L'shanah tovah tikateivun!

A sweet and good new year to all! 5771 here we are! Though it is still 5770 in the States as I write this. Today I had class #2 of Market Research class, weird to think there's only 5 more left! Tomorrow we have to start the assignement on SPSS, which I have actually used before (YEAH! Psych 51a with DiZio and Psych 52a with Angela!). Thankfully this isn't quite as involved, and also Econometrics, applications and intro, with Fournier last year has helped me perceive the tests and significances again. It's amazing how time flies, I'm approaching my 4th weekend already in this country. Arrived on a horrid August 20, and now it is September 9. I don't know a whole lot of Dutch but I get by, I have my electronics (thanks be to God!) except my old Ipod :(   but tonight I leave my umbrella at Rabbi Vorst's house. No wonder he said don't let this be your last visit! He was plotting all along, those sly Lubavitchers. Erev Rosh Hashanah was nice. I had a relaxing day, I shaved off my red chin patch, and ov9292 told me to take the 7 to Centraal station and walk 10-15 mins to the synagogue. Made the 7 at 6:11 and got to Centraal about 6:30, plenty of time I thought to walk, wasn't sure exactly how to go as I had only biked there once before. And as soon as I get out the tram, my GPS died. I tried to navigate by memory and asked a couple how to get to the street but they did not know it. i only knew north side of the tracks so they directed me back to the station to go underneath but I figure at that time I had just wasted walking so much so I sucked it up and hailed a taxi which turned out to be the whole 1 km away which cost me 8 Euro. But the tram card reader was broken so that trip was free. I got to the shul about 6:55, and they buzzed me in. i said Shana tovah to the first guy inside, got a kippah, and went to hang up my coat. A tall, slender, hat-donning fellow approached me and after exchanging the holiday greetings, said something in Dutch to me, so I promptly responded 'Ik niets spreekt Nederlands' (I don't speak Dutch) and then he asked me what do I speak? English? german? I say finally English and he is satisfied. Then just loitering in the lobby until everyone is beckoned to the sanctuary. There were less than 30 people, maybe about 10 Lubavitch, between kids and men. It was a bit daunting at first. IT was a large sanctuary, probably at least 100 could fit, no women. The service was quick and a bit hurried, not too difficult to follow along. But I have always enjoyed the everyone singing together and in this shul there is not a lot of it. The people at the Liberal congregation said it is an Orthodox shul but that the members (other than the Chabadniks) are not really Orthodox, it is just the style and tradition they prefer. People didn't really talk much, there was no sermon, it was just praying. And then just like that the service was over, everyone shook everyone else's hand and Shana Tovah. And I asked to meet Rabbi Vorst but apparently there are 2 of them ,father and son. I met Vorst the younger. And he said just follow the crowd back to his place for the dinner. I met an American named Josh who happened to be visiting for the week, he is in an Architecture program at University Of Texas and they happened to be in Rotterdam on Rosh Hashana so he sought out the synagogue, he is Persian, from los angeles, no surprise. Then we all went to the Vorst house which is actually attached to the synagogue, and went inside, once again, just men and some old women, actually Rabbi Vorst's mother, mother-in-law, and wife, and his 4 or 5 sons, the eldest of which is celebrating his Bar Mitzvah this Rosh Hashanah. So he recited an Amar, and there were soooo many courses of the meal. I thought after the salmon and a few salads  that was it, then there was the pea soup, the chicken, more salad, the kugel, and some tzimmes, and something else I forget. Nice to have a home-cooked meal, about 15-20 of us in all. There was also Shoni the Yemeni-Israeli dentist at the clinic in South Rotterdam, and Shir, the Israeli law-master student at Erasmus and Elad, the IBA student at Erasmus and some other guy who reminded me of every Jewish dad in Marlboro and Scotch Plains. The Israelis kept speaking Hebrew amongst each other and it got annoying at times not knowing fully what they were saying because they speak quickly. I picked up some basics but not enough to be involved in the conversation, ech. And Rabbi Vorst's mother sat next to me, she was small and soft-spoken but a very energetic lady. Originally from what she called Russia, she does not speak Russian, probably somewhere near modern-day Uzbekistan, she has lived in Paris, New York, and Holland, first in Amsteleeven. Then she and Rabbi Elder Vorst came to Rotterdam 46 years ago in 1964 when there were basically no Jews here. They were sent as Chabad to open at outreach center. They inhabited an old, fledgling community and somewhat revived it. It is an interesting Chabad center, not a Chabad house, they have their own grand shul with mechitza and all but on a high holiday not a large turnout, I don't know. Rabbi Younger Vorst's parents were in town from London, they are also Chabad, one of their sons is Chabad in Freehold, used to be in Marlboro in New jersey, also have family in Toronto, Albany and Manhattan. It's like a big web. And in Budapest they call up people with Jewish-sounding last names to find out if they're Jewish and go to jewish businessmen to help them wrap tefillin, so involved! I made a good choice to go here  for Erev Rosh Hashanah, a bit too jewish for me though. I shall return to the Liberal Congregation for Yom Kippur. Not sure where I will spend Kol Nidrei, probably just go back to the Chabad place for a Shabbat. So tomorrow night is Club Vie and I need to go Prijmark and buy a white shirt because of the dress code, blaahhhh. It will be fun even though I still don't like clubbing much. You move around to a beat and look stupid and you can't hear anyone it's so loud. Give me a bar or lounge any day. Anyway, I'm just about running out of steam to type so this will be enough, gut yontif!