I Work at the Royal Beach Hotel

Two days so far I have spent working in the hotel industry in Eilat. For those of you who do not know, Eilat is Israel's resort town. The beach is lined with hotel after hotel and the almost-year-round beach weather brings in many tourists from all over Israel, Russia, France and many other countries. 

The program I am on has a partnership with the Isrotel hotel chain where the participants of my program work in the hotels. The hotel where I am working is the Royal Beach. Many Eilat-ians have told me that the Royal Beach is the most luxurious of Isrotel's nine hotels in Eilat. I work in the VIP lounge, or in Hebrew: the טרקלין (tarkleen). 

Only guests who are staying in special suites or who have paid an extra fee have access to the tarkleen. The tarkleen is open from 11:00 a.m. until 9:00 p.m. There is an all-you-can-eat buffet that is changed four times throughout the day. In keeping with with the laws of kashrut the buffet is pescetarian (there are milk and fish but no other meats). 

In my two days of work most of the guests who have come into the tarkleen have been either Israeli or French, with a small sprinkling of Russians, British people and one man from Switzerland who had nearly accent-less English. Usually the guests approach me with their queries in Hebrew and 90% of the time I have no idea what they're saying. Nearly everyone is able to speak English though. The guests have been very patient with me when I try to practice my Hebrew on them. A lot of the Israeli guests tell me there are too many problems in Israel and don't understand why I came here.

In terms of the work I am not exactly a waitress. I do not take any orders since the tarkleen employs a self-serve buffet. Most of the time I am either bussing tables, polishing silverware or chinaware, or restocking miscellaneous items. Because of my prior experience in the food service biz, it was very easy for me to jump right in. The concept of hospitality here is almost the same, but the company culture is quite different. In order not to violate either company's confidentiality, all I will say is that to me it seems the work culture in Israel is a bit more laid back. I haven't decided yet whether I like it or not. At times it can be a smidgeon bit frustrating. 

The tarkleen usually has three of us "waitresses" working the room at one time, and an additional person is stationed at a desk at the entry to assist VIP guests with checking into the hotel and to ensure guests are properly clothed prior to entering the room. This additional person is called the "secretary." Maybe if I can get my Hebrew up to a higher par I can earn this role before my time in the program expires!

Working alongside me, my trainer Dana coincidentally is also a vegan. When I discovered this it was such a feeling of relief. FINALLY - another person who gets it! I am not alone anymore :) She tells me which foods in the work cafeteria are vegan and helps me with my Hebrew.

My vegan buddy Dana with one of the chefs!

It has been great to finally begin working and I am beginning to actually feel immersed in Israeli life. Maybe soon I will be able to help every guest only in Hebrew!