My First Hanukkah in Israel

An Israeli dreidel. 

Before I dive into this post I want to highlight a small but key difference between Hanukkah in Israel and Hanukkah outside of Israel. To me picture the on the right symbolizes why spending Jewish holidays in Israel is so special.

Dreidels outside of Israel bear the letters: Nun, Gimel, Hay, Shin. Together they stand for, "Nes gadol hayah sham," meaning, "A great miracle happened there." In Israel, the Shin is replaced with a Pey to represent the word "Poh," which in Hebrew means, "Here." To put it simply, when you're in Israel, your standing on top of the roots of the very holiday you are commemorating. For lack of a better word, it's really "cool."

With that thought now out of the way let's move on...

Since the beginning of the month I haven't felt like it was December at all. Every time I check my watch for the date I am reminded that we are indeed in the twelfth month of the year. Why can't I get this in my head!?

Perhaps there are a two main reasons. The first and most obvious: the weather! I would have never dreamed that I would be able to enjoy a warm and sunny day on the beach in December. Where I'm from (Washington, D.C.) it often snows the first week of December.

The second and most primary reason is because I am in a country where the majority religion is not Christianity - it's Judaism! This translates to: no Christmas lights, no Santa Clauses outside the grocery store collecting donations for homeless shelters, no "All I Want for Christmas is You" on the radio, no red and green signs in storefronts, no White House Christmas tree, no eggnog, no "Merry Christmas" from passersby, no Rudolph, no elves, no Grinch, no stockings, no advent calendars, no tinsel. No Christmas.

Unconsciously over time I have built the association in my head between December and Christmas. Christmas has seeped into everyday life in mainstream America. It's unavoidable, kind of like those BP commercials following the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill :-0

Do I miss December in the U.S.? I would be lying if I said "no." It's not the actual traditions of commercial Christmas that I miss, it's the familiarity and the culture of the American holiday season.

But in Israel I have found a different kind of familiarity. I grew up celebrating Hanukkah with my family and friends, and Hanukkah is Israel's Christmas. However it's not exactly celebrated in the same sense of the word.

The main difference is that here, the majority holiday (Hanukkah) is not an overwhelming commercial empire like Christmas is in the U.S. Much like Israel, Hanukkah is humble. It's about the people and not the stuff.

Instead of Christmas lights, we light menorahs. Instead of hearing holiday music on the radio, we sing Hanukkah songs with our friends. Instead of drinking eggnog, everyone eats jelly-filled donuts (though I've yet to find any vegan ones in small-town Eilat, so I haven't gotten to partake in the magic). Instead of "Merry Christmas," everyone says "Chanukah Sahmeach (Happy Hanukkah)" Instead of writing letters to Santa, people play Dreidel and compete to win gelt (chocolate-filled gold coins). Instead of Christmas signage, individual shops display menorahs in their storefronts. Instead of baking tree-shaped cookies, moms take to their potato peelers and fry latkes. Kids get off from school and families go on vacations.

To be quite honest, in Israel being Jewish feels less special since almost everyone around me is also Jewish. It's not a bad thing - it makes me forget how far away I am from home.

It's an amazing feeling to celebrate Hanukkah with people from France, Ukraine and Israel and to all be able to sing from memory for the first time together the same Hanukkah songs. I guess I did learn something in all those years of Hebrew school after all ;)

And with that it is time to transition to the Hanukkah photo shoot portion of this holiday special:

DAY ONE

Spending our first night of Hanukkah on the beach!

It got dark early!

DAY TWO

My hotel (Royal Beach) hosted a special lunch for the employees in the guest dining room. We felt really special!

It was yummy!

My work supervisor prepared special flowers for the hotel's lobby. And check out the menorah in the back left!

Later we went to one of the malls for a special candle lighting and outside I spotted the Hanukkah mobile! A rabbi and his family tour the city each night of Hanukkah to ensure everyone gets a chance to light candles and share in the spirit of the holiday. It's the closest we'll get to Santa and his sleigh ;-)

The rabbi and his two children lead the candle lighting on the ice at the ice rink inside of Eilat's Ice Mall.

And afterward what did they do... you guessed it, they handed out free doughnuts!

Look what were hanging from the ceiling!

DAY THREE

Lighting a menorah with actual oil for the first time ever! My roommate and I got excited and probably poured too much oil into the little glasses... :)

We decided to check out the competition... check out the menorah and candle lighting in the Herods Hotel in Eilat!

DAYS 4-8 ... haven't happened yet!

__________________

And lastly, I think my favorite picture has to be this one:

A gelt wrapper on the ground of a public high school in Eilat. It's a small reminder that I'm living in the only Jewish country in the world.

Happy Hanukkah from Israel!

My New Job: The Flower Girl

This week I began a new job at the Royal Beach.

Flower Selfie!

But before I continue, a little backstory: I had been working for a week in the VIP lounge at the hotel until the doctor told me I had a stress fracture in my right foot. I rested for a week and then hooray - my program coordinator found me a new job that is less demanding for the legs. I am back to work! Though it's a different kind of work...

I now work in the flower studio at the Royal Beach. We are a back-of-house team, which means we have zero interactions with the guests. There are only two or three of us working at a time so I have already gotten to know my two wonderful trainers quite well.

Gale made Aliyah more than 30 years ago from England and Ruti is a native Israeli. They are both very warm and maternal, constantly reminding me I should be sitting more. They are wonderful teachers in the art of floral design.

I love my new job! This is what I see every day:

A panoramic view of the work counter inside the flower studio.

Yesterday was only my second day and already they let me make arrangements from roses!

Before... (that green sponge is about to disappear!)

After!

Here's another one I did! Made from the same kind of roses lying on the counter.

Making the arrangements is quite therapeutic. It almost is like putting together a puzzle, only the puzzle has about six different dimensions - appearance, smell, cleanliness, size, feel, age (probably I am leaving something out...).

It is also nice to be learning something new, outside of the hospitality umbrella. And though the change is refreshing, I do miss service. To me there is nothing more satisfying than seeing the smile on a guest's face after you have made him or her feel cared-for. 

Eventually after my foot heals I think I will probably return to service, but for now I am so happy to be the newest flower girl at the Royal Beach! Who knows, maybe this'll even add a line to my resume... My flower mentors say that if you have the skills to work with flowers you can get a job anywhere in the world.

Ruti making a beautiful arrangement for [I think?] the lobby. Unfortunately I don't have any pictures of Gale... yet! ;) 

I am amazed by all of the arrangements we make for the hotel. I don't think I have ever stayed in a hotel with such nice vegetation. Where do all of these bouquets and vases go? Every single room in the hotel gets at least one arrangement, some get three, some get more.

Another nice thing about my new job is that I don't have to wear a uniform - though I'm not sure if it actually is nice because it takes me longer to get ready when I have to decide what to wear ;) And not to mention more laundry for me :'(

I am excited to see what is to come in this new job and hope every day brings something new and beautiful.

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!