I chose to come here, I feel as though I am starting to adjust to everything. In addition to a great weekend, I have many things to look forward to - tomorrow I get to reunite with one of my best friends from camp who is here visiting on spring break and then this coming weekend, I'll be with my brother!!!!! I cannot believe that it's already March, time is flying. So I gotz 2 savor every m0m3nt and l!v3 !t uP!