Is that Charoset or Honey?

It's official-I survived Passover in Singapore. This was a completely new experience for me, but a good one.

For Seders, I went both nights to the synagogue, where they put on big community Seders each night. The reading of the Haggadah was definitely different, especially the part where on of the Chabad boys came out in a bright green from speed skating like suit. It was a lot of fun and the food was very nice. I will say though, Sefardi charoset to me seems like honey with tiny little bits of apple.

Now to the food, of course the most important part, I decided to eat rice this year. They served it at the synagogue, so I figured, if the big guy upstairs is okay with these religious people eating it, I bet he's okay with me eating it.

I also didn't keep super strict restrictions this year as the Kosher options here are limited. My big goal was not too eat bread. It's harder than you think even though most Asian foods don't have bready items. The problem is that I often make peanut butter sandwiches for lunch or dinner-not an option for that week.

I did make myself matzah pizza pretty often, and I really enjoyed it. Cooking wise, I tried my hand at Matzah brie. My first attempt was not so good, far too much egg. The next try was much better as my matzah to egg proportion was much better. The other thing I realized this Pesach - I love chocolate milk. I drank at least a glass or two everyday.

All in all, Passover was very good. However, this was also one of the hardest I've ever had. For the first time in my life, I was away from family for Seders. I wrote a big long sappy email to my parents about that- let's just sum it up by saying I missed my family, the amazing food they'd be having and simply, how easy it's been for me to keep Passover thanks to my mishpachah. Being on my own is good though. It's a chance to grow and figure out what the holiday means to me. In the end, I figured out that the Pesach is a combination of two things for me. First, it's a test for me to show my commitment to my beliefs. Second, Passover is about who you are surrounded with. Hopefully, the answer is people you love and/or those you want to share memories with.

Pesach 2010 is in the books, with a check mark.

Sports wise- this is one of the best times of year. The Masters is getting underway, we had an AMAZING finish to the college basketball season, soccer is wonderful at the moment (Champions league {Lionel Messi is absolutely magical}, BPL title race), NBA is getting closer to the playoffs and we also had baseball opening day. I love it all.

Next week, I'll be in Missouri! I'm very excited to see the girfie (I know how much she loves that nickname), plus lots of other friends. Then, it's off to Texas to visit all the family.

I think for the moment, Dayenu!

Michael