Welcome to Eilat (Paradise)

Let’s see, where did we last leave off? Oh yes! We were Eilat bound. And now Eilat we are!

I can’t believe I LIVE here. Eilat is BEAUTIFUL. The city has a very calm and serene energy that is unlike anything I have ever felt. Life here feels good. Thus far my expectations about Eilat have been wrong. Many Israelis and Americans told me prior to my arrival that Eilat is a lot like Las Vegas/ Atlantic City. This is definitely not the case.

Greetings from Paradise! Yes, those are my feet.

Eilat marina- I think that's Jordan in the distance?

Eilat has a population of approximately 50,000 people whereas Las Vegas has a population of just more than 600,000 people. Las Vegas is 12 TIMES the size of Eilat in population. How in the world would anyone try to compare the two!? You can walk from one side of Eilat to the other in an hour. 

To me, this is a good thing. I am glad that I am living in Eilat and not Tel Aviv, which is a bigger city, because of the small city feel here. Tel Aviv has a lot of American stores sprinkled around the city - car manufacturers, fast food chains, clothing retailers. In Eilat I feel more like I am in a foreign country. 

The weather is not as hot as I was expecting it to be. Where I am from (Washington, D.C.) 85-degree weather is HOT weather. We have humid summers in Washington whereas Eilat is very dry. In Eilat if the sun is stuck hiding behind a cloud it can feel quite cool, not matter the air temperature.

My group is living at Beit Isrotel (house of Isrotel). This building houses only the employees of the Israel hotel chain. There are many foreigners living alongside us, a lot of whom are not Jewish and just want to make some money. I live in a two-bedroom apartment with three other people. My roommates are from Georgia (the country), Florida and California. I would say we are pretty geographically diverse ;)

Life here is definitely more energy efficient. We have to push a button to heat the water a few minutes prior to showering. Every time we leave the apartment we are required to turn the air conditioning off. The toilet paper is less plush. The laundry machines aren't as plenty. 

Our building is situated on the outskirts of Eilat and as a result we have some junior mountains basically right in our backyard. From our balcony we can watch the sun set below the mountains. 

This is a panoramic view from my balcony.

The bedroom I live in is a bomb shelter. Every single unit in the building has its own bomb shelter. It feels like a normal room. The only thing special about it are the window and the door. Every time I enter or exit the room I feel like I am entering or exiting a vault. Not necessarily a bad thing!

A nice benefit of working for Isrotel is we are entitled to three free meals a day in one of the hotels. Let me tell you, for me, these meals are yummy :) Israel is such a vegan-friendly country, it doesn't even have to try. There are all kinds of fresh salads at every single meal - Israeli salad, cabbage salad, quinoa salad, lentil salad. I feel like I have died and gone to heaven. 

I cannot wait to begin work! In the next post we will celebrate Halloween and our first Shabbat as a group in Israel as well as visit Jerusalem! Lehitraot (means goodbye in Hebrew)!