December 17, 2013
Today was our last and final day in Eilat. We all woke up early again, packed up all of our things, and headed to the main lobby for our delicious (NOT) breakfast. We had to check out of the hotel today because we were leaving tonight to go back to Tel Aviv. After breakfast we headed into the buses and then drove for a few minutes, basically to the border of Egypt and Israel. This is where our hike was at. We hiked the mountains above Camel ranch, which was right on the border. The hike was not that hard and challenging but the views on top were SO work it and beautiful! Once we made it to the top of the mountain, you could see all of the Eilat, the Red Sea gulf, Jordan across the water, Saudi Arabia a few miles past Jordan, further down the gulf, the border of Israel and Jordan (the Jordan Valley), and the Sinai Peninsula in Egypt. These views were absolutely incredible. We stayed on the peak for an hour or so, just taking advantage of the views and having some snacks. OUr tour guide, Gili, made brewed hot tea and coffee for us on top. It was so nice to sit on top of the mountain, looking at all these countries and borders, relaxing and drinking homemade fresh hot tea. There is nothing like that! It took a while to get back down to the ground and sea level because the mountain was very steep, so we had to climb down it VERY slowly.
Once we got down the mountain, we headed over to the dolphin reef beach. We had lunch there and sat out on the beach. Paige and I brought our snorkels with us to the beach, attempting to snorkle. We went into the water and it was FREEZING. Eilat's tourist season is basically over. Because the water is so cold, there are not a lot of the pretty fish swimming around in the shallow water, the coral is not as pretty and colorful, and the water is not as clear and clean. Due to these things, our snorkeling was not great and we were not able to see a lot or stay in the water for a long enough time. A bunch of us ended up just sitting in a big circle in chairs, tanning and talking on the beach. It was so much fun. My favorit part about this day was seeing the dolphins. We all went over to the dolphin reef area and stood along the edge of the dock, looking for the dolphins to come up to the surface. After the dolphin trainer blew his whistle to alert the dolphins, they came swimming up to us. At some points we got about a foot away from them and some people even got to touch them or the dolphins would swim up along the feet. I personally have never seen and been soup close to dolphins. I have been to dolphin shows at the aquarium and Shamu at Sea World, but this was a whole new experience. It was so cool to be so close to them and see them playing int he water and doing jumps and flips without a trainer making them do it. They were living in their own natural habitat. We had to leave the dolphin reef around four in the afternoon because we had to drive back to Tel Aviv. We said bye to the dolphins (!!!!) and got on the road, driving four hours back to Tel Aviv. The bus ride actually was not that bad because everyone basically just listened to music and slept the whole way back. Eilat, and specifically today were amazing. I had a great trip and tons of fun!
Tuesday, November 19, 2013
November 16, 2013
Today was the second day in Eilat. We woke up early today and had breakfast at the hotel, which was not very good at all. EW! We had to get an early start because had a long day ahead of us of hiking. We drove about twenty minutes out of Eilat and wound up at the Amir mountains. The hike was absolutely beautiful; we saw the columns in the middle of the desert mountains and amazing rock formations. The hike was actually really interesting because we learned about the history of the mountains and settlers coming into Israel and living in the desert for forty years. We also played a lot of silly games along the hike, to keep all of us entertained. The hike was actually very hard. You did not have to be physically strong to do the hike, but there was a lot of physicality. We were hiking alond cliffs, down slopes, walking on unstable rocks, and walking up and down sleep inclines. There were tons of times that I thought I was not going to make it! HAHA. It was very scary walking in these areas. Although we had a long and hard hike, and I didn't exactly love the actual hiking, I felt amazing at the end. Looking back at the pictures I took, it was really rewarding to be able to say and feel that I accomplished and finished the hike ALIVE!
After finishing the hike, we headed back to the hotel to relax and hang out a little bit before yet another GROSS dinner. Once we finished dinner, we walked over to the boardwalk and had free time until midnight. This was really nice and relaxing and fun. The whole time I was hanging out with paige and a new friend, Nate. We walked around the boardwalk and along the water and past the hotel area. It was so pretty and relaxing to hear the waves crashing into the shore and feeling the breeze on our bodies! We then found a cute little ice cream shop and got some dessert. Nate and Paige got ice cream and I got delicious frozen yogurt. Who would have known that Israel has such god frozen yogurt! Once we got our treats, the three of us went and sat on some rocks along the water, dangling our feet above the waves, eating our ice cream. We were sitting there for two hours or so, just talking. These few fours reinforced the love I have for Israel and how sad I am to be going home kinda soon.
Today was the second day in Eilat. We woke up early today and had breakfast at the hotel, which was not very good at all. EW! We had to get an early start because had a long day ahead of us of hiking. We drove about twenty minutes out of Eilat and wound up at the Amir mountains. The hike was absolutely beautiful; we saw the columns in the middle of the desert mountains and amazing rock formations. The hike was actually really interesting because we learned about the history of the mountains and settlers coming into Israel and living in the desert for forty years. We also played a lot of silly games along the hike, to keep all of us entertained. The hike was actually very hard. You did not have to be physically strong to do the hike, but there was a lot of physicality. We were hiking alond cliffs, down slopes, walking on unstable rocks, and walking up and down sleep inclines. There were tons of times that I thought I was not going to make it! HAHA. It was very scary walking in these areas. Although we had a long and hard hike, and I didn't exactly love the actual hiking, I felt amazing at the end. Looking back at the pictures I took, it was really rewarding to be able to say and feel that I accomplished and finished the hike ALIVE!
After finishing the hike, we headed back to the hotel to relax and hang out a little bit before yet another GROSS dinner. Once we finished dinner, we walked over to the boardwalk and had free time until midnight. This was really nice and relaxing and fun. The whole time I was hanging out with paige and a new friend, Nate. We walked around the boardwalk and along the water and past the hotel area. It was so pretty and relaxing to hear the waves crashing into the shore and feeling the breeze on our bodies! We then found a cute little ice cream shop and got some dessert. Nate and Paige got ice cream and I got delicious frozen yogurt. Who would have known that Israel has such god frozen yogurt! Once we got our treats, the three of us went and sat on some rocks along the water, dangling our feet above the waves, eating our ice cream. We were sitting there for two hours or so, just talking. These few fours reinforced the love I have for Israel and how sad I am to be going home kinda soon.
Sunday, November 17, 2013
November 15, 2013
Today was the first day of our school trip weekend in Eilat! It was five or six hour drive to get down there. We left the dorms at school at 7am and didn't get there until 3:30 or so. We did have a few stops along the way though. It was really cool to drive through the Negev desert. I literally felt like I was right in the desert because we were basically on a dirt road winding through the red and orange and white and black desert mountains.
The first place we stopped was the Hebrew Israelites community in Demona. It was about halfway between Tel Aviv and Eilat. This kibbutz village was probably the weirdest thing I have ever seen or heard of in my life. The people that live there are all African Americans that came to Israel, following the beliefs and rules of the Torah. They do not consider themselves to be religious at all or have any religious affiliation. Their customs and beliefs are very strange. For example, they are all vegans and fast one day a week and are not allowed to eat after sunset everyday and once a year they have to eat only raw food for a week. THey are also forced to exercise everyday and work in the mountains. They do these things and follow these rules because this was what they interpreted the Torah and Bible telling them to do. The Hebrew Israelites also do not believe in higher education. They think that everyone should be equal and make the same amount of money, so nobody needs to go on to higher education. They also think that because of higher education, bad things have happened. The weirdest custom, to me, out of everything they believed in and thought and did, was their practice of polygamy (the men are allowed to have multiple wives). The guy that was showing us around this kibbutz and telling us all about it claimed that he has five wives and at the time twenty one children. This idea and concept just freaked me out. Apparently this kibbutz only has about 500 people living in it, and if all of the men have four or five or more wives, there must be a lot of incest. I thought that this was disgusting and I still do not believe that all of the women are happy and ok with their husbands marrying their all of their friends. EEWWW! I was ready and happy to get out of this weird kibbutz. After leaving this kibbutz in Demona, we drove past the israeli nuclear power plant. The next stop we made on our way to Eilat was at Yotveta; we stopped here for lunch. This was the chocolate milk factory and Israel's biggest dairy farm. At this point we were about thirty minutes away form Eilat.
We finally made it to Eilat and I was so happy to be there. I was in Eilat at the beginning of October and it was so much fun so I was excited to be back! Once we got to our hostel and checked in and got our rooms, we had a few hours to relax and kinda explore before dinner. I called my dad and told him about the day and then took a nice nap. Then it was dinner time, but the food was terrible. I have to admit, I think it was worse than the food that was served at DU's dining halls (which were gross). Anyway, I made it through dinner and it was time to go over to the marina and start our night off! We had a party boat waiting for us in the marina. it was a big sailboat and we were on the boat for a few hours. It was fun to go into the Red Sea and cruise around, listening to fun music and having a great time. There was a fat belly dancer on the boat which was very interesting. HAHA! She was big and not wearing a lot of clothes and belly dancing. She was also trying to get everyone involved and dancing with her, which did not really work out too well. Other than the weird belly dancer, the party boat was a lot of fun. Paige and Alona and I net some new friends and were hanging out with them all night. Every though we started the day with a long bus ride and touring a weird kibbutz, the end of the night ended really well!
Today was the first day of our school trip weekend in Eilat! It was five or six hour drive to get down there. We left the dorms at school at 7am and didn't get there until 3:30 or so. We did have a few stops along the way though. It was really cool to drive through the Negev desert. I literally felt like I was right in the desert because we were basically on a dirt road winding through the red and orange and white and black desert mountains.
The first place we stopped was the Hebrew Israelites community in Demona. It was about halfway between Tel Aviv and Eilat. This kibbutz village was probably the weirdest thing I have ever seen or heard of in my life. The people that live there are all African Americans that came to Israel, following the beliefs and rules of the Torah. They do not consider themselves to be religious at all or have any religious affiliation. Their customs and beliefs are very strange. For example, they are all vegans and fast one day a week and are not allowed to eat after sunset everyday and once a year they have to eat only raw food for a week. THey are also forced to exercise everyday and work in the mountains. They do these things and follow these rules because this was what they interpreted the Torah and Bible telling them to do. The Hebrew Israelites also do not believe in higher education. They think that everyone should be equal and make the same amount of money, so nobody needs to go on to higher education. They also think that because of higher education, bad things have happened. The weirdest custom, to me, out of everything they believed in and thought and did, was their practice of polygamy (the men are allowed to have multiple wives). The guy that was showing us around this kibbutz and telling us all about it claimed that he has five wives and at the time twenty one children. This idea and concept just freaked me out. Apparently this kibbutz only has about 500 people living in it, and if all of the men have four or five or more wives, there must be a lot of incest. I thought that this was disgusting and I still do not believe that all of the women are happy and ok with their husbands marrying their all of their friends. EEWWW! I was ready and happy to get out of this weird kibbutz. After leaving this kibbutz in Demona, we drove past the israeli nuclear power plant. The next stop we made on our way to Eilat was at Yotveta; we stopped here for lunch. This was the chocolate milk factory and Israel's biggest dairy farm. At this point we were about thirty minutes away form Eilat.
We finally made it to Eilat and I was so happy to be there. I was in Eilat at the beginning of October and it was so much fun so I was excited to be back! Once we got to our hostel and checked in and got our rooms, we had a few hours to relax and kinda explore before dinner. I called my dad and told him about the day and then took a nice nap. Then it was dinner time, but the food was terrible. I have to admit, I think it was worse than the food that was served at DU's dining halls (which were gross). Anyway, I made it through dinner and it was time to go over to the marina and start our night off! We had a party boat waiting for us in the marina. it was a big sailboat and we were on the boat for a few hours. It was fun to go into the Red Sea and cruise around, listening to fun music and having a great time. There was a fat belly dancer on the boat which was very interesting. HAHA! She was big and not wearing a lot of clothes and belly dancing. She was also trying to get everyone involved and dancing with her, which did not really work out too well. Other than the weird belly dancer, the party boat was a lot of fun. Paige and Alona and I net some new friends and were hanging out with them all night. Every though we started the day with a long bus ride and touring a weird kibbutz, the end of the night ended really well!
Thursday, November 14, 2013
November 15, 2013
The other day Paige and I realized that our semester abroad
is coming to a quick end. This realization made us very sad so we decided we
wanted to start doing and seeing a lot more. Last night we made a LONG list of
things that we want to see and places we want to go. One of the things on the
list was to walk around the Neve Tzedik area of Tel Aviv.
After class today, around 2pm, Paige and Alona and I decided
to go to the Neve Tzedik area and walk around and have lunch there. We took a
long cab ride to the southern part of Tel Aviv and ended up in the Neve Tzedik
area. It was so nice and pretty and cute! Walking through this area, I felt
like I was in old Europe and definitely not the Middle East. The streets were
very narrow and there were shops in alleyways. There was also a ton of artwork
and mosaics lining the streets and buildings. Alona, Paige, and I walked around
and found a cute restaurant for lunch. It was called Suzana, and was a typical
Iraqi café. It was fun to sit outside the café and watch people walking through
the streets and animals running around. Strangely enough, we either saw a
rooster or a chicken walking around the street and making noises. This was definitely
not something you see everyday. After our delicious lunch, the three of us
walked around the area and went into some cute boutiques and shops. The Neve
Tzedik is known for its art galleries and vintage stores. It was a really cute
area with a lot of nice stores and galleries. I want to come back soon, before
I leave Israel.
Once we left the Neve Tzedik, we got stuck in a lot of
traffic, on our way home. Although the Neve Tzedik is not that far away from
the University of Tel Aviv, it took about forty five minutes to get home.
Luckily, before we got in the cab we made the decision to set a price of sixty
five shekels instead of using the meter. If we were to have used the meter, we
would have had to pay probably pay a few hundred shekels L. Once we finally got
back to school, I relaxed for a bit and then started to pack and get ready for
this weekend. Tomorrow morning, well in five hours, at 7am, I am leaving for
Eilat. It is a school trip and we are going down there for the weekend. I am so
excited! I better go to bed so I can actually wake up in just a few hours. The
next blog post you read will be me from Eilat!!!
Saturday, November 9, 2013
November 8, 2013
Have I ever mentioned that I love Tel Aviv? Just in case, I do LOVE it here! Today was a nice, relaxing day and was the definition of Israeli life and living in Israel. I woke up this morning, early and had to take my midterm :(. It wasn't that bad thought and I was expecting the test to be much worse. After sitting in the classroom for two and a half hours, taking the test, I came back to my room and got ready for the gym. Paige and I went to the pool to sit outside and relax for a bit and then we went to teh gym. I had a great workout and felt amazing afterward. Once I left the gym, I came back to the dorms and got ready for dinner. One of my friends, Gabrielle, invited me and another friends and her roommate to her family friend's Shabbat dinner. The family is from the US and they made Aliyah four years ago, so everyone at dinner was luckily speaking in English! This family lived in the Neged Tzedek, which is a really nice and fancy area of the city. It was apparently the oldest and first neighborhood in Tel Aviv. Their house was so nice, when we walked in, there was a courtyard and then inside was all new and modern and clean and nice. There was a lot of fancy artwork on the walls and the house was three floors. It was so nice to be "adopted" into someones house, when you are so far away from home and family. Also, the food was so good and homemade; we had curry cauliflower, a salad, teriyaki glazed salmon, and veggie lasagna, and great red wine. I normally do not like red wine but this was delicious! It was a traditional Shabbat dinner, we read from the torah and sand a few songs and had to wash our hands the special way (I did not know this and did it wrong), and say a blessing over the wine and Challah. It was a really nice Shabbat dinner. We were all so full after dinner, so we decided to go for a nice walk. Once we figured out where we were, we realized that we were really close to the beach. We then spent the next hour or so walking in the sand and the Mediterranean Sea. It was so relaxing and nice and the weather was incredible! It was about seventy five degrees or so at night, with a warm breeze blowing in our faces. During the whole walk, I just kept thinking about how lucky I was to be studying abroad in Tel Aviv. I know for sure I chose the PERFECT place to study abroad; I could not have been happier anywhere else!
Have I ever mentioned that I love Tel Aviv? Just in case, I do LOVE it here! Today was a nice, relaxing day and was the definition of Israeli life and living in Israel. I woke up this morning, early and had to take my midterm :(. It wasn't that bad thought and I was expecting the test to be much worse. After sitting in the classroom for two and a half hours, taking the test, I came back to my room and got ready for the gym. Paige and I went to the pool to sit outside and relax for a bit and then we went to teh gym. I had a great workout and felt amazing afterward. Once I left the gym, I came back to the dorms and got ready for dinner. One of my friends, Gabrielle, invited me and another friends and her roommate to her family friend's Shabbat dinner. The family is from the US and they made Aliyah four years ago, so everyone at dinner was luckily speaking in English! This family lived in the Neged Tzedek, which is a really nice and fancy area of the city. It was apparently the oldest and first neighborhood in Tel Aviv. Their house was so nice, when we walked in, there was a courtyard and then inside was all new and modern and clean and nice. There was a lot of fancy artwork on the walls and the house was three floors. It was so nice to be "adopted" into someones house, when you are so far away from home and family. Also, the food was so good and homemade; we had curry cauliflower, a salad, teriyaki glazed salmon, and veggie lasagna, and great red wine. I normally do not like red wine but this was delicious! It was a traditional Shabbat dinner, we read from the torah and sand a few songs and had to wash our hands the special way (I did not know this and did it wrong), and say a blessing over the wine and Challah. It was a really nice Shabbat dinner. We were all so full after dinner, so we decided to go for a nice walk. Once we figured out where we were, we realized that we were really close to the beach. We then spent the next hour or so walking in the sand and the Mediterranean Sea. It was so relaxing and nice and the weather was incredible! It was about seventy five degrees or so at night, with a warm breeze blowing in our faces. During the whole walk, I just kept thinking about how lucky I was to be studying abroad in Tel Aviv. I know for sure I chose the PERFECT place to study abroad; I could not have been happier anywhere else!
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