Kosh Kong!

Hey there, face here! (For my siblings that don’t get it, that’s a Nick Jr. reference…we would know if we ever had cable tv—no big deal).
The next 3 days shall also be combined..if you want the short version, call pink monkey and ask them to buy the rights to my blog!
After a long night of caring for Pierce, we left early to catch the 8am bus. SURPRISE there was no 8am bus; the lady from the day before had been mistaken, the first bus was actually at 9:30. That’s fine, we thought, it’s only an hour bus ride. SURPRISE it’s actually a 21/2 hour bus ride. Isn’t it ironic that there were so many surprises and yet every time I thought they were saying supplies?
Instead of getting in at 9 as we expected, we arrived to our port promptly at noon. Pierce, who had been such a good boy, immediately went to bed (or the bathroom, I’m not to sure). I, on the contrary, took the ferry from Kowloon, where our ship was docked, to mainland Hong Kong. I adventured down the main road, up a small staircase, through a dark alley (should remind those of you who read about Nanjing Rd.), into a restaurant named Shalom Grill. SURPRISE there was amazing kosher food in Hong Kong. It was so good that I ended up returning two days later…and I may or may not have also bought a meal to go. This time I got the hamburger steak (a meat batty grilled like a steak, very very good), humus and pita, Israeli Salad, pickles and Chips. Sooo good. I really had convinced myself that tmeat wasn o big deal and I could live without it—I guess that’s how priests get by.
For the rest of the day I walked by myself around Hong Kong. Loner? Yes! Adventurer? Fo sho. I visited the Chabad of Hong Kong (only to realize no one was there), I went to the botanical gardens (which more than made up for the sad Shanghai zoo), I went to SoHo (the downtown) and got a good feel for Hong Kong. Eventually I came back to the ship, went online for a little, and got ready to go out. It was a Sunday night and Hong Kong’s night life was comparable to NYC on New Years Eve. Though I may be exaggerating, it was amazing, everyone was out, and the city really never slept.
The next day I got up at 9:30 to go on a FDP (official SAS trip—field directed practica). My professor led it, and her son is adorable which kept me entertained all day. The tripwas very informative but a bit more explaining and a bit less sightseeing then I would prefer. Luckily, the 8 year old son agreed with me, so we would often venture off while the tour guide spoke. We played baseball with a pebble as the ball and a huge leaf as the bat…creative kid.
That day, however, we did see a ton of cool things. We saw the headquarters of HSBC (Hong Kong Shanghai Bank Corp.), which was amazing. We ate lunch at the tallest building in Hong Kong (88 floors…we ate on floor 4). We went to a random Episcopalian church that imperialists had built in the most random of places. We saw court houses, and various other semblances of “old” Hong Kong (I put old in quotations because Hong Kong is such a young city, especially when compared to Beijing). We took a little 15 person motor boat around the fishing district, which kind of made me want to give up fish (except Tuna, that’s too delicious). Finally, the tour ended with a trip to Victoria’s peak. Even on a cloudy day we had a gorgeous view of the city, we could see our boat miles away, and took a trolley down that would have made Mom cringe (that’s this blogs grossest understatement…ever).
That night we went to a fine Lebanese restaurant/ hookah bar. It reminded me so much of Israel, which was nice, but the Arabic menu threw me off. Also that night my friends peer pressured me to try absinthe. I know that is already more than my mother would like to hear (don’t worry I was safe, didn’t do anything stupid, and made sure I was near friends at all times). Let’s just say I didn’t get those green men on my shoulders like they show in the movies. Really, not bad at all (sorry to disappoint—I wish I had a funnier story there)…
The next morning we got up at 9; my friends went to Victoria’s peak but, since I had already seen it, I just walked around aimlessly. I ended up in the Center for the 2009 East Asian games (think Maccabi games gone eats Asian). It was huge, really cool, and I played some ball up in there. From there I went to the WWF’s Hong Kong headquarters. Unfortunately I didn’t find Stone Cold Steve Austin, but I did find Rashiki. WWF now means World Wildlife Foundation—it was still entertaining, err informative, I meant informative.
Finally, to end my time in Hong Kong I returned to the kosher restaurant with my friends (who don’t keep), but even they raved about the meat. Unfortunately, I don’t know when I will experience such beauty again. I ended my time in Hong Kong skyping with some of yall…you should feel honored.
China/ Hong Kong were absolutely amazing. TO be serious, I don’t believe that their eclipsing of the US in terms of world hegemony is imminent, but I do believe it is a definite possibility. I would say that in my lifetime we will definitely see them approach the US, and possibly be 2 super powers. It is a crowded country where pushing and shoving is the norm. They do not hate the US nor do they love us, rather they are intrigued. There are barely any English speakers, and yet there are English signs even in the most remote villages. Religion is discouraged yet I found a kosher restaurant and was awed by the grandeur of several temples. It is a country quickly building an identity. It sometimes seems strictly communist, but in other villages seems more capitalistic than America.
An absolutely amazing country that will play a big role in how the 21st century unfolds.
Shiswe! (that doesn’t mean goodbye, it actually means bathroom, but I don’t remember how to say goodbye)…

Great Wall or HIMYM; take your pick...

Friends, Romans, Countrymen, Lend me your eyes (unless someone is reading this to you, then you can lend me your ears),
I have decided that blog number three shall encompass days 3, 4, and 5. Not only will this behoove Med students (G), PHD seekers (Dee), law students who should be reading (Lee), people getting married (Rach, and people who need to go to the doctor to check out weird bumps (Ben…). 
We woke up on Day number three and went to the Shanghai Museum. It is a world famous museum about Chinese history. They had some cool exhibits, unfortunately it did reveal a fun fact about yours truly; I still don’t like museums. You see, after I enjoyed the Hiroshima museum so much I thought that the disorder that sent me to Arizona instead of France ten years back was finally cured, but then I realized: Hiroshima was simply the exception that proves the rule. Honestly, I did enjoy it, but I was glad I was just with Tahlor who also wanted to move through it quickly. We then went to a local Starbucks to get internet, only to realize that Facebook was being blocked by the Chinese government. Google worked perfectly. You explain that one…
From there I went back to the ship, ate lunch, packed and headed out and about. Tahlor had an SAS trip, so it was just me, Pierce and a group of women (girls). We were taking the overnight train to Beijing. Little did I know that Pierce and I would have to share a cabin with a random Asian couple. Luckily I was so exhausted I passed out quickly (fully clothed fearing the worst/ eurotrip style) and woke up at 6:30am in Beijing.
Yes, I smelt awful (though according to my mother that’s nothing new), but nothing could dampen my day because I was about to go see the Great Wall. The tour company (that I hired for $30) picked us up at the train station. First we went to the Jade factory. It was awesome. They made these gorgeous sculptures out of a single piece of rock. Fun fact, they even made the 2008 Olympic medals out of these, to make it more specific to Beijing.
Next we went to the Ming Tombs. This was a great complex built underground to bury the higher-ups of the Ming dynasty. Not only was the actual sight amazing, it was also the impetus for a great revelation; Chinese bathrooms do not provide toilet paper. Luckily, I am not a girl—and I will leave it at that…
From there we drove the hour to the Great Wall. Along the way we stopped for a vegetarian Chinese lunch (kind of an oxymoron, but I wasn’t going to complain). Next we went up to Mutianyu. This is a restored section of the wall, where they show you what is original, but also rebuild parts that have been destroyed (think the black line at Masada). You take a ski lift up during which time you get great views of the wall and its surroundings. Once you are up the experience is amazing. You feel the history as you hike all around. You can climb areas, trail blaze a little, and stop for a second to recognize the awesomeness of your surroundings. All you can see is this ancient wall and gorgeous scenery surrounding it.  We took the toboggan down and at the bottom encountered my first scam artist. Two men stood there and took a picture with me, on my camera, and then asked for 10 dollars. I gave them five Yuan (less than a dollar) and they were thrilled. At the bottom there was another bargain based market, where I realized that sometimes I buy things I don’t need because I can bargain. I ended up with a t-shirt simply because I got it for $2 (don’t worry; it’s for me, not a gift). 
We continued on to the silk museum. The whole Silk Road was spoken about and it made me miss Mr. Newman—he’d be so proud. This museum, was a bit of a scam however, as it ended with a huge gift shop (literally the size of Marshall’s) and they rushed us through the museum part and left us in the gift shop for 45 minutes. It was fine, though, because the area around was nice and I did some exploring.
From there we went back to the St. Regis, a five star hotel that we snuck 6 people into on an employee discount ($20 a person). We got ready quickly and headed to the Acrobats show. Think Meir Berkman after he chugs a gallon of coffee, and is given free reign. It was awesome. There were little dudes running all over the place. I was happy that they didn’t say don’t try this at home, so I tried it. I failed.
That night we went to some club, not my scene, and the coat check wouldn’t give me my coat back. Eventually I just grabbed it and ran, and later found out they were just trying to ask me in Chinese to sign a sheet saying it’s mine.
We went to bed; I had to sleep on the floor, but in the morning we got to see Tiananmen Square. I was looking for Tank Lady but I couldn’t find her. Apparently she’s dead…who would have thunk it. We then continued onto the Forbidden City, not so forbidden anymore.  It is a great set of buildings, seriously an entire city that used to be dedicated to the emperor.
From there we went to the Beijing airport. Shockingly, it looked like an airport. Free WiFi was a plus, no computer was a minus. We boarded the flight and immediately fell asleep, and woke up at the sound of the flight landing. Or so we thought. The plane had been sitting on the runway for 2 ½ hours. Throughout the rest of the flight I read, journaled, and had dinner. In the words of Tahlor “say what you want about communism, but at least they serve food on their planes.” Touch sir, well played!
This delay had an unexpected result, making us miss the last flight, and forcing us to spend the night in Shenzhen (fourth biggest city in China). We got to the hotel by 11, ate some more at their restaurant (I had peanut butter French toast that rivaled strawberry place), but Pierce got some pasta dish. After watching 4 episodes of HIMYM Pierce got sick.  He was up all night puking. Let’s just say I was kind of nervous for tomorrow’s two hour bathroomless bus ride.
Stay tuned brethren, this cliff hanger will soon be filled in…

Oh hello there my friends,
It has been far too long since we last spoke; 2 minutes I believe. Now, it is time for you to read the chronicles of day number two. (In the words of my Mommy, Once upon a time it was day number two, I was traveling China, wow that’s new! The Lord said (clap clap) it’s the second and Jordan is seeing my world today).
The day started early, at 8am we were off the ship about to journey to the Shanghai aquarium. Unfortunately, upon arrive we witnessed long lines, experienced disgustingly high prices, and learned of the need for tooth paste in China. Due to these unexpected difficulties, we changed our plans and decided to go to the Zoo. On our way, however, we made several discoveries that took up much of our day.
While walking to the subway, we found…a Subway!!! I had been in withdrawal and so the decision to go in seemed obvious. Really, it may be the highlight of my whole trip. Tahlor and I ate at subway while Pierce and Rachel, for some odd reason, decided to eat Chinese cuisine. The place they ate at was awesome; an outdoor food market, with several vendors selling various goods from meats to pastas to tea, to anything you can imagine. BUT, I got Subway. 1 point for Jordan.
While we were indulging in this fine food my friend got a BBM saying that we should stop by and meet them at the Jade Buddha Temple. Thankfully, we complied because it turns out to be the nicest temple I have seen on this trip. While words make it difficult to differentiate between several of the temples (because there most noticeable qualities often overlap), the pure grandeur and color of this temple made it stand out. At the end there is also a tea ceremony which we chose to partake in. It was awesome. A woman come and serves us 9 different types of tea, each expected to serve different jobs (curing hangovers, preventing cancer, healing arthritis, etc.). They were all so good (I’ve legitimately fallen in love with Tea). We spent a while there, observed people as they prayed, and were able to experience a great temple.
We continued on to the Zoo to see some Pandas. Unfortunately the Zoo was the saddest thing I have witnessed since the Jets blew the game against the Colts. The animals seemed malnourished, were really skinny, dirty, and seemed generally unhappy. Luckily, there was one thing that salvaged the experience…Potato Chips. I got a bag at the food stand and man o man were they good.
From the Zoo we went to a place called Nanjing St. Think Ben Yehuda meets Time Square while also meeting the black market. The street itself was in itself amazing with bright lights and big signs. Bu the little men who ran up to you and offered you counterfeit stuff made it so unique. They took you through dark alleys, up and down stairs into a little doorway, and all of a sudden showed you HUGE stores of counterfeit/ stolen clothing. People were buying shoes, watches, bags, all for really cheap ($300 Nikes for $30 bucks). The coolest part was that while some was counterfeit, some people were lucky enough to get the real thing. Personally, I purchased an overnight bag (because I was dumb and didn’t pack one), for $6.
The night ended with Dumplings for dinner (luckily we found a place with Veggie ones, which is rarer then you may imagine, and Coldstone again (this time I actually got something, as opposed to the last time).
Yet another great day in a great country. Stand by…only 5 ish more days left (I’ll start condensing them….or at least I’ll try)…

Buddhas and Gypsies

Good morning America,
For your convenience and general entertainment JDS Inc. has decided to formally announce a shift in our blogging ideology. Rather than continuing to post one large all encompassing memoir, I will produce a number of short ones that will be disseminated in close intervals. One of the great advantages of this is that it seems that it may allow me to include some pictures (see Lee, I do care about you).
 I shall begin with the first day, as crazy of an idea as that may seem. The first thing we did was get off the boat—I wasn’t too sure why, but apparently there is more to China then just the MV Explorer. In fact many people assert that in the coming century China will destroy Americas status as a hyper-power and we will yet again experience a hyper-powerless world with two super powers. Political, economical and social trends all lead experts to believe that this geopolitical shift is inevitable. I, however, am more interested in the fact that I ate bamboo; it was awesome.
Going back to the first day, we debarked in Shanghai and went to the YuYuan gardens where I met Amy Burkoff (friend from high school). We immediately worked our way through the scores of Asians to find a restaurant with traditional Chinese foods. I was shocked and appalled to see monkey and dog on the menu; I apologize, that was a blatant lie. In fact, I didn’t see those fine cuisines once in this wonderful country. This is the point that I was first introduced to eating Bamboo; I liked it so much we may have a problem next Sukkot.
Amidst the hustle and bustle of the hectic marketplace lay an oasis of spiritual worship. There were two gorgeous temples, one Tao one more nationalistic than religious. 
From there we went to an antique market. Unaware that in China haggling entails getting them to 20% of their original asking price I was so proud of myself when I got a hat for 70 yuan (10 dollars) when the original asking price was 110. I found it next door for 45. Funny thing about that hat, I was planning on wearing it in China and then giving it to someone as a gift, but I left it in a hotel room. I guess the big man was preemptively punishing me. Dear g-d, punishment noted. PS-It’s me Margret.
From the gypsy market we went back to the ship, got ready, and went out for Sushi. In China. We also sang the national anthem. Of America. Some call it obnoxious, I call it cultured. From there we went to Cold Stone Creamery, a fine Chinese institution also located in the Palisades Mall. Our day concluded with a trip to a bar with a name that had red in it. Apparently that was because they light the bar on bar multiple times throughout the night. It was amazing.
Be prepared young fellows for the details of ensuing adventures will be posted in mere moments…
TTFN

It?s Saturday Morning and I?m at Temple...

How be it? I wanted to commence this chapter in the chronicle of my life with a brief, yet earnest, expression of my sincerest gratitude. AKA I love my Mommy and my Daddy. I am currently lying in my bed observing as the ropes that wed this vessel to the Kobe port are forcibly removed as the 2 day marriage ends in a bitter divorce and the vessel flees for another mate. AKA we are leaving Japan and on our way to China.
For those of you who are currently studying in Med. School in a foreign country and don’t have time to read the entirety of this blog, I shall offer a brief synopsis before proceeding in greater detail. If, however, you are not that aforementioned Med. Student who used to have an eyebrow ring and unnecessarily long hair, I expect you to study every word: this blog has 70 faces.
Simply put Japan was the greatest time of my life. Though I anticipate expressing a similar sentiment after each destination, at this point I can truly say I have never experienced anything quite like Japan. I visited amazing shrines, slept on a bunk bed and in a capsule, met a noble peace prize laureate and the back up to a NBA #1 draft pick, went to a fish market, and learned just how Hideki Matsui won the World Series MVP. I saw Yokohama, Tokyo, Kyoto, Hiroshima and Kobe. I ate…well no I really didn’t (let’s just say my average day was a croissant for breakfast, rice for lunch, noodles for dinner). G, you can go study now.
On the first day we arrived in Yokohama a few hours late because of inclement weather. Rumor has it that it was all because some Sumo Wrestler farted (Mom, I meant Punned) but I can neither confirm nor deny these reports. Once we recuperated from this incident we were able to get off the ship around 1 pm. We took the train into Tokyo, walked around a bit, stopped at some neat shops, and eventually checked into our hostel. Unfortunately we got a private room, rendering me unable to sleep beside the 400 pound Norwegian fellow who was perpetually drunk and consistently smelly. Talking about smelly, we went to an awful restaurant for dinner and I think I got a little food poisoning (the Tuna literally tasted like the Baltimore Harbor smells). Later on that night we went to the ice bar. I know you would never guess from the name, but it is actually an entire bar made of ice. The chairs, the walls, the cups, the bar—all ice. If you want to know if the girls were ice queens, well I guess you’ll have to ask when my Ima isn’t reading (just kidding Mama).
The next day we got up super early and went to the world famous Tokyo fish market. At 4:30 we headed to the Subway and got too see more dead fish than any man should ever experience. It was awesome. Some of the fish were still alive…well, they were until the guy chopped their heads off. With that great image in mind, I got really hungry. Though I contemplated eating there, ultimately I swore off fish forever. After that little escapade, we took a little nap, and by 10:30 we were back up and running. We walked around the town where our hostel was, Asakusa. It is similar to SoHo in that it is cool and trendy, but it differs in that it all centers around one big temple. The way the temple works is that there is a Torii (sacred entrance gate—made of two poles and a pole across) that you walk through. Straight ahead lays the Jingu (main shrine; dwelling place of the Cammie spirits). In between it is like the Arab shuk. But Asian. I could go on for pages about this shrine, but this was my most packed day, so I believe I should proceed. From the shrine we went to the heart of Tokyo, Shibuya. It was reminiscent of NYC, but brighter and more technologically advanced. I cannot explain it; only pictures will suffice. As a quick side note, all I had eaten to this point was a pastry from a donut shop next to the fish market and bowl of rice for lunch. I was hungry for dinner. My friends decided on a steak restaurant. MMMM salad for dinner. Getting back to the point: that night we went to the Tokyo tower. This tower, modeled after the Eifel Tower, overlooks the entire city and truly provided a captivating view of the cities nightlife. A nightlife, I should say, that we were about to experience. From the tower we headed up to Repunggi, the hip place to be. Amidst all the hookers and tranis we found a little pub, relaxed and then headed to bed early because we had to get up at 5:30 the next day to catch our train.
By 7 the next day we were on our way to Kyoto. About a 3 hour train ride proved to be a much needed opportunity for rest. AKA I slept the whole time. Though it was pouring rain and frigidly cold we trekked our way over to a hostel…only to decide that we wanted to stay in a capsule. Thus, we trekked back across the city to sleep in a space ship look-a-like whole in the wall. It was amazing. The place was all perfect white, clean as, well, not my room, and absolutely awesome. After we checked in we took a cab to the Golden Shrine (Kinkaku-ji). This gorgeous shrine was built on a pond in the middle of wilderness. To describe its beauty a brief anecdote is necessary; in 1955 a monk thought it was too beautiful so he burnt it down (they rebuilt it, copying the entire plan from the past one). We took a bus back from the shrine to the main part of the city and walked around for a little (went looking for Tokyo baseball shirts to no avail), before we got dressed and ready to go out (I bathed with two other men in the process—sorry Ben) (and, uh, sorry Heath Ledger). I went with 10 friends to conveyer belt Sushi (the whole giving up fish thing didn’t last); seriously, it was the best Sushi I ever had and the whole thing cost me $7. We decided that a celebration was necessary and went searching for the next William Hung in any karaoke bar that we could find. Unfortunately, I was exhausted so I decided rather than search, I would hit the hay. On the way I heard some Asians shouting “Godzilla, Godzilla!!” I got really excited, thinking Matsui was chilling, but nope, just some random 7 foot tall white dude. Turns out he backed up Andrew Bogut at Utah and was there on a business trip. Apparently in Japan it’s not rude to point at tall white people and shout “freak.” I wanted to make some Yao Ming joke here, but then I remember that I’m supposed to become culturally sensitive and not imagine China and Japan as one country.
Upon waking up in my space ship, I gathered the herds and lead us like Moses through the desert. We headed West to Hiroshima. I can’t describe how powerful this Museum was. I hate to get sappy, but I do need to briefly stop my jokes and facetious style to express how moving this was. Knowing that we did this made the experience that much harder. We are supposed to be the country that spreads equality and liberty; instead we responded to hatred with mass murder. A world with Nuclear weapons is a world that is utterly unstable. (Now I throw in my political plug to denuclearize Iran and eventually the whole world).
The coming story gets its own paragraph. As I was leaving my friend Chloe came running up to me saying somebody famous, dressed n traditional African garb was walking around with 3 security gaurds, her every move being videotaped by numerous media outlets. Turns out it was Nobel Peace Prize laureate Wangari Maathi (she started the tree planting in Kenya). We snuck down and stood watching her whole news conference, and when she was done spoke with her briefly. Though she was in a rush she stopped to take one picture. Who was the lucky man? Darn right it was me. I took a picture with a Nobel Peace Prize winner, on a mission from the UN, at Hiroshima peace memorial. To this I say: have a baby by me, baby I’ll be a millionaire.
From there we went to Kobe, walked around this gorgeous city, and went out. Quick story: Kobe is known for having the best beef in the world. All my friends went to get it, so I went next door and grabbed a slice of Pizza. After waiting 10 minutes, it had shrimp on it. I sent it back and got another and it was fine. The big man owes me a new game boy.
 Today I again walked around Kobe, I went to see another shrine and may have accidentally gone into some forbidden areas, and sat for a while watching a little league practice. Their fundamentals were comparable to that of professionals and they were 10. Matsui had it easy.
This country is truly special. 128,000,000 people living in a country the size of California. Everyone was in suits (cab drivers, business men, young professionals, bus drivers, etc.). Everyone was extraordinarily helpful. I could write pages upon pages, but I swear I’ll finish up soon.
Your Japanese word is vegetarian: begetarian no. Your inspirational thought is this: imagine a society in which philanthropy was is prevalent that taxes need not be. Your shout out is this: Sup Mom-Mom? I’m very tired. I apologize that this was long and not as funny, but hey, I just went to Japan!!!!!!!!!!!