D O C . 3 7 9 T R A V E L D I A R Y N O V E M B E R 1 9 2 2 3 0 5 Declined the reception by the Jewish community with thanks.[35] But two Jewish businessmen spent the entire day with us.[36] In the morning, started tour around the island by automobile. Views onto sea, fjordlike bays, and mountainsides of inexhaustible variety and magnificence. Along the way we ate lunch in an Ameri- can-type luxury hotel, where both our guides not only spoke animatedly with me about the country and science but also revealed a great affinity for worldly pleasures.[37] On the homeward trip we saw a Chinese fishing village composed of sailing barks, a seemingly very cheery Chinese funeral and—tormented people, men and women, who have to hammer stones and carry stones for 5 cents per day. Thus the Chinese are severely punished for their fecundity by the heartless eco- nomic machine. I think they hardly notice it in their lethargy, but it is sad to see. Incidentally, they supposedly carried out a successful wage strike with remarkably good organization a while ago.[38] In the afternoon we visited the Jewish club- house, which is set in a lush garden at quite a high elevation and has a magnificent view of city and harbor. There are supposedly only 120 Jews there, mostly Arab, whose religiosity seems to have frozen more into formality than is the case with our Russo-Europeans.[39] In the clubhouse two women socialized with us, the wife of one of our hosts and her sister. I am now convinced that the Jewish race has main- tained itself quite purely in the last 1,500 years, as the Jews from the lands of the Euphrates and the Tigris are very similar to ours. The feeling of belonging together is also quite strong. We also all drove to the summit of the mountain together, at the foot of which the city lies (by cable railway Chinese and Europeans separated). At the top, grandiose view onto harbor, island mountains, and sea. The sight of the many small islets looming steeply out of the sea reminds one of the sea of mist in the Alpine foothills. In the evening there was a sudden storm that snatched away my hat into the street so I had to run after it with all my might to get it back. This morning I visited the Chinese quarter on the mainland side with Elsa. Industrious, dirty, numbed people. Houses very uniform, verandas arranged like beehive-cells, everything built close together and monotonous. Behind the harbor, one eating place after the next in front of which Chinese don’t sit but squat on benches as they eat, as Europeans do when they answer Nature’s call out in the leafy woods. Quiet and civility in all doings. Even the children are spiritless and look numbed. It would be a pity if these Chinese would push out all other races. For the likes of us the mere thought is unspeakably boring. Yesterday evening three Portuguese middle-school teachers visited me, who claimed that the Chinese could not be trained to think logically and specifically had no talent for mathematics. I noticed how little difference there is between men and women I don’t understand what kind of charms Chinese women have to enthrall the corresponding men so [p. 12] [p. 12v] [p. 13] [p. 13v]