A lot of Eilat

So we've been in Eilat for a little over a week now....seems like much longer actually. We have successfully made a little home for ourselves in our apartment. I have yet to take pictures of the place to show but I will get around to it eventually. We gave the room a bit of a face lift when we put up some shelves. I thought we did a pretty good job. Funny thing though, as we were building we discovered that our entire apartment is crooked, not like one of those crazy houses at the fair, but definitely crooked. So, instead of putting up the shelves the way they should be (level!) we decided it looked best to make them match the rest of the room, slightly off kilter (just like us!). You can't really tell that they aren't level unless you measure because they fit right in, the only time you really might notice this unique quality of our home is when your pencil keeps rolling off the desk (this was actually our first signal that something was a bit askew).

The first week in Eilat was mostly filled with exploring the stores that have housing supplies, but the other day we finally ventured further and explored the beach! I bought a bike the other day so getting around town is much faster now. I won't say that it is easier though because the fact that everywhere we go requires almost no peddling means that whenever we come home....well, our legs are like jello and we require a shower (needless to say we are a bit out of shape, but hopefully eventually those shaky jello legs will be like rocks after riding these hills every day! So, we hopped on our bikes and wound our way through the busy round-abouts to a portion of the beach that is a little quieter than the main beach in the center of the city. We floated and bobbed in the water, which is as clear as can be, no matter where I was I could always see the bottom. Snorkel gear (or here it is called Shnorkel) will soon be a necessity!

Unfortunately our Ulpan class has been delayed for up to another 5 weeks so we are still left with the little hebrew we started with, maybe a few more words. I know that going out into the town helps with that and we try to get out some, but I am finding my comfort zone has shrunk considerably and I am hesitant to do all of the activities I had planned. We do try to get out a little each day though as we have found that the days that we don't go out are rather restricting in our little hobbit hole. We posted an ad in the newspaper today for English tutoring so we'll see if that brings anything in and I may get up the guts to call the district about any teaching positions, but we'll see.

It has been cooling down a bit so we can spend a little more time in our outside area than before. It is 5:30 now and getting fairly dark, but it is actually quite pleasant outside. It is a nice place to be in the evenings. Oh we also made friends (kind of) with a beautiful cat that is black and white with bright blue eyes. Maybe it is bad but we have fed her a few times so she comes back to visit sometimes. We named her hef because she looks like a cow (her spots). She also looks like she recently had kittens :( I'll post a picture if I can get one of her.

Ben has been cooking up a storm lately! He can really do a lot with just one hotplate. The other night he made us Shakshuka (did I mention this is my new favorite food? Tomato sauce with eggs in a sandwich) and today he made us schnitzel sandwiches and couscous...mmm. I feel pretty lucky to have him around:)

Oh...good news!! Inbar had her baby! We will have to wait until we are in Beer Sheva next to see him, but he weighed in at a healthy 6lbs and is doing great! So is Inbar, although she is VERY tired. We are very much looking forward to meeting him.

I'm going to turn the porch light on and read a bit (Erich Segal, currently my favorite author), I'll post again soon (with pictures!).