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Friday, December 22, 2006
Shh... I just got older!
4:00am Lauren falls into bed
5:30am Lauren is asleep
5:45am Lauren is still snoozing
5:50am Lauren wakes up, rolls over, peers at the clock, freaks out.
5:51am Lauren wakes up Courtney then jumps in the shower
5:57am Lauren flies out of the shower and into clothes
5:59am Lauren starts her makeup
6:02am Lauren is still doing makeup
6:04am Okay, this is getting ridiculous. The make up looks fine.
6:05am Lauren blow dries her hair
6:10am Lauren flips her hair back, touches on the lip gloss, grabs her bags and heads for the stairs!

6:12am Lauren and Courtney climb on the bus. Eilat, here we come!!
6:35am Lauren runs back up to her dorm room for a book
7:14am The bus is moving! Oh, just getting out of the way...
7:26am Ah..... We're off. For real.

And that was just the first 3 hours of what was going to be a wonderful weekend!


After a 3 hour drive, we reached the Shehoret canyon (just north of Eilat). Over a hundred students, divided into three groups, made like the Israelites and struck off through the desert! It was an amazing experience even though our hike was relatively short and relatively easy. (Thanks to Lygon, I have a rather skewed perspective of what counts as a morning stroll: "Hey Lauren, let's run up Estes Cone to see the sunrise!") While hiking through the desert, we stopped periodically for our guide (an amazing woman! She frequently backpacks across the various deserts of Israel) to tell us about the canyon as well as a little about the other deserts. She related everything back to the Bible. It was so beautiful. I can see how someone could fall in love with it. We walked, talked, and ate lunch for three hours. (Our gourmet lunches consisted of a roll of bread with a couple slices of cheese in it - unless you wanted tuna, then you got a small glob of tuna in the middle.) Yummy. We made it to Eilat by 3pm. Since that evening was the beginning of Chanuka as well as Shabbat, a joint service was held around 4:30. It was quite the experience. Svenja and I were "honorary Jews" for the weekend. After a late dinner, Courtney, Svenja, Jen, and I went exploring. We walked along the beach and did some shopping on the beachside shops. Since my birthday was at midnight, we found a fun place - apparently the place in Eilat - to hang out. A band from South Africa was playing. I danced the night away! We ran into a few others on our trip and they helped celebrate.

The next morning was spent enjoying the beautiful water. Though a little cold for those used to Eilat temperatures (this is the middle of December after all), for the average warm-blooded non-beach bum, it was warm enough to swim in the Red Sea! It was a bit weirder than the lakes of Colorado: rather easy to float and rather difficult to dive. We had a mandatory lunch, then the four girls hit up the mall! Eilat has a rather large mall with a lot of popular European shops. I was introduced to Mango and a few others. Shopping could not compete with the draw of the beach though. We were back outside for a couple more hours before finding a place for dinner. We ate the Underground, a local pub that was playing a soccer game. Inside, we met three of the most random guys. One from South Africa, one from London, and another from New York. We ate dinner with them and just listened to their banter. They had gone fishing that day - with bread as bait. The amazing part is that they'd actually caught something! Decided it was poisonous though so they threw it back.

After an entertaining dinner, we hooked up with our group, loaded back onto the busses, and struck out for Timna. Up until about a thousand years ago, Timna had been a prolific copper mine (active for approximately 5000 years). It is also well-known for its natural rock formations due to water and wind. Solomon's Pillars are the most famous. It was kind of random to take a gander at nature after dark but the formations are lit with huge spotlights. It creates an amazing sense of beauty and mystery. Again we were divided by busses. Our group was ahead of the other so our guide had us all sit in a circle and - this was harder than it sounds - be quiet. Even though we could faintly hear our other group singing some obnoxious songs, it was so beautiful to be embraced by the pure stillness of the desert. Not such a stretch to understand why one would go to the desert to talk with God.

Just to add to the randomness of the desert evening trip, we walked to a little museam with a small amphitheater that already had a large assortment of students from all over Israel - including a group of Ethiopians who were making ali-al. After lighting the second Chanuka candle, we were treated to a disco. The DJ played popular music from America, Israel, and some Ethiopia. Again, we spent the evening dancing. I could go on and on about these few hours to try and convey the completely randomness of it all but I am not that proficient of a writer. Just trust me. It was weird.


The next morning, we were to have bags packed, keys turned in, and be eating breakfast by 7:30. After rolling out of bed around 7:45, grabbing a quick bite, and again loading onto the busses (only an hour off schedule I think! Who is their right mind thinks they can get 100 college students up and out by 7:30??), we drove to the underwater observatory. There is not really much to say about this place. We looked at fish. A lot of fish. It was amazingly beautiful. I think God enjoyed making fish. The shapes and colors are mind-boggling. I want to pursue scuba-diving. Under the water, we have a completely different and stunning world.


After the Observatory, we went back home with a quick stop at the place that has the most amazing ice cream I have had in Israel (reminded me of ColdStone/Marble Slab). My roommates had decorated the apartment in honor of my birthday and we ordered pizza and had cake.

Now isn't that just a great way to spend your birthday? Amazing friends, beautiful scenery, and enough randomness to keep you on your toes!
posted by Unknown @ 9:21 PM  
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