School? On Saturday? Most certainly. Everyone worked this Saturday. Why? Because we had Monday and Tuesday off for the Moon Festival.

The Moon Festival (also referred to as the Mid-Autumn Festival) is huge here. It happens yearly on the 15th moon day of the 8th Chinese lunar Month. So this year it was September 25. The legend of the Moon Festival is as follows (taken from a website):

"Once upon a time there was a famous archer, Hou Yi, who with his arrows was able to slay mankind’s worst enemies, ferocious beasts that inhabited the earth. Yi was married to Chang-O, a beautiful but inquisitive woman who had been an attendant of the queen mother of the west before her marriage. Now at this time, there were 10 suns that took turns circling the earth-one every 10 days. One day, all 10 of the orbs circled, together, causing the earth’s surface to burn and threatening mankind. The wise emperor of China summoned Yi and commanded him to kill but one of the suns. This Yi proceeded to do. Upon the completion of his task, Yi was rewarded with a pill, the elixir of life, and advised: "make no haste to swallow this pill, but first prepare yourself with prayer and fasting for a year." Being a wise man, Yi took the pill home and hid it under a rafter while he began healing his spirit, In the midst of this, Yi was summoned again by the emperor.

While her husband was gone, Chang-O noticed a beam of white light beckoning from the rafter. She followed it and a fragrant perfume, discovered the pill and swallowed it. Immediately, Chang-O found she could fly. Just at that moment her husband returned home, realize what had happened and began to reprimand his wife. Chang-O flew out the window into the sky. Yi sped after her, bow in hand, and the pursuit continued halfway across the heavens. Finally, Yi had to return to the earth because of the force of the wind.

His wife reached the moon and there, breathless, she coughed and part of the pill fell from her mouth. Now, the hare was already on the moon and Chang-O commanded the animal to take pestle and mortar and pound another pill so that she return to earth and her husband. The hare is still pounding.

As for Yi, he built himself a palace in the sun as Yang (the sun and the male principle), Chang-O as Yin (the moon and the female principle).

Once a year, on the 15th day of the full moon, Yi visits his wife. That is why the moon is full and beautiful on that night."

The moon really was amazing that night. The Moon Festival is a really great excuse for family reunions. There are tons of bbqs- not the kind that we have in the states. The whole extended family gathers around and grills anything and everything. From vegetables, to bread, to seafood, to every kind of meat you can possibly think of. It's really incredible- both the food and the family atmosphere.

You're also supposed to eat a moon cake on the moon festival for good luck. Moon cakes are everywhere for the time leading up to the Moon Festival, and my housemates and I received our weight in them. They're little round, dense cakes filled with different things. Most commonly found is the yolk moon cake, with a duck egg yolk in the middle. Definitely threw me for a loop the first time I encountered it. Not going to lie, it still kind of weirds me out. If you're interested, I've put a like to a moon cake recipe at the bottom of this post.

Another popular food item on the Moon Festival is the pomelo. They're huge and you can buy them quite literally everywhere for very very cheap. They taste like sweet grapefruits and you're supposed to make the peel into a crown to wear, with the hopes that the gods will protect you. I am totally in love with this fruit and have to watch it or I eat about 5 of them a day.

I was invited to a bbq with my host family on Sunday night. We drove about 30 minutes outside of Yilan to this tiny Aboriginal village where basically the entire village was gathered for bbqs. My host family was incredible- they had tons of vegetables and seafood for me and were concerned that I wasn't well fed the entire night. They had nothing to worry about. I had a fantastic time, and maybe next time I'm in a situation like that, I'll actually sing a karaoke song, like they all wanted me to.

On Monday evening I went with my LET, Anne, to her father's birthday party. Anne's dad has 8 brothers and sisters, so all through the night, Anne kept saying: "this is my cousin... I can't remember her name." The party was huge, again, with tons of courses and very nice people. It's customary to go around and greet/thank everyone for coming to the party. All the tables take turns doing it, and when they come over, you're supposed to raise your glass and drink it. Usually you take your cue from how much the others drink, but frequently (at this event, at least), everyone was downing their entire glass. Now, mind you, the glasses aren't much bigger than a shot glass. But when they're frequently filled with beer, there is a tendency for one to indulge a little too much.

All of Anne's relatives kept coming over because they wanted to "have a toast with the American." Which means they were very intent on my glass being filled constantly. At a certain point, I decided I was done with beer, and I certainly didn't want any of the deadly looking clear liquid they were passing around. So, in desperation, I turned to the music teacher from my school, Harmony, who was sitting next to me, and asked for help. She pulled out a pitcher that she was hiding under her chair, dumped my beer into, and then refilled my cup with green tea from a bottle that she was keeping under the table. Slick. Apparently she was doing this all night and no one was the wiser. I just had to watch it when someone tried to refill my glass with the real stuff.

So although it was weird to be in school on Saturday (although this was a fairly productive, uplifting day), and it'll be hard to only have one day off, this past weekend totally makes up for it.
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Moon cake recipe

Last Wednesday, we were introduced to our host families. Families sign up for the job, with the desire to share their culture and their lifestyle to the ETAs through the year. Often, from what I have heard, they invite us to holiday events, family events, etc. My family is great: it consists of two teachers, both originally from Aboriginal villages, and their six-year-old son, Cliff. Not only was I invited to a beach volleyball tournament and picnic to celebrate the Moon Festival (more about that in a later post) on Monday, I was also asked to attend a wedding party on Friday night. Having been to few weddings in my life, and certainly none here, I immediately agreed.

We arrived at the hotel at 6, but the party didn't start until close to 7 when the bride and groom arrived. It was explained that the actual ceremony takes place earlier in the day at the homes of the bride and groom, so this was just for celebrating. Apparently, the groom and his family pay for the wedding, so all of his friends and guests are invited to the wedding party. The bride and her family are in charge of the engagement party, so that's when all of her guests come. Usually the engagement party is before the wedding party, but on occasion, the two are combined, so both friends of the bride AND groom attend the same celebration.

There were tons of dishes. Many of them were significant for various reasons, and it was great sitting with my host mother who spoke English and who could explain what the dishes were for. The bride and groom came around and took shots of alcohol as people toasted them. There was also some official from Yilan there- someone told me that before election time, all the candidates go to all the weddings around Taiwan to try and drum up more votes.

No dancing at weddings here. But Kendra (my host mom) told me that in Aboriginal weddings (like hers) they set up karaoke so people can come up and sing to the bride and groom. The bride had 3 different dresses (two of them are pictured below) and after she changed into the third one, it signaled to the guests that the party was over. We all got gift bags containing soy milk (still haven't figured that one out yet...), and left, after taking candy from the bride to symbolize the hope that they have a good marriage and give birth soon.

One of the many, amazing dishes. Seriously, the plates kept coming.

This was a sweet soup with red bean, rice dumplings, pineapple and other little pieces of fruit. You eat it with the hopes of giving birth to a son.

Both the bride and groom are teachers at my host mom's school.


The double happiness symbol. Each half of the character is "hsi" which means happiness. This character is "shuang-hsi" which means "double happiness" and is used exclusively for weddings to depict marital happiness.


All of us with the bride (in her 3rd and last dress) and groom. That's my host mom, Kendra, in the front right with the pink shirt on. (Mom- I know you can't really see, but I'm wearing the shawl you made me!)

Taiwan from the boat on the way to Turtle Island.

Wednesday, all twelve of us (plus some staff members) went to Turtle Island. Described to me as being "incredible" and "something you shouldn't miss," one could say I was looking forward to it. So called Turtle Island for its shape from an aerial view (see the picture below), it has a volcanic terrain, lots of steep cliffs, and amazing views from the top.View from above. Not taken by me.

Approaching the island.



The hot spring in the ocean made that part of the water turn a lighter color. It also made for a distinctly sulfur smell.

Before we got to the island, we went looking for dolphins. After going for about 20 minutes with nothing, except impending sea-sickness for some, dolphins were spotted off the left side of the boat. It was insane. The boat guy said there were something like 200 dolphins swimming around us, jumping. It was something that my camera couldn't even capture. And maybe that's better- I got to really be in the moment.

We finally got to Turtle Island were told that it was 706 steps to the top. A lot, true, but not too bad, we thought. We received sticks to battle off any of the poisonous snakes we should come across and started up.

1,706 steps later, we reached the top.

Exhausted, but thrilled with the view, we had lunch at the top before heading back down.

Me, Jenny and Meg: happy and tired.

Views from the top. The pictures don't really do it justice.

So after an exciting Wednesday, it was back to school for a solid 6 periods of teaching on Thursday. The highlight of the day: jump roping with the first graders. I don't know what they were most surprised about: the fact that I COULD jump rope, or the fact that I WOULD with them.

Lucky, with said jump rope

One of the "teacherteacherteacherteacher...hi!" girls.

The cousin of a first grader. All the way from Japan- he was in school for a week and a half with us. I wasn't the only foreigner! He already spoke Japanese and Chinese and for this past week, he was also learning Taiwanese and English. Get 'em in while you're young, I suppose...

This weekend was the official Fulbright orientation in Taipei. It was a long long weekend filled with information, meeting new people, and late nights. Hearing what the junior and senior fellows were studying was interesting, and has made me start thinking about maybe getting my PhD some day. Not planning too much, or anything. Unfortunately, while there were plenty of photo opportunities this weekend, I left my camera in the hotel most of the time.

One thing that I would have been unable to capture on film was the earthquake we had in the wee hours on Friday morning. Apparently the epicenter was in Yilan, so I suppose it was lucky we were in Taipei all weekend (although, we returned to find nothing had changed in our apartment). Another cool thing: Jenny and I were on the train home from Taipei on Sunday and saw dolphins as we rode by the ocean. You know, just a normal day in Taiwan.

School today was good. I'm trying to balance teaching the first grader who can spell "insect" and the ones that refuse to repeat their names. Weekly English starts this week: I'll tape myself (and Anne, probably) teaching "useful" English phrases ("Where is the bathroom?" "Down the hall, on the right side." useful.) which the students will learn, then have to fill out a chart, proving that they've said these phrases to at least 6 people. I'm struggling with this sort of "crash course" English- just the basic stuff that the students need to communicate. So much of the teaching is just having the students repeat, with no indication that they actually understand what they're saying, let alone if they're actually saying it correctly (29 second graders all repeating "Let's play a game"- you're liable to miss something). It's hard on occasion trying to figure out what this method is accomplishing.

But then that first grader named Lucky looks so excited when you tell him his "Big Bs" are good that it totally makes up for the frustration.

View from my balcony at far too early in the morning.

Normally on Wednesdays we will have workshops at the Teacher's Center. However we were supposed to go to Turtle Island today, but the trip got canceled. So that meant a free day: both from school, and from the workshops. 5 of us went to Fo Guang University to sign up for classes. I signed up for 4 hours of Chinese class a week (in a 2 person class!) starting September 24. I only signed up for the Autumn semester, with the hopes that I'll like it and therefore register for the Spring semester as well.

While today wasn't very exciting, I think yesterday (Tuesday) clearly made up for it. Normally I only teach from 1:30-2:10 on Tuesdays, which means (technically) I don't have to come in to school until lunch. However, I was told the day before that first graders would be going to a temple in the morning, and I was invited. The school always takes the first graders to a nearby temple at the beginning of the year, since first grade is really the start of their educational career, and it is tradition to pray to the god of Education and Government.

The god of Education is in the center, the Earth god is on the left, and the god "who will bring you a boyfriend" is on the right. Guess which one I was instructed to pray to...

The students gave a gift of a ship (with all of their names written on it), with the hopes that their education and learning will be smooth sailing and always moving forward. The kids all got lit incense (what? 6 year olds with fire?) and bowed 3 times- 3 symbolizes "many". The best part was I got to do it with them- in front of a few reporters and a tv camera. Who knows? I could end up on the news/in the newspaper!

After a presentation of the ship, the kids learned about all the vegetables that were in the room, given as gifts to the gods for various things (ex: wisdom). Apparently, a lot of people come to this temple right before they have big tests so that they can do well. Which totally fits in with the rest of the day....

Veggies galore!



Personally, I think they were more excited about the ice cream they got after.

Amusing Antedote 1:
At the end of the visit, all the students were given two little packages. They are typically rice dumplings wrapped in leaves, but in this case, there was only candy inside. These dumplings are supposed to bring good luck. Anne asked if I wanted one, and when I said "yes," she gave me the remaining three. One of my students (who speaks the best English- that's what you get when your dad is a big shot doctor here and can send you to cram school) turns to me and goes:
Boy: You're greedy!
Me: They're not all for me!
Boy: Who are they for then?
Me: They're for my friends!
Boy: Wait, how many friends do you have?

Smarty pants. He got two and he wasn't even going to share! Ah, what's "fair" in the mind of a 6-year-old.




After teaching my 1:30 class, I headed over to the DMV to take the dreaded scooter test. I actually began taking this test a week ago. Here's the deal. To drive a scooter you have to take a test. No biggie, right? The test is made up of two parts: a written part and a driving part. Sounds simple enough. Just to give you a taste, here is a sample of the written part:'


If a motorcyclist wants to show national pride, enhance social safety and family happiness, he/she must: (1) drive ethically and obey the laws (2) have great driving skills (3) stop smoking and drinking

Motorcycles running with extremely low or high speed, due to: (1) good stability (2) bad stability (3) doesn´t matter the driver must use good skills to adjust for a smooth driving

While some questions are fine, some don't even appear to be questions. We took it in English, which means you listen to the English on headphones, read along, and pick the right answer. You needed an 85 or higher to pass. Despite the voice in my headphones giving me the answers in the wrong order, and the buttons on my computer not really co-operating, I got a 92.5. Phew.

Then came the driving part. Laura (my former housemate) and I went out early to practice on the course. The course is insane. There is a straight shoot, about 50 meters, which you have to drive down in 7 seconds or more. Which means you have to have extremely good balance, because the lane you drive down is about a foot and a half wide. Hit the edge and this loud buzzer goes off to indicate you've messed up. If that wasn't enough, after the straight part, there's a course, complete with stop light, faux pedestrian crossing symbols and railroad crossing. Again, you have to stay within the lane, or the rest of the crowd watching (and believe me, they're all watching) will know that you can't drive due to the buzzer.

I was watching Laura practice, standing there with the rest of the group, when I hear a screech and look over to see that Laura has fallen off the scooter and was lying on the ground. Needless to say, after seeing that, and watching her head off to the hospital to have her bloody knees mended, I was somewhat shaken and decided I need some more practice (and time) before going back on the scooter.

1 week and several afternoons of practice later, I passed! In the rain, no less (they don't cancel driving tests for anything- not even typhoons)! Anne is taking me to buy my scooter (and helmet, no worries) next week, since we'll be in Taipei all this weekend for orientation. Finally! A method of transportation!

For your viewing pleasure: What I rode in Keelung, but what I will not be purchasing in Yilan:

Photos courtesy of Dale

Taking a break from the heat in Dante Coffee today with an entirely overpriced iced coffee, I read this in the Taipei Times and it made me miss my former home away from home:

New Zealand: Burglar Says Sorry With Gifts:
A burglar visited Graeme Glass' home twice in one day, first to steal some goods and later to return them-along with a heartfelt apology note. The thief strcuk while Glass was at work in Queenstown on Tuesday. The burglar smashed a window to gain entry and made off with a computer, a camera and Glass's wallet with an American Express card. The thief returned the goods later in the day, along with a new basketball and two pairs of gloves bought on the stolen credit card. Glass and his wife Shirley discovered the loot piled on their kitchen table with a neat, handwritten full-page note from the burglar saying he was sorry for "violating the safety and security of your home."

In other news, the Philadelphia Mutter museum also made headlines here!