Rosh Hashanah and T8

Typhoon Nesat has wreaked havoc with Rosh Hashanah in Hong Kong. The city has shut down.

Typhoons are Asian hurricanes. In our two years here, we have not experienced a full-blown typhoon. However, we have been on the edge of a number of them. In these cases it has meant either torrential rain or extreme winds, but not both together. We had been warned yesterday about the approach of Nesat, but it wasn't until late in the afternoon that the T1 signal went up.

Last night when we went to our friends' apartment for dinner at 7:30, the signal had gone up to T3. As we walked home from dinner at 11 p.m., the winds had kicked up, and the rain had started to splash.  We heard whistling across the road and saw our Oz friends, Ursula and Steve, calling us!  We were the only crazies walking around in the pre-typhoon breeze.  Surreal.

The T8 signal was hoisted overnight.  This is equivalent to a major snowstorm in Canada, where even schools in Montreal would be closed. The winds were howling (100km per hr. or more), but our building didn't sway at all.  Best of all, we never lost power. As often advertised in HK, we had "squally" showers during the storm, but nothing to write home about (so why am I writing home about it?).

This morning, Jeff, the idiot, decided to leave for work at his normal time (7 a.m.).  He planned to get three productive hours in before meeting me at services, which were scheduled for 10:30 at Olympic House, a venue that our congregation uses to accommodate the larger Rosh Hashanah crowd.  At 7:15 he was back inside our apartment - no buses, no cabs, no work!  We settled down to watch the Yankees game on t.v., while keeping our eye on the HK Observatory website.

We received an urgent email from the shul at 7:56 informing us that since Olympic House was officially closed for the day, services were being re-routed to the permanent sanctuary on Robinson Road - around the corner from our apartment.  Because of the change, services were scheduled to start at 11:30.  Amazingly, the turnout was huge - we not only filled the lower floor, but there were also families sitting upstairs.  Everyone who lives within walking distance came, as did some others who paid the typhoon surcharge that the few taxis on the road were imposing.  Unfortunately, our kiddush lunch did not arrive, but thanks to Rabbi Martha and a few others, we had chalah, wine, and cake!

What a change from last Rosh Hashanah (blog, Oct. 3, 2010), when it was over 30 degrees and sunny!

Shana tova everyone - We wish you a happy, healthy, and prosperous 5722.