[HANASHIR:12371] Angela's Hong Kong catch-up! (#3)

[MoVFTYite <MoVFTYite...>]

 Hello friends and family!

Wow, the time has slipped by!  I have already been in Hong Kong for 6 weeks!  I 
have so much more to write about!!

First things first... I am sure that many of you would ask how things went 
during the high holy days... I'll give you the brief rundown:  We had our Rosh 
Hashanah and Yom Kippur services in the Drama Theatre at the Hong Kong Academy 
for Performing Arts.  There were anywhere from 160-200 people at the services, 
and things went pretty smoothly, especially considering I had just started this 
job!  For those who are wondering how our services were different from those in 
the U.S., they really weren't a whole lot different (I hope that's not 
disappointing!).  No, we don't do services in Chinese... 

Sukkot was nice as well, we had a nice shabbat dinner in the sukkah, as well as 
a tot program.  In Hong Kong, they build the sturdiest sukkahs I've ever seen!  
They use bamboo, and they put palm tree leaves on top, and white masonite board 
is nailed up -- they even carve windows in it!  They also put fluorescent 
lights in!

Simchat Torah was festive -- we had a group of about 20 Chinese visitors from 
some kind of Christian academy.  They really got involved in the service.  We 
moved all the chairs out of the way for the hakafot and they danced with us and 
clapped along to the music.  We had a great potluck buffet afterwards too!  The 
food was a nice refresher for me, as I was quite drained from the 22 songs I 
led as the torah was being marched around!

The Chinese also celebrate a holiday right around Sukkot called Mid-Autumn 
Festival or Moon Festival.  My new friend Gahl invited me and his friend Dave 
to go to the beach at Repulse Bay that night.  We hopped on a bus and when we 
got there, there were people all over the beach, eating mooncakes (dense, sweet 
cakes with egg yolks inside to represent the moon) and decorating their little 
plots of sand with lit candles, lanterns, and glow sticks.  It's a pretty neat 
site, with all of the glowing things everywhere.  I decided to go put my feet 
in the water.  I had heard that the water here was polluted in some areas, but 
it was safe enough here.  The funny thing was, shortly after I stepped into the 
water, I saw something float by my feet.  It was blinking.  It turned out to be 
a cell phone.  I could make up some fancy story about how it washed ashore with 
an S.O.S. message, but the truth is, I picked it up and held it out to ask the 
swimmers next to me if it was theirs.  One man came running over to me, very 
excited that I found his phone...  It was cloudy for a good part of the 
evening, but at one point, the clouds cleared out in one spot and the bright 
full moon was clearly visible.  Everyone on the beach looked up and "ooohed and 
"aaahed" and cheered.  Soon after that, it started to drizzle.  People began to 
leave the beach and pile onto the buses to head home.  We literally had to push 
and shove our way onto a bus.  It was unbelievable, but we made it.

So finally, the holiday season is over.  We are getting ready for the first day 
of religious school, which is this Sunday.  I will be teaching 2nd grade, and 
I'll have 6 or 7 students in my class.  I will also be teaching a couple of 
mid-week hebrew classes, as well as tutoring a few students for their bar or 
bat mitzvahs.  It will be nice to have a slightly less hectic schedule, so I 
might actually have time to discover Hong Kong a bit!

Just last Sunday, I made my first trip out to China!  I went with a couple 
friends to a "small Chinese village" (about 7 or 8 million people!) called 
Shenzen.  We took the MTR (subway) 
(http://www.mtrcorp.com/eng/homepage/index.html) and the KCR (Kowloon-Canton 
Railway) (http://www.kcrc.com/eng/service/index.html) across the New 
Territories, and went through the Chinese Customs and Immigrations area (which 
was surprisingly not crowded on a weekend!).  One of the first things you see 
when you get to Shenzen is this huge mall... and you could literally spend 
weeks there!  I couldn't believe how many tiny stores were densely packed into 
the place.  You can find just about anything at this mall.  There are stores 
with electronics, shoes, copies of designer handbags and watches, sunglasses, 
DVDs, clothing, bedding, you name it!  Prices on most items are negotiable, and 
even the asking prices are quite cheap, especially compared to American 
standards.  One of the most incredible places to visit in the mall was the top 
floor -- this was where all of the tailors and fabric booths were.  You could 
have virtually anything custom-sewn for very little money.  I had roman window 
blinds made to order.  My friend Aviva had a dress made.  We were very lucky to 
have Aviva's friend Sheree and her mother, May, with us, because they are 
fluent in Cantonese.  It's much harder to find people who speak much English in 
Shenzen.  They do know a few words, though; for example, as I was walking from 
shop to shop, I kept hearing them say "hello, missy, looking?"  In the 
hallways, people would come up and try to get us to go into their shops for 
manicures and pedicures.  They're quite relentless - they'll even grab your arm 
to get your attention.  It does start to drive one insane after a bit...  After 
our long day of shopping, we took a shuttle bus to a restaurant for an 
authentic Chinese dinner.  May and Sheree were in charge of ordering, as there 
was no English menu.  We got to try some great foods!  We ordered one fish 
dish, where they pulled a live fish out of the tank, brought it to the table in 
a plastic bag so we could see it flipping around, and then cooked it for us.  
Apparently this is common here...  As we ate, I looked at the fish and wondered 
if all parts were really edible, such as the eyes.  Just as I was wondering 
this, Sheree grabbed one of the eyeballs and popped it in her mouth like a 
piece of candy.  Apparently they are edible.  I didn't try one, though...  
Aviva and I are going back this weekend to pick up our orders, and we're pretty 
excited to see how they turn out.

Well, I think this letter might even be longer than that last one I sent out!  
I shouldn't go a whole month without writing again -- so much happens!  I am 
looking forward to a visit from my parents and from my friend Randy in 
November.  The apartment, by the way, is slowly taking shape.  Soon I will even 
have a couch to sit on!

Finally, I wanted to let you all know that I have posted photos!!!!!!!!!!!  If 
you would like to view them, please email me privately...

Hugs,
Angela
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