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)…