So long to Moon Cakes and Ghosts

For weeks, each time we rounded a corner during a neighborhood walk the smells of incense would crash into our noses and smoke would make our eyes water. Men hover around burn barrels by themselves or in small groups with piles and piles of fake money in their hand. But this is no monopoly game gone bad. The pleasing of the deceased is at stake. According to some beliefs, the gates to the underworld are opened up for a month of the year allowing the ghosts to come wander freely through their old haunts. Imagine the night mares some people must have at this time of the year. No, I didn't mean to harm him, wait, what was that sound...

The incense, burning "money" and other offerings represent items the ghosts may want and the possibility of an earth-bound person to have a prosperous year. As stacks of money turn to ash, we wonder how a life on earth can be better spent in the service of others and those around us.

Photo taken on the block

As the ghosts began the retreat home, stories of the moon began to surface. The fall harvest moon and the Moon Festival are linked together. This year, it happened that the autumnal equinox was also on the 22nd for a large day of celebration. I asked many students about the origin of the moon festival and the answers revolved around stories of bunny rabbits, secret potions, cake and the moon. In addition, legend has it that at some point in Chinese history the Mongols were in charge and in order to plan an uprising, moon cakes were distributed throughout the country in order to coordinate a day of revolution. Today, these secret messages are replaced in the center of a moon cake with an egg yolk or other interesting surprise. Yum...

Lesson of the day: Helmets—Don’t Leave Home Without One

Dogs are a part of daily life in Taiwan. Initially, I would walk across the street and keep a watchful eye on all of the canines we came across. Quickly, we began to realize that for the most part, the dogs are really scared of us. People walk around with sticks in their hands and rocks in their pockets. If a dog gets too close, they are reminded why they stay away from humans. The only time I have had to utilize the stick has been while walking Audrey. It appears as if the mangy mongrels are none to happy about a foreigner invading their territory. Audrey becomes the object for all of their attention. I quickly go into “protect the child mode” and comically chase after the mutts with the handle of a broom. The dogs invariably, run away with their tails tucked between their legs. It appears as if even the wildest of the dogs are no match for our big stick and crazy yelling.

This was until yesterday. Yesterday began like any other day. Frank and I loaded our bikes into the tiny elevator, carried them down the final steps at the front, and hopped on board for our daily commute up the mountain to work. Upon turning the corner of the site for a new development, a huge 125 pound lab came barreling towards me, teeth exposed. I initially attempted to ride my bike into the monster, hoping to scare it away. No such luck! The stupid thing barked ferociously and kept coming my way. I tried to avoid it by bearing left—big mistake. I hit a ditch and flew “ass over teakettle” (as my grammy would say). Luckily I was wearing my helmet, because my head definitely broke my fall. The dog kept coming and Frank, my darling, sweet husband, went after the pooch with a vengeance. I slowly came to my feet and quickly hopped onto my bike to get out of there. All the while, the owner was shouting her apologies. We rode off; me with bent up handle bars, bruises a plenty and Frank leading the way to protect me against any further attacks.

Fanapi a bust in Taichung

We waited. We plotted radar imagery and with excitement we loaded up on junk food and movies to wait out the storm. The forecasted path looked like the storm would come right by Taichung. Instead, as the eye reached the island the storm turned south almost 90 degrees. Here is the image at almost 6:00 this evening:



Our afternoon was a dry one as we visited the park(a few trees had been pulled out of the ground from the early morning winds).

9:00 with Fanapi coming

Depending on who you ask, last night was full of adventure or one of peaceful slumber. I slept hard. From time to time I rolled over, making a mental note of surprise as to the lack of wind from the oncoming storm. Krista battled the storm. The beginnings of Fanapi brought lots of wind and rain. Our entry way was flooded. Krista braved the elements to slam shut windows to stop more rain from entering.

Here is the satellite at 9:00 this morning:


We live in the county on the west coast that appears to have another county inside of its borders. If the storm follows a westerly path then the eye will not pass over us, but if it turns north a few hairs then we may just have a break in the middle of this day.

We just returned from a trip to the local OK Mart for more water and chocolate. Surprisingly, the store was fully stocked. Is nobody concerned?

Typhoon Fanapi on the way!

Our first typhoon looks like it might sail through tonight (Saturday). Today, it was nice outside. Our original plans of heading inland to visit the famous Sun Moon Lake were stalled for a later date. With complete disregard for the incoming typhoon, we got Audrey excited about a trip, packed the car for a day of hiking and got ready to leave. I guess the safety team gods had other ideas. The car battery that has been playing difficult to start, finally went out completely. Nothing. Nada. Zippo. We unpacked the car and spent a relaxing day in the neighborhood.

I posted a few new photos of the park that is located near our house. I am amazed at the detail that goes into creating parks. Each one around town is special in its own way. Ours features a large pool stocked with koi and other fish at one end that spills over into a small stream. The stream flows down into a larger pool and then continues onwards. It exits the park and follows a boardwalk to another small park. We visit almost daily, dodging a pack of wild dogs with a fondness for Audrey.


More photos of the park are posted - check them out!

The typhoon is expected to make a landing on the east coast of Taiwan early this morning and continue its westward path. The mountains should break it up a bit but the forecasted path has it coming awfully close to Taichung. Here's to hoping it will give us a quick flyby.

9/9/99

Frank just had his first birthday in Taiwan. It was considered quite an auspicious day: 9/9/99 per the Taiwan calendar. (I feel a bit slighted as last year Frank’s birthday landed on 9/9/9 per the western calendar) As we set off for school, Frank and I discussed how we would celebrate his birthday. He would be receiving no gift from me, his lovely wife, due to the fact that we are always together and there has been zero opportunity to sneak off and get him something. Even if I could sneak off, I have no idea where I would go as we have spent our time exploring beaches and towns opposed to shopping centers and stores. All of this was quickly forgotten as students began to arrive. Each student came laden with gifts for Frank. By the end of the day, we were completely thankful that we drove our car (which is a rarity) and had space to take home all of Frank’s booty. Apparently, someone had called each student in his class and told them to bring something for Frank’s birthday. I truly have never seen anything like it before: hand made cards, multiple cakes, bags filled with chocolate, and little tiny toys depicting images of food (still not sure what they’re for, but they’re popular here). The students went out of their way to make 9/9/99 a special day for Frank. Frank will be spending the weekend writing thank you cards to each of his little monsters and I will be spending the weekend eating cake. I do believe this is going to be a fantastic weekend!

Black Friday: Part One

The second Friday of the year began like any other. Frank came in to awaken me for the day and I grumbled in protest. Shoved in the direction of the bathroom, I showered and then headed for the kitchen table. You see, I’m one of those fortunate girls to have the kind of guy that movies are made about: the overly sweet, intelligent, handsome man who would do anything for his woman. That’s my Frank and I’m the lucky girl. This morning began like all of the other blessed mornings I have. My piping cup of Stumptown coffee was waiting for me, freshly poured into my favorite mug. My mug was purchased several years ago in a ghost town named Terlingua in Big Bend. It’s a beautiful, hand crafted mug with an image of two faces peering at each other. I love this mug! It’s huge, so without guilt it is filled to the brim and I miraculously consume the equivalent of three cups of coffee in one gigantic mug!
Well, like I said, this morning began like any other. I finally found my way to the couch, freshly showered and a cup of coffee was placed into my eager hands. I opened my book and began to read. The coffee this morning was especially delicious. I became lost in my morning routine and a newly acquired vampire teeny bopper novel. That is until I heard a crash and felt the piping hot liquid scalding my bare legs. I had become so caught up in my book that I missed the coffee table and my favorite cup, coffee and all went crashing to the floor. The granite floor I thought was so awesome when we moved in wasn’t forgiving at all. The last cup of coffee was all over the floor and my favorite cup-shattered. Grrr. . . .

As the sun goes down each night, we are often treated to loud sounds of explosion. Our apartment has windows on both the north and south faces of the building. So, as the sounds begin I dash towards one side of the window trying (usually in vain) to get to the window in time to see a brief fireworks display. I'm not sure as to the reason for the display but each night brings some beauty to the sky in quick sessions. As if competing for the nightly display, a few moments later a separate mini-display will start somewhere else around town. Who knows why, but I enjoy dashing to the balcony in an attempt to see the lights.

Ice Cream Truck Trash Man

The sound of the ice-cream truck reminds me of little kids running with joy during hot summer days. The jingle can be heard well before the truck arrives and serves as a way to bring the neighborhood together. In Taichung, the truck with the bells that brings people running from all over does not deliver ice cream. It picks up trash. Each evening, the trash comes to collect household rubbish, which can be food waste (I don’t want to call it compost because there seems to be no rhyme or reason as to what can be put in this container. I guess if it has or could end up associated with something remotely linked with food it becomes food waste), non recyclables or recyclables. A lot is recycled from our apartment (Styrofoam, batteries, and the usual paper and plastic.) From our balcony we look down and watch people run across the street, bags of trash in hand to the tune of the trash man.

Squeakers

With Audrey in quarantine, I have found myself quite lonely. Sure I have Frank, but it simply isn’t the same. Frank doesn’t wag his butt profusely when I get home and now that we work together, rarely am I greeted by the super sloppy wet kisses that Audrey is so well known for. Needless to say, I feel as is something is lacking in my life. My sweet, adorable, overly zealous little pooch is still locked up tight and I am missing her company. In bounds Squeakers! A few days ago this scrawny dog exited our apartment building with her owner. The owner jumped on his scooter and drove away. Squeakers followed for a while and then tucked its tail and slowly walked towards us. Most dogs ignore us, or try to bite us so I wasn’t super excited when she came our way. I said, “hello,” and was greeted by a super high pitched squeaking sound.

She walked over to my school bag, which always is appropriately stocked with dog cookies, and proceeded to roll all over it. I figured I knew what she wanted. I reached in and grabbed a cookie. Squeakers took it delicately out of my hand (thank goodness, I was worried I would lose a few fingers), promptly dropped in on the ground, ran over to me and started jumping up and down squeaking. I petted her until our ride came. She looked at us as we got into the car and drove away. Then, she picked up her cookie and trotted off.

Squeakers without a doubt, is one of the funniest looking dogs I’ve ever seen. She’s a medium sized dog but quite scrawny. Living in the hot, humid Taiwan weather, her owners thought it appropriate to shave the poor little thing. She is completely shaved with the exception of one tuft of hair on her tail—it resembles something close to a paint brush. The hair cut sadly makes her look as if she has some weird disease. Squeaker’s ears point straight up giving her a comical expression. One ear is normal but the other one is missing the tip as if someone came along with scissors and cut it off.

Now as Frank and I walk through our neighborhood, we always look for Squeakers. If she is out prowling, she runs to us squeaking and begging for attention. She’s no Audrey, but she’s definitely helping the weeks go by until our little pooch is back with us.

--Krista