Two Weeks Down Under

I wrote this a few weeks ago, but got so caught up in finals and doing all the things in Hong Kong that I hadn't gotten around to doing that I never sent it out.

Better late than never...

Two Weeks Down Under

I just arrived back in Hong Kong after two weeks in Australia and New Zealand. Stepping into the airport felt like walking in on a quarantined Emergency Room, or maybe a crime scene. As we left the gate, a line of officers in gloves and face masks were doing spot checks for anyone who might look ill. A Labrador retriever stood by the door, smelling for disease (or so they said, at least). A handheld video camera recorded each of our faces as we disembarked, just in case someone turns up sick, so they can confirm our identities and put us in quarantine. High speed heat monitoring cameras checked for fever, still with each guard in uniform. As we left, a box of face masks were offered to each passenger free. It's clear Hong Kong has no interest in repeating its SARS experience, with good reason from what I've heard.

Australia and New Zealand were great. After a week of finals in Chinese language, history and philosophy, I was surprisingly relieved when the signs in Melbourne were in English only. Upon arriving in Melbourne, one can immediately feel that people here are more laid back than in Hong Kong or New York. There are no exit signs. There are signs for the "way out". You buy veges in the market, and no one checks for a ticket when you get on the tram. I took a taxi to Judah and Elie's dorm, where I was greeted with fresh burgers at midnight.

Judah and Elie live in a beautiful part of downtown Melbourne, a five minute walk from the University of Melbourne. The next day was Yom Ha'zikaron followed by Yom Ha'atzmaut (Israeli Memorial day and Independence day respectively), and we met up with Sam and headed into Caufield for an event held by the local Jewish community. The Jewish community in Melbourne is small but very strong, and I really like the people I met. The event was for graduates of B'nei Akivah, and most people were about my age and knew friends from back home. In Melbourne I went to the Victoria Market, the Melbourne Museum, and explored the universities in the area. All very nice, and the Melbourne Museum is highly reccomended. We stayed by a very nice family in Caufield for Shabbat, and I spent much of the rest of my time completing three essays that were due before I returned to Hong Kong. Wonderful that I can email in my papers, and the professors will never know that I am a few thousand miles away on vacation.

Next up was New Zealand. Given the limited time (only four days), we decided to stick to the north island for the entire trip. While I've heard the south island is incredible, the rest of the guys had already been there, so now I just have a reason to return in the future. New Zealand is beautiful. I completely understand why so many movies and TV shows are filmed out here. The landscape is just incredible. We started in Aukland, which was a pretty quiet town. There I celebrated my 21st birthday, which was exciting, though not as big a deal, as the legal age is 18 everywhere else in the world, so there was no practical differences between the day before and the day after. Still, you don't turn 21 everyday...

We had planned to rent a car, and I of course volunteered to be the driver. After so many months seeing cars on the wrong side of the road, I was excited to finally try it myself. One little problem, which I hadn't considered. After we paid, and while we were awaiting the car's arrival, the women behind the rental counter nonchalantly asked why we were renting the car for three days, when I could only drive until the end of the day? Confused, I looked over the license she handed back to me. I had neglected to check the expiration date on my driver's license. I forgot that NY state sends you a new license on your 21st birthday, to remove the big red "under 21" that marks top. Unfortunately, that license was at home in NY, far away from New Zealand. Luckily, one of the other guys agreed to drive, and everything worked out for the best. Still--very frustrating. This would become a bigger issue, as my debit card expired on the same day, leaving me with no way to get cash for two weeks.

With a fully packed Subaru station wagon we headed off to explore the north Island. First stop-- the Waitomo glow worm caves. this caves are unique in that lining the ceiling of the caves were little worms (technically fly larvae) that glow in the dark. The forest was beautiful, and after a boat ride through the caves, we went on a short hike to the top of a hill, where we watched the sunset.

After we finished the hike, we headed to Rotorua, to check in to our Hostel. The place was clean, with wireless internet, so I was happy. From time to time you could smell a distinct sulfur scent in the air, coming from the nearby volcanic springs.

The next day was set for adventure. We woke up early, and made our way to Sky Dive. I was very excited. We got there with no trouble, filled out the sheets, got dressed up, briefed on how to tandem skydive and watched the group ahead of us go. Unfortunately, as the plane landed to pick us up, the pilot shook his head and left the plane. It was too windy, and even though the other group went, they were shutting down operations for the day. No sky diving for us. Frustrated and with an open time slot, we asked the guys at the sky diving shop what they recommend. They talked up the rafting, and then called the people. They sent someone over to bring us there, and we decided to go wight water rafting instead. As was becoming abundantly clear, like most things in New Zealand, rafting was somewhat more intense here than in the States. We started with a traditional Maori prayer the guide said to the water spirits, we then proceeded down stream to class 5 rapids. numerous waterfalls dotted the way, including one 21 ft drop. We also tried a cool sport called rapid surfing which basically means paddling upstream the a small waterfall, and catching the undertow, pulling you into the waterfall and soaking the entire boat, but mostly drowning the guy on the front bench, which of course was me.

After a quick and cold swim, we finished rafting and headed over to the Zorbing center. For those of you who don't know, Zorbing is a Kiwi (what New Zealanders call themselves) invention. According to their official definition: a Zorb is a transparent bi-spherical rapid decent device. Basically it is a big inflated plastic ball with a hole in the middle for a person.
Add a little water, push it down a big hill, and you have a zorb. Zorbing turned out to be a lot of fun. Curious if it was possible to direct the movements, I jumped into the turns while going down. While I had no idea where I was or if I succeeded, I later found out that I had managed to roll onto the next track.

That night, we attempted to go to see a traditional Maori village. Unfortunately, the person at our hostel told us the wrong time, and we arrived half an hour late, to a deserted and dark front entrance. Heading off to see if we could find a different route in, we ended up seeing most of the village by ourselves, from a back entrance with a clearly marked "Do not enter" sign. As we did not know we were late, we could not figure out why the entire village was deserted. Eventually, we found the kitchen, and came through the back, where the staff working in the kitchen sent us to the auditorium where the entire maori team besides for the chefs were putting on a presentation about traditional Maori Culture. We found it just in time to catch the last five minutes. The manager was very nice about it afterwards, and sent us home with a note to get a refund from the person at the front desk who sold us the tickets. In the end, we managed to see most of the village in a self-guided tour, caught the tail end of the presentation, which included a Haka war-dance, and didn't have to pay. I'd call that a success.

Early the next morning we headed off to Hobbiton, the sheep farm used for the filming of the Shire in Lord of the Rings. Truly one of the most incredible beautiful sites I have ever seen. Also, we were again treated to New Zealand weather, which basically just means you can never know what to expect. There was a blue sky when the tour guide handed out umbrellas, and sure enough, every five minutes it poured for a few minutes, then suddenly there was not a cloud in the sky. Very inconsistent and prone to abrupt changes, as we learned to our dismay when we attempted to go skydiving.

After Hobbiton we drove to Waimangu, a volcanic region famous for its bubbling springs and great hiking trails. The springs were very interesting, They were hot, though not actually boiling. The bubbling came from chemical reactions taking place as the sulfur reached the surface of the water. The rocks surrounding the springs were, however, very hot. Too hot to touch at places. Of course, even though there was a blue sky when we began the hike, it became cloudy and then rained for all of 15 minutes before the blue sky returned. The hike was great, with some really nice views of the surrounding mountains and volcanic crystal clear lakes.

A late night drive brought us back to the airport and off to Sydney, where would spend the next four days. Having picked a location that google maps informed us was walking distance to all the major sites we wanted to see, we later learned that we had chosen one of the most sketchy parts of town from which to base our travels. It was fine during the day though, and the hostel was nice enough, so we made do. We checked out the Sydney Art Museum, the Museum of Australia, various parks, the Sydney Opera House and the Sydney Harbor Bridge. We also walked to a zoo and aquarium, and I got my fill of Kangaroos and Wallabies. For shabbat, someone from Melbourne connected us with a very nice family in Bondi, where the Jewish community is located. The family introduced us to a very nice woman, named Lotte Weiss, who volunteers at the Sydney Jewish Museum, in the holocaust exhibit. What was so interesting about Lotte is that she is a holocaust survivor herself, having been among the first people sent to Auschwitz. She spoke with us for over an hour, telling us her story.
It was very moving walking through the exhibit with Lotte right there--a reminder that these aren't just stories we hear, but real events that took place just 65 years ago in a world not so different from our own, and to people just like us. Another exhibit in the museum described the Australian-Jewish History. One humorous display listed the crimes of many of the Jews sent to Australia when it was a penal colony of England. Some of the heinous crimes include horse theft, forging bank notes, pick-pocketing and worst of all -- stealing a large cheese, for which the person received life in Australia. Judicial systems were not always as forgiving as they are today.

After Sydney, we headed back to Melbourne for a few hours, and I continued on to Malaysia (this time only for a few hours) and then back to Hong Kong. I completed my last final nearly two weeks ago, and have been enjoying my last says in Hong Kong. I made two trips over to Shenzhen to have a suit custom made ($140 gets you a hand-made suit and two shirts delivered to my dorm room) and met up with a friend from Brandeis in Guangzhou. Though my chinese is getting better, it took me a few crucial minutes before I realized the taxicab driver started on his way to Guangzhou Rail Station instead of Guangzhou East Rail Station.
By the time I realized and corrected him, the last direct train back to Hong Kong had left, and I got to explore more remote parts of China in a late night adventure that took place by myself, with only a passport and my laptop, with no phone and limited cash.

Eventually I did make it home, and spent the next few days exploring the ins and outs of Hong Kong. I'm writing this on my way to Tokyo, where I will spend Shavuot and some time traveling throughout the country.
In the next eleven days, I will travel to Tokyo, Nikko, Nagoya, Kyoto, Osaka, Kobe and more, at a rate of nearly a city a day. Should be fun.

Yoni

Some School and Pesach in Israel

Hey everyone,

So I've been out of contact for a while. Didn't have much exciting to report I guess. Eventually I had to settle in for some school, and since I got back from Shanghai through early April when I left for Pesach (Passover for any non-hebrew speakers) I've mostly been focused on passing my classes. All is good on that front. Overall my classes are not quite as interesting as I believe their Brandeis equivalents would be, mostly because students never speak up here, so lectures tend to basically be monotonous extended monologues. I do really like my Chinese philosophy class, as well as learning to write Chinese. I'm getting pretty good, and can write 230 characters, and read even more. I can also speak a fair amount. Surprisingly, another favorite class is American Cinema. I have never taken the time to watch Charlie Chaplin, the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, Mr. Smith Goes To Washington and other great classic movies, so the opportunity has been welcome.

I've also spent time playing rugby and Judo, which have both been fun. Since I mostly hang out with fellow exchange students or my roommate, rugby has given me an opportunity to get to know the permanent ex-pat crowd, while Judo has helped me meet local students native to Hong Kong.

As usual, I flew to Israel to celebrate Pesach with the family. It was great to see everyone. Everyone, cousins and grandparents included, went down to Eilat for four days. Joe and Ari took their Advanced Open Water Diver course, which I had done in Thailand, and I tagged along practicing some of the skills I learned in the course. Even though one of the days was the second holiday, we managed to get in seven dives in just three days. The dives included two deep dives (about 100 feet deep), a wreck dive, a cave dive and a dive with dolphins, who all loved Joe. I brought a camera down for most of the dives, and had a lot of fun photographing Joseph and Ari during their course.

Unlike at Brandeis, most of my professors had no idea what Pesach is. Still, they were all really cool about me missing school for two week. Not everyone was so lucky. One person actually had to get a letter signed by a rabbi, and take a temporary leave of absence before the professor agreed not to penalize her for missing two classes and an exam.

When I got back Sunday night, I had to immediately switch into super finals mode. Monday I had an essay due, Tuesday a test, Wednesday two tests, Thursday a make-up test and a presentation, and Friday a make-up session including three quizzes and an exam. That's what I get for disappearing for the two weeks before finals. Somehow, with about fifteen hours sleep total for the week, I managed to survive until Friday. Now, other than a few simple papers, I'm done until May 14th, for my Logic final.

Given the nearly three week break between my first finals and my last one, I decided to head down to Australia to see how my friends are living down under. I'm heading first to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, where I will explore the city for one day, before continuing to Melbourne. Sam, as well as Judah and Elie (who both visited me in February) agreed to take off school so we could explore the continent for a bit. We'll spend Shabbat in Melbourne, and Sunday we're off to New Zealand, where I will be turning 21. Then Sydney for an extended weekend, and back to Melbourne.

I'll be sure to update with more pictures soon.

Yoni

PS If you remember, when I first arrived in Hong Kong from Beijing, I commented that the air was clean and fresh compared to China's capital. While this is certainly the truth, Beijing is really not much of a measuring stick. Coming back from Israel, I felt almost choked by the air in Hong Kong. Looking back, it is hard to believe I didn't feel it before.

Test, China, Test, Judo, Essay, China, Test

If I went home from China tomorrow. I'd have to say I'd be happy with my time in Asia. I'm still learning new things everyday, but I believe I now have a feel for Chinese culture, and If I come back in the future I will not feel like a total stranger.

I spent all of last week in Guilin with my roommate, Zhao. Zhao, or Ryan, as he chooses to introduce himself to Westerners, is great. He is a finance student from Tingdao (where the only good brand of Chinse beer is brewed) and is extremely friendly and helpful whenever I inevitably miss something in my Chinese homework. Though at first I thought it would suck having a roommate again, having someone around who actually understands Chinese has turned out to be exceedingly useful. We decided two weeks ago, that since I couldn't go to southeast Asia with all the other exchange students and as it has been too long since his last vacation, we would travel together to Guilin, famed as the most beautiful province in China. Guilin is known for those steep thin hills covered in grass, often seen on the cover of Chinese guidebooks.

We both had a Logic exam on Tuesday morning, and headed off as soon as it was over. It was hard, but hopefully I'll do well. What worries me is the forced curve I keep getting warnings about. No more than 20% can get As and 20% will get Ds. Sure, I only need a C- and it is pass-fail, with grades covered, but when the middle line is a C, there isn't much room for error, and I don't know quite know the system. Zhao's father, a senior general in the Chinese Army, toured in the area when he was younger, and he had a few recommendations and contacts for us. We took the MTR to Shenzhen, and from there flew to Guilin.

...

I'm on a plane now, about to take off to Shanghai for Shabbat. We're heading down the runway and the lights and engine just cut out. I'm gonna ignore it, and hope to God I make it to a computer to send this out...

Anyway, we actually only spent one night in Guilin, but this was enough time to get a feel for the city. China has developed greatly in the last few years, and has many many cities packed with people, but except for Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong, they all basically look the same.

The next morning we woke at 7:30 and took a bus to Yangshou. Buses here take forever, because operators who don't want to drive a half empty bus will drive around local streets with one passenger screaming out the window for anyone who wants to jump on board. When we finally had a full bus we headed out for an hour, then got off and waited for a local bus. By now we were in a very rural region, and the view was truly amazing. The Guanzi region is considered by many to be the most beautiful region in the country. When the Clintons first came to China, they made a stop here as well. It is also the scene on the back of the 20 RMB bill...

Lights are back on. Smiles of relief all around. Still praying I land safely in Shanghai...

Unbeknownst to me, we weren't heading directly to Yangshou. First, Zhao had a surprise stop his father coordinated for us. We were heading into increasingly rural neighborhoods in a small 10 person bus, if you could call it that. More of a van really, and tickets were 20 cents per person.

One person came on with a live chicken in one hand and her baby in the other. After about twenty five minutes passing rice paddies and free-ranging ox(en?), we arrived at what seemed to be the central market of the region -- ten or so stalls selling various wheres from home-sewed clothing to fruits, vegetables and all sorts of animals I didn't know could be eaten, plus your usual assortment of chicken, beef, seafoods and rice noodles. I didn't notice any refrigeration or flowing water, but I guess that's just not how it's done here. We didn't stop to eat. As we passed, a woman spotted us (I kind of stand out in rural China, so we weren't hard to spot) and jumped on the bus. Approaching us, the smiling older woman told us she was there to take us the rest of the way to Yangshou. Her husband was sick, so she would be our guide. Zhao spoke with her a bit, and once comfortable that she was who she said she was, we got off the bus and walked down to the shore of the nearby Li river.

She pointed to her boat and indicated for us to get on. This boat was actually a 3 person raft made of bamboo, with a bench in the middle for two people, and a bamboo oar on the back. There was also a small engine on the back for going upstream.

Preferring the peace and quiet of the open water, as well as the pristine beauty of our surroundings, we didn't use the engine, and flowed down river for about four hours. We stopped two or three times along the way, once so our guide could run home and drop off the groceries she had picked up when she met us. She let us come up with her, and she show

ed off her small orange and pomelo grove as well as her rice patty and mini ox she recently purchased to plow it. She let us pick a few oranges ourselves, and they were excellent.

We knew they were organic and pesticide free, as there is no way she could have afforded pesticides, though she did seem to be pretty well off as far as the town went. Somehow the tiny village had a population of five hundred. We stopped another time to take pictures from the same angle of the scene on the back of the 20 RMB, and one last time to see if we could

find all nine horses on the Nine Horses mountain.

Apparently only one person has ever seen all nine, but as he was a respected Chairman of China, people understood this to mean that only the most elite of society could spot all nine horses. Any less, and you just weren't meant to be prosperous. I managed to see seven with very flexible creative license, and supposedly this means I should be pretty successful at life. No Chairmanship of the People's Party for me though.

After we said goodbye to our guide we headed off by foot on a mud path to find a path to a small old town where we would be able to find another small bus to get to Yangshou...

Battery is about to die. I'll continue to write next chance I get, again, assuming we make it in one piece...

...We made it, as you probably inferred from the fact that you are reading this. Just spent four days in Shanghai, and now back on the same plane as last time. Hopefully no flickering lights this time, though we are already 40 minutes delayed and just sitting on the runway. You get what you pay four with Chinese airlines I guess, but it is hard to argue with $40 for a two hour flight...

The town was truly beautiful and exactly the kind of traditional China I had yet to experience. Just about the only English in the town was on a small sign on a stone bridge claiming

the bridge was constructed over 800 years ago. Hard to find that kind of history in the US. Of course, we passed one other couple of backpackers, and we hear them arguing about something. If you've been reading my posts to date, you can probably guess what is about to follow. Zhao asked if I recognized the language, and sure enough, as I moved closer, I could hear that it was two Israelis arguing in Hebrew about whether or not they could wash their cloths in the river. They shouldn't, I told them.

By the end of the trip Zhao was convinced there were as many Israelis as Chinese in the world, as we met more Israeli backpackers than anyone else. He also couldn't understand how we always knew each other. We just know, I unsatisfactorily explained to him. It was funny at times -- he'd ask someone for directions, I'd take on look at the person, and repeat the question in Hebrew. It never failed.

Yangshuo is a little town with a prosperous tourist community. One main boulevard, called Xi Jie (West street), is lined with hostels and little shops meant to lure backpackers. We spent one night in Yangshou, and enjoyed the internet cafes and meeting locals and other tourists in the area. Zhao explained that Yangshou is famous throughout China as a spot for students if they want to practice their English and see more of China.

Thursday night we headed back to Guilin (this time by direct bus) to catch the 12 hour train back to Shenzhen, our entry point to the Mainland from Hong Kong.

The train was great. 6 beds per cabin, head hitting one wall, feet flat on the

other, no English is sight. I spent about 5 hours memorizing the 100 or so Chinese words and 90 Characters that I now know. Only 2410 more Characters to go till I will be able to read the paper. In the morning I practiced all the words I knew with my Chinese bunkmates. Besides myself and Zhao were four women who from a small town outside of Guilin heading to Macau for a weekend of gambling.

I got back just in time for my first Judo Competition Sunday. Though I knew next to nothing about judo, practicing only for one month, it seems that my old wrestling skills came in handy.
Between my opponents expecting me to be terrible due to my white belt and the wrestling past, I managed to sneak in a few wins for a 3rd place trophy. Though I can't read a word on the trophy, I'm proud of it, and I know it'll make a nice souvenir.Also, last week I played in the the Hong Kong division 4 Rugby semi-finals, Hong Kong University vs. Hong Kong Police Force. Division 4 is actually pretty tough, and is the best of 3 university teams. Though the game was a really fun and a cool experience, we lost a tough fight, playing a man down, as one of us got red carded pretty early on (not me).

Monday was Taanit Esther and then Purim. For the Megillah I went to Chabad with Danielle and a few friends from HKUST. We continued to a "Young Professionals Purim Party," which was fun as well. Basically all the Israeli finance and manufacturing 25 to 35 year olds in costume, with a few Americans, Australians, Brits and South Africans thrown in the bunch. Good, but no match to the Brandeis Greek/Chabad Purim party. The next day as I while delivering my Shalach Manot (Purim gift baskets) I walked past a man dressed as a Chasid.

Recognizing me from a meal we were both at, he invited me over for the Purim meal. Of course I agreed, and enjoyed a great, huge meal at four in the afternoon. Unfortunately I couldn't be out too late, as I had both an essay and test on Wednesday. Purim isn't as good an excuse here as it is in Brandeis. Lucky I had planned ahead and studied on the train, as the essay took me forever to write. It was fine though; I put skype on in the background at 4 and 5 AM, and joined the family for their Purim party as well.

Both the test and the essay went well, and Wednesday night I collapsed in bed from exhaustion. Thursday I got up, picked up my dry cleaning and repacked my backpack for Shanghai to join Michael Kann who was in on business. Friday, while he worked I toured Shanghai for myself. Shabbat we went to Chabad and sat with a bunch of Jews from Uruguay. Shabbat morning at lunch we met a bunch of Israelis who work at El Al, who invited us to belated Purim Party in the Shanghai Art Museum Saturday night. Without much time to prepare costumes we just showed up, at the door we were given fancy masks. I wore my rugby jersey and with Michael's running outfit, we fit in fine. The party was a lot of fun. Since we were exhausted from walking about 10 miles touring Shangai Shabbat afternoon and as we had to be up at 6:45 AM to meet the tour guide for a trip out of Shanghai, we didn't stay up too late.

The next morning we left at 8 AM with a business associate of Michael's to Zhou Zhuang, famed as the Venice of China, with canals instead of most streets. Though it was fun and interesting, there were plenty of streets, an

d the canals were thinner than I imagine the canals of Venice are. We watched as one restauranteur washed her lettuce in the dirty river as boats full of tourists passed by. As traditional as this may be, we decided not to stay for lunch. We also passed by the Buddhist Temple which was midway through a service. That was really cool to see.

There was a huge leaning Buddha right by the entrance, and people were bowing at praying at its feet. It still hits me very strongly whenever I see someone praying to those huge idols. It reminds me just how far away from home I really am. We continued to Suzhou and explored beautiful rockery (which it turns out is a real word) and an 8 story pagoda that was over 700 years old. That was actually pretty cool, and we got a great view of the city once we climbed to the top. We realized that though the city is basically just a suburb of Shanghai, it is still one of numerous cities of 'just' 6 million people. Michael then took us on a tour of his factory which was interesting. Pat, the manager of the operation, aside from giving us a thorough tour of the plant also gave me some advice on Italian cooking, which I will have to try at some point.

All in all Shanghai was fun and it was great seeing Michael. It was also important that I visit Shanghai at some point, and without this excuse, there is a good chance I would have missed out on this city of an estimate 20 million people.

Next up, class for a while. I may try and sneak off to Tawain for a few days if I can swing it, we'll see. Happy Purim everyone, and please email me about your lives and get back in touch if I've fallen behind in my contact.

Yoni

Macau, Judah and Judo

Hey everyone,

It's been a while since my last post. Turns out school gets serious here once Chinese New Year passes. I've got a ton of work due this week, not to mention two tests tomorrow.

Time for a quick life update:

A few days after my return from Thailand I received a notice in my mailbox that I would have to change rooms in the next few days. The Reslife coordinators realized I must feel lonely without a roommate and wanted to make sure I didn't miss out on the experience. How thoughtful of them. It happened to be a particularly bad time to make me move to a room with a roommate, because Judah and Elie were coming to visit, and I wanted them to host them in the spare bed. I told the office I had a lot of work and asked them if I could have a week before I had to move rooms. They didn't mind.

Judah and Elie arrived on Tuesday, one day after I got back from Thailand. They stayed here for a week and it was great fun. About two hours after they arrived I insisted that we should climb the peak. I've decided that is the first thing every newcomer to Hong Kong should do. It is a good way to stretch after 13 hours on a plane, to make you tired enough to avoid jetlag and you get an incredible view of the city. The next day Judah and Elie explored Hong Kong (by which I mean they went to Kowloon and got fitted for custom suits) while I was in class. Afterwards, we packed some cloths into my backpack and headed to the ferry for a quick trip to Macau, Asia's Las Vegas.

Macau is barely an hour away by speedboat ferry, so the trip was quick and easy. We stayed at the Grand Lisboa, but didn't end up spending much time there. It seems it is hard to get up from a poker table. Quick story: When we arrived at the poker tables, we separated as there weren't enough seats for all three of us at any one table. A few hands in to my game, I was trying to figure out what the guy next to me had, as he just bet aggressively. Then, he told me. He did not mean to. He was discussing his cards with a friend standing next to him in a language he figured no one would understand. Unfortunately for him, he was not the only Israeli at the table. I couldn't help myself, and cut him off, telling him in Hebrew to fold , as I had him beat. He responded quickly, before registering a few seconds later that I spoke to him in Hebrew. After that, we became friendly, and played together for the next 3 hours, making fun of the other guys at the table.

The casino could not complain about the Hebrew, because the rest of the table was speaking Chinese. Just my luck that I sit at a random table in a casino in Macau, and I find myself siting next to an Israeli. Considering that I've seen Israelis in every city that I've been to on my trip, you'd think we are a bigger nation than we really are.

Macau, while in purpose similar to Las Vegas, is strikingly different in a few key ways. In Las Vegas, gambling is only part of the scene. People go to Vegas for the entertainment. You could spend days in Vegas, and never gamble a penny. Not so in Macau. People go there for one reason only: to make money. The casinos are all silent and serious and it is clear no one is there to drink or party. Gambling is a temporary profession for many Macau visitors, and people treat it as such. In fact, the Chinese government has been recently experiencing a real problem with high level executives and politicians trying to double and triple their organizations budgets with a quick trip to Macau.

We stayed until 10 AM, and then headed back to Hong Kong for a trip to Disney Land. I waited for Judah to come to Hong Kong before I went, because I knew how much he loved Disney, and also because I probably would have had no interest in going if Judah wasn't dragging us there. It ended up being a lot of fun, as many of the rides and shows are slightly different from in the US, and the poor English of the tour guides was hilarious. Afterwards, I showed Elie and Judah around Hong Kong a bit more. We stayed by Bruce Einhorn for Shabbat, and his family showed us a very nice time, kindly hosting all three of us in their apartment.

Saturday night, we weren't sure what to do. Judah and Elie had an early flight to Singapore , so whatever we did, they had to be awake early. What better way to ensure that you are awake than to never go to sleep? With this logic, we decided to head back to Macau for ten hours, and just play through the night. Thanks to some logistical trouble (Elie, Judah and I separated in the ferry terminal and could not find each other for about 2 hours) we didn't get to Macau until midnight. Still, we found a table at the Sands, and played until the first morning ferry at 6:30. Some of us did better than others, though it was clear Elie was the winner for the trip.

Once they left for Singapore I started focusing on school. Aside from the Rugby team, I also joined the Judo club, which is great because it is in all Cantonese, and I've been learning a lot from listening. Classes here are pretty different than at Brandeis, as they follow a modified British system here. I'll fill on more once I finish my midterms, and let you know how they go. One thing that sort of scares me. HKU as a policy that for any class over 25 kids, a belle curve is strictly enforced, and some percentage of the class is required to fail, no matter how well they do. I'm not planning on failing, but still, that is kind of intimidating.

Next week is Reading/Field Trip Week, which means another week of no classes. Most of the other exchange students are heading down to Thailand or Malaysia for the week. Not me however. My Elementary Logic professor decided to give us a test Tuesday of Reading Week, so now I can't do a long trip with everyone else. However, its not the end of the world. My new Chinese roommate is in the same class, and we've decide to take the rest of the week off and go to Guilin...oh haven't told you about him yet.

Next time. This is long enough for now, and I promise to not wait three weeks before my next posts.

PS Can anyone figure out what our special 'English' Disney guide was saying? We were with him for 15 minutes, and only recogonized the words "okay", "thank you" and "bye bye."

Hong Kong I

Hey, 

It's taken me a while to put out this post. I've now been in Hong Kong for nearly three weeks. Hong Kong is crazy. It gives new definition the the phrase "a city that never sleeps." I've got many things to tell, so here goes: 

When I first arrived, everything went as smoothly as could be hoped for. I met my assigned buddy at Hong Kong Station, as we arranged. She was very nice, and brought along her high school-aged boyfriend to say hello. Unfortunately, she was not feeling that well, and so she headed home after we got into a taxi for the dormitories, and that was the last time I saw her. Its okay, I've gotten along fine without her.

First a little about my living and academic situation:

I live in RC Lee hall, which is located in a beautiful part of western Hong Kong Island, about a seven minute bus from the main campus, with a great view of the Harbor and Victoria Peak. About 375 students live in the dorm, split up into 16 floors. My room is on the ninth floor, with an ocean-side view that I can definitely get used to. The room is pretty small and the mattress is thinner than any I've seen, but the room is functional, with a fan and air-conditioning (which I pay for by the minute), and an internet access point -- all I really need. Unfortunately, I couldn't access the internet until I registered my computer with the University, which I couldn't do since I didn't yet have my student visa. The visa took about a week--and many hours in the HK Immigration Office--to get, during which time I could not register for any classes or get internet access. This cost me, as I ended up getting locked out of one class I really wanted to take. 

In the end, I have a pretty good schedule. I have one class on Monday and Thursday, and none on Friday, which is great for travel purposes. I am taking Mandarin and written Chinese, as well as History of Chinese Dynasties, Chinese Philosophy: Ethics (which for some reason keeps getting snickers when I mentioned it), Movieland: American Culture Through Film, Elementary Logic and Special Topics in Psychology: Numerical Cogntion. All told, I have a very liberal arts-esque schedule. 

We had two weeks of classes during which I couldn't really go to class, as I didn't yet know what I was taking. Now that my schedule is finalized, we are on break for one week for Chinese New Year. I'm using that break to visit Phuket, Thailand, supposedly one of the nicest beaches in the world. There I'll be taking a PADI Advanced Open Water Diving course. I'll be sure to update with pictures. I hear its about 80˚ on a cold day, and some of the best scuba diving in the world, so I'm pretty excited.

Now a few little stories from Hong Kong:

On my first night I met an exchange student named Stephen living next door to me who was born in Hong Kong but now lives in the states. He warned me that local students will be very shy, and that I will have some trouble getting to know them. He was right. Students here are not as welcoming to new comers as we are Brandeis. Its not that they are unfriendly or simply quiet people (au contraire, the most popular floor game is "let's kick the ball as hard and far as possible down the hall at 4 AM"). I believe they are just uncomfortable using English out of class, and aren't sure how to approach me because of it. Also, students on the same floor tend to become a very tight-knit group, as they will be together for all three years of their undergraduate careers. 

In attempt to ease me in to the group Stephen invited me out to hike the peak with a few other students. Of course I agreed. How many other exchange students would be able to say they hiked to Victoria Peak their first night in Hong Kong. What I didn't realize is that the group wasn't intending on leaving until about One in the morning. We reached the peak by 2:30, and then hiked back down. I was in bed by 4:30 AM, what would become a reoccurring theme over the next few weeks.

Last week we had our hall's High Table Dinner, the culmination of the weak long RCfest that has been going on in my dorm. During RCfest, halls compete in dance and karaoke contests as well as sports competitions. There is also a hall-wide vote on who is the best couple in the hall, or officially, the RC Grass and Flower. The High Table Dinner was actually very nice, if not somewhat reminiscent of what communist party dinners must have been like. We all dressed up in suits and headed to a nice hotel by coach. We began the event with a hall cheer and hall song, which sounds like a national anthem and is very well worded. My favorite stanza is:

 

"To be RC Lee's guys, we are so High. 

Cause to be RC Lee's guys, We never feel Tired...

To be RC Lee's guys, we are free to fly, 

Cause to be RC Lee's guys we have our goals in mind."

We then listed to a number of lengthy speeches about the benefits of hall culture and being committed members of the hall. The event took about four hours all told, and after we finished, all the exchange students gathered, and we headed off to hear Obama's Inaugural Address. 

The HKU exchange students hang out a lot, exploring Hong Kong at all hours of the night. Overall they are a pretty cool group, and I've made some good friends. Still, I've definitely had a few interesting experiences out here. One Dutch boy, upon hearing the Yoni was a jewish name, enthusiastically informed me that his father was a Nazi. He later tried to apologize, in case I was insulted, clarifying that he doesn't feel the same way, and he likes of "all of you." I actually don't think he meant it maliciously, but was just excited that he has some connection with another exchange student. All I could think to say back was, "Well...we're still here," and laugh it off. As the Chabad Rabbi remarked when I told him the story, "Why should you be insulted? It's more an insult to his family than it is to you."

I had another interesting meeting following the Obama Inauguration. Since Hong Kong is 13 hours ahead of the East Coast, the Democrats Abroad put on a party for anyone interested in hearing the speech. The room was filled with hundreds of people from all over the world, and it was amazing to hear what everyone had to say about our elections. Honestly, foreigners followed it as much as we did, and many seem more excited than the Americans that Obama was elected. There were definitely tears in the audience. Anyway, as I was leaving I met a Saudi Arabian named Fahhad. When he asked me where I was from, I couldn't help myself, and replied, "Israel." After a few seconds where it was clear he didn't quite know how to react, he goes, "I guess we can be friends here, right?"  

On this topic (i.e. Israel), The HKU Student Union hosted a protest of the War in Gaza. I received an email that reminded me that I'm in new territory here. The email was officially approved by the Student Union, and gave such a one sided version of the story that I couldn't believe it. To quote, " We have seen it on television and online. The Israeli Zionist government is hell-bent in annihilating Gaza." And that's not even the worst of it. I'm still not sure if how to respond, or if its even worth it. 

I've been going to Chabad for the last few Shabbatot, and this past week I visited Ohel Leah, the historic shul connected to the JCC. The building is over one hundred years old, and as a national landmark its been preserved very well. I think its the first one story building I've seen in Hong Kong. The walk to either is about an hour from my dorm, but everyone has been very welcoming, and I now have a list of people who have offered to host me, so I won't have to walk so far, not to mention  I can have a home cooked meal for Shabbat. 

On my first morning at Chabad I was speaking with a man after shul. Shalom mentioned that his wife gave birth to a baby boy earlier in the morning, and he just returned from the hospital. He lives next door, and is about to head home to see his five year son. He offered Danielle and I to join him for lunch, as his wife prepared a lot of food, but wasn't there to enjoy it. We took him up on the offer, and enjoyed an incredible lunch that would serve as a great introduction to the community. The following Shabbat we were able to thank his wife for the lunch as we joined the family at the Brit Milah of their newborn. 

Overall, Hong Kong is great. My Chinese hasn't really been improving, because everyone speaks English here, but hopefully that will change once classes get serious. I'm still getting a feel for the city and its culture, and will comment more on that once I can say more about it. I've hiked the peak a few times now, and really enjoy it. Also, I joined the Rugby team, and played for just about the entire time in my first tournament last Sunday. I'm off to Thailand now, and will hopefully have time to write from there.