Eilat sounds a lot like "a lot"

And that has become the running joke among our friends these past couple of weeks. Now I'll never be able to hear the words "a lot" and not think of Eilat. Good thing I associate only wonderful memories with it.

Eilat is a city near the coast in southern Israel, near the Egyptian border, where we went snorkeling in the Red Sea. It was such an amazing experience! The water was impressively clear and blue, and underwater was so colorful! We saw a bunch of fish and coral, and my friend even showed me an octopus. I am obsessed with underwater videos/pictures/swimming, but I've never been snorkeling or anything before. I felt like I was living a dream.

What I loved best about our trip was that I didn't feel pressured to be constantly learning or socializing or even having fun. I could just hang out with friends or do my own thing and it didn't really matter.

Below are some pictures. We took some really cool underwater pictures on my friend Ramzi's camera, but I haven't gotten them from him yet. These will have to do for now:

Me and my roommate, Rachel. Yes, that is Jordan and a little bit of Saudi Arabia in the background.

Some of my very favorite people here: Tyler, Rachel, Me, Michael.

More friends!

Playing in the swimming area--right after they tackled and tried to drown me...