After a few days of loud and fast Russian, my English leaves much to be desired. Struggling I am… Yoda say. It’s a long drive from the North of Israel where we are staying to the very Southern strip, border with Jordan, resort town of Eilat. The trip included:
Desert, desert, desert, sand, sand, rocks, rocks, rocks, oasis, tour of Nabetean ruins (the Bediun spice traders from Arabic descent who married into the Jewish tribes spoke Aramaic, etc.), coffee and cake, sand, sand, desert, desert, canyon, smog, military exercise, modern-day nomads with goats tin shacks and cell phones… insert Abba on the car stereo “mamma Mia, here I go again”, down a hill and oasis!
Eilat looks like Vegas. It’s noisy and bright, teeming with fashionable 20-somethings. We are staying at a hotel that looks like a cruise ship. Where is the bar?
Family starting to bite at each others’ ankles. Along with my mother there are two aunts. I have 3 Jewish mothers on this trip. All is still great... Where the hell is the bar!?
Epiphany #2: Israel is a lot like Mexico, or any country in Eastern Europe. Smoking is still cool, American music on the radio is a few years old (Whitney Houston… really), brand names are cooler than they should be (advertising:1, common sense:0), a lot of dusty car repair shops, shitty parking, lots of stray animals, exotic trees, strong drinks. If it wasn’t for Hebrew road signs it could easily pass for Bulgaria or Puerto Rico. I do love it so.
Exhausted. Tomorrow we have a full day of activities, much like summer camp! My non-existing calves hurt like hell. I’m off to find the hotel bar. Pictures of delicious cake and Beduin trade rote en route later.
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