Eilat of Fun in Petra

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Israel's day of remembrance for fallen soldiers was last Wednesday, and I sang in service our program put on last Tuesday night. The next day, Hilary and I left early in the morning for Eilat. On Yom Hazikaron and Yom Hashoah, a siren goes off every year, and the whole country stops and stands for a minute and listens to it. On Yom Hashoah I was in class, a siren went off during our Yom Hazikaron service, and our bus to Eilat pulled over and we all stood up for the siren.

Eilat is interesting. The city is really small, the beach is the main attraction. The beaches aren't as nice as Tel Aviv beaches though. Hilary and I hung out on the beach for Thursday and Friday, and Friday morning we went scuba diving with dolphins. Saturday morning we went to Petra, an ancient city in Jordan. Hilary was proposed to by a guy on a donkey, and he offered to give her father 2000 camels for her. At night, we went and hung out at a locals bar, where we made friends with the bartender, who made us drinks.

On Sunday, as Hilary and I were getting ready to take the bus back to Tel Aviv, we go t text message saying that some of the dorms had flooded. Of course, mine did. Tuesday, though, I came back from class and our room hd flooded again- but this time with sewage. The sewage had backed up and come out of the drain in our shower. The water that flooded into our rooms wasn't too bad, but there was shit in our shower. We called one of our counselors, who came and helped us, but it flooded a few more times and we ended up having to pack everything and move to a different room for the next week. What a mess.

Yesterday was Students Day at TAU but it was also Nakba Day. Palestinians call the 1948 war for Independence the Nakba, or tragedy, and they commemorate it each year with protests. I walked through one yesterday, and there were Israelis across the street protesting the protest. It was really interesting to see.

My best friend from school comes to visit me tomorrow morning, and we're going to Cairo with Hilary next week. After I get back from Cairo, I only have 2 weeks left. I finished classes this week, and I just have a few more finals to do.

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Photos

Eilat
That's Jordan across the Red Sea.