4 Month Update

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Ni hao everyone! (Hello in Chinese!)

I know it’s been quite a while since my last update, and I apologize for this. It’s so astounding to me how fast time flies! As you can imagine, it’s just been go, go, go all the time.

Well, I would say it’s time for a massive update. Hold onto your hats everyone, grab some coffee and be prepared for the longest update known to man-kind (at least the longest one I’ve written!)

Let’s start way way way back in October when Cornel hosted its annual Halloween Carnival. Halloween is not celebrated here the way it is in America, with door-to-door jokes and treats, with well put-together costumes. But I do have to say, that this holiday has become increasingly more and more popular in Taiwan. Although aisles in the Carrefour here (equivalent to WalMart) are not dedicated like that in Walgreens, Walmart, Target, or any other major store, it’s definitely increased through the years. Costumes are available for renting or owning (and some of them are quite extravagant actually!), and little bits of candy here and there are available to give to individual kiddos. I think what I found most interesting was the little Halloween celebration I had at the end of both my 2nd and 5th grade classes. When I handed out candy, many said they did not eat chocolate because of health reasons relayed by their parents…this coming from 8 and 10 year olds! They were absolutely appreciative though of the candy received from America (Thanks Mom!) and could not comprehend the idea of this candy placed into a box and traveling halfway across the world in time for Halloween, so this definitely was a special treat for them! I’ve attached more photos for your viewing pleasure as well. In this entry, you’ll get to see me dressed as Super Girl….and my preferred mode of transportation….my Super Scooter! Don’t worry folks, I’m not taking the pictures AND driving at the same time…I’m not that super! But enjoy all the same.

Well, I’m sure your anxious to hear all the other happenings, like I said, it’s been busy! I’ll go even further back, say around September 11th, the Saturday I went to Meoli (pronounced Meow-lee). I’ve heard about this place from my 2nd grade Chinese Teacher, Celina, who said what a wonderful and relaxing area this is, complete with a restaurant selling many kinds of coffees, teas, and delicious desserts, in addition to lunches and dinners. A group of new teachers and I decided this weekend was prime time to go, so we boarded the “slow” train (versus the High Speed Rail (HSR)) and took a taxi to this little coffee house/restaurant further in the mountains. It was so nice to get away from the hustle and bustle of the city and into the cooler areas of Taiwan (it was still hot and humid at this point). The coffee house was everything Celina has said, complete with gardens to walk through, a stream along the boundaries of the property, and even a rope swing! The inside was just as nice as the outside, and since the air was cooler, they kept the doors open to let in the fresh air…ahhh, just so nice remembering it! The food was also delicious, I might add.

A little after that, another group of new teachers and I experienced another area of Taiwan, up in the mountains (a reoccurring theme since the weather still remained sticky!). This area is called Alishan, and it is beautiful - a major destination area for many foreigners and Taiwanese. We took the HSR to an area called Chayi (pronounced Chi-ee), which was only a 20 minute ride. After, we were going to board a huge bus (many buses here are double decker busses, reminded me much of tourist busses, but really are the main mode of transportation and sometimes used as the main line of metro transportation) but instead were convinced to board a “short shuttle bus” which would get us to our destination faster than if we took the big double decker bus. A word to the cautious (that I did not heed…and almost paid for it!), the ride tends to justle back and forth quite a bit, so packing Dramamine is the best idea…for my part, I did pack it, but was dumb enough to leave it in my pack in the back of the bus, where it was inaccessible through the remainder of our trip up the mountain to Alishan. Boy, this dumb mistake definitely made the trip feel much longer than it did coming back (when I did take a heaping dose of Dramamine!) After our 2 and half hour bus ride, we finally made it to our destination – the Alishan Forest Recreation Area. We piled our things in a hotel (not a sketchy one by any means!), and hiked a bit up the road that leads into the area. We got there late on Saturday afternoon and missed the sunset, but Alishan still held a rather mysterious feel to it. You’ll see why in the pictures below. Let’s just say, I’ve never seen a forest so misty and eerie. It reminded me of Harry Potter or any other movie involving misty forests! Very creepy but neat at the same time. The next morning, we rose at 4 a.m. and purchased train tickets aboard the Alishan Forest Railway and hiked a little ways to a 360 degree platform, with an amazing view of the mountains of Taiwan. I can’t describe it in writing; you’ll see what I mean in the pictures. It was definitely a little cooler out too. It’s interesting how after living in a hot and humid place for 4 months can make you feel even a slight temperature drop. It was only 13 degrees Celsius (roughly 50 degrees Fahrenheit), but we definitely needed extra covering beyond a T-Shirt, little jacket, and capris. Winter will be interesting here… Anyways, let’s just say I’ve never seen a more beautiful sunrise. We even saw the first peek over the mountains, literally took everyone’s breath away. Like I said, you’ll just have to look through the pictures and you’ll see what I mean! After the sunrise, we hiked back down the mountain and through the forested area of Alishan. It’s so green, almost reminded me of Lord of the Rings. Everything was covered in moss and gave such a natural earthy feel, almost like you forget that humans were even present. Very interesting. We only stayed until 10 am; after having been up since 4 am, I think everyone was ready to go. So I took my massive dose of Dramamine and had a decent 2 ½ hour bus ride back.

The next weekend, we went on another little day trip to a small town called Lukang (pronounced Loo-gong) and visited one of the oldest temples in Taiwan. Before our little adventure to the temple though, we walked through a rather busy day market and stumbled upon another temple. What was so interesting about this one is the ceremony that was taking place in front. It’s so hard to explain the purpose of the celebration, I’m confused myself, but details are essential here. Everything means something. I can tell you that there were two men who were possessed by spirits. The man in the yellow was possessed by the god of Drunkenness. The vile he drinks from is actually alcohol and he has been drinking for quite some time. Sounds like an easy part to play right? Not really. The man who is shirtless, with black pants and a red sash was also possessed by a spirit. I’m not sure what god he embodied, but both these spirits are considered evil as they were not allowed to enter the temple towards the conclusion of the ceremony. Keep in mind I said they were both possessed, I’ve never seen anything like this ever! If you look closely at both of their faces, their eyes are half lidded like they are in a trance. The man in yellow continually falls and walks as if knows what he’s doing, but essentially, is blinded. The other man will do a kind of “walk/dance”, which after about a minute of this, will halt and hit himself in the back with his sword. He is actually bleeding at this point. The sword is not fake and about 5 minutes later, is given a spiky sword with many sharp points which he also continually beats himself on the back with. We were told later by a local that the two men, since they are possessed, feel no pain, which is good, because if you notice in one of the videos, the man in the yellow robes goes to place his hand on the man with the sword and his arm is sliced. Yet, he continues to act as though nothing had happened, as if he really does feel no pain. Like I said, I have never witnessed something like this before, and it’s definitely hard to comprehend. At the completion of the ceremony, a man with a branch waves the leafy part at a cart filled with incense and other gifts. The man waves his branch 3 times and after each time, the cart is ran at the temple, stopped, and pulled back. On the 3rd time, the cart is “granted access” and left to the side. (there were no ramps into the temple). After the completion of the ceremony, 2 ambulances arrived (I’m assuming for both the possessed men). What a start to the day! After walking through one of the oldest streets in Lukang, and Taiwan, which also hosted a small day market, and before the temple, we went to a tiny tiny tiny alley way. This is also advertised as a place to visit when coming through the town. It had a special name which eludes me…something about being thin…either way you’ll see why. You could barely turn without eating brick! After our adventure in the alleyway, we headed to the temple and spent a good 45 minutes walking around and taking in the peace and quiet. Many visitors remained silent in homage and respect to Buddha, always lighting incense before entering, as a sign of prayers being sent up to Buddha through smoke, and then presented themselves in front of the “altar”. Depending on the weights, wants, and offerings of your heart, some remained for a longer time than others. Before leaving, people would always bow slightly and then continue on their ways. Some offered fruits and other items to the “altar” as a gift. You’ll see what I am talking about in the photos below. After spending a little over 3 hours, we left on our “mini bus” and headed back to Taichung. Phew! What a day!

The next weekend (see, I told you it’s been a busy couple of months!) we went for round 2 down in Kenting, Taiwan. Unlike last time, when I went with my church group, I went with several Cornel teachers. We arrived late Friday night by way of HSR and crazy cab ride. There were 3 of us who arrived that night, with 2 more meeting us the next morning. It was just nice to relax on the beach and really soak up the sun (sorry…I know that you’re currently having some crazy snowy weather stuff going on…so I’ll make it short) We spent all day Saturday being lazy and visited the night market that night. We also met up with a couple of other teacher friends who had her parents in town. They were staying at a nicer hotel, so we decided to lounge around their place a bit. It was located next to the beach and we must have been right in the middle of a school function because many school age kids came onto the beach with these large white garbage bags. We really didn’t pay much attention to them, but after a while, we found out they weren’t garbage bags at all, but material to make huge floating lanterns. What a sight to see! Each group, about 8-10 kids, wrote some message onto the lantern, and then would start the flame that would send it up into the night sky. It was really cool! Unfortunately, 2 burned up but 2 did make it! And it was really neat to see these huge lanterns just disappear into the distance, floating around the island. Something I’m sure I won’t forget….Sunday, a storm was rolling in. Actually, a typhoon. For those of you that do not know what a typhoon is, it is exactly like a hurricane, but in the Pacific rather than the Atlantic. Needlesstosay, our Sunday was cut short because of the storm….you really do not want to go to a beach with nasty winds, believe me, sand hurts when you’re being pelted with it! Once we realized that Kenting was beginning to prepare for the storm, we decided to high tail it out of there.

The next big trip was not until November, when Carinna, Elisa, and myself took a little weekend trip to Taroko Gorge…unfortuneately, we did not get to see much as we were hitting the rainy days over on the other side of the island as well. This place not located near Taichung, in fact, we had to go around the entire island via HSR, slow train, and bus, to get to our Hotel in Hualien (pronounced Wah-lee-en). Once we got there though, it was a rather nice hotel. I’m attaching some more photos so you can see what I mean. We arrived at roughly 1 am and met our driver who picked us up from the station. He was very nice, but definitely hyped up on Red Bull or something…I suppose we were all a bit tired though. After a short ride to the hotel and a long conversation with our driver, we found out that the Gorge would be closed that Saturday until 2 p.m. due to an international marathon being held in the Park. So we took our time exploring the city of Hualien a bit, rented our scooters for the weekend, and drove aimlessly around until 2 p.m. when we reached the Gorge. Even though it was a rather cloudy and misty day, it was still one of my top favorites that I’ve visited so far. Even the cloud cover on the hill tops was just breathtaking! We scooted up and around the park abit, stopping for pictures and to just take a break. We eventually stopped at a nice little café halfway through the park and enjoyed a nice steaming cup of joe with some delicious cream puff treats. We also enjoyed some genuine Taroko Gorge High Mountain Tea – only grown and found in Taroko – the flavor was blueberry with rose petals…mmmm fragrant and delicious! Definitely warmed the 3 of us up! After a few more miles up the mountain road, we decided it was time to turn around, since we came ill prepared and all 3 of us were freezing down to our bones. So we coasted down the mountain, came back to Hualien, and enjoyed a time at the night market in town. The next day, Sunday, we woke early to head back to Taroko since we felt robbed of a good long Saturday in the park…but you know what? It was raining pretty hard Sunday, throughout the day too! What a bummer. So we decided to leave our scooters behind and take the free shuttle up the mountain. My main goal was to hike at least one trail. We took our shuttle all the way to where we stopped and turned around the day before, and took a trail that led through a cave on the side of a cliff (Really cool!), and eventually found the main road…only this time…no bus stop! We hiked down the road a bit, figuring we would run into one, and on our little journey, we found a huge suspension bridge hanging over the gorge. We took a little detour and got some really neat photos of the gorge. Then after a little more of a hike on the road and finding no bus stop, we flagged down a bus on its way down the mountain, hopped on, and enjoyed a trip back to Hualien, just in time to get the last train out of the city. It was too short of a trip for too beautiful of a place.

Well, Taroko Gorge was my last trip out of the Taichung, after that, the holidays started to make everything a little busier here (can’t seem to get away from it!) We celebrated Thanksgiving, which felt a little odd trying to explain a completely American holiday/tradition to a country that does not recognize it whatsoever. But nonetheless, the students got a little party complete with turkey and corn soup (Ok, not exactly what we eat, but it’s a break) As for the foreign staff, we all celebrated the holiday as best as we could – we found a restaurant that had a special Thanksgiving meal, reserved our seats, and feasted on wannabe Thanksgiving turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, and pumpkin pie for desert. But nothing beats Grandma’s.

Currently, I am still surviving teaching, and absolutely still enjoying it. I’m a bit under the weather right now with my health. I’ve been sick since last Thursday, and it’s Monday with, what the doctor tells me is a cold. I’m doubtful it’s a cold as many of the symptoms I have are more geared towards an infection, and I’ve also lost my voice (not good for a teacher). I’ve been to the hospital twice – you never go to the doctor here – always to the hospital, to which they keep telling me it’s a cold. Either way, I’ll weather it, I always do. Just a little frustrating to try to explain your condition via translator (my friend Annie) and they still won’t believe you…instead they did an xray, took blood, and wanted to put me on an IV (to which I said no way). So I took this day off of school to recover, at least try to get most of my voice back, and that brings me to now, where I’m writing you fine people.

I’m sorry that this update has taken me so long.

As for now, I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! Please try to stay warm, and know that I’m thinking about you often, especially around this time of year. I hope only glad tidings have been brought to you these past months and I look forward to seeing everyone in 2011!

Love,

Mary Beth

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Photos

Cornel Halloween Carnival
Roommie photo! Kelli's dressed as Pippi Longstocking and Carinna is Spiderwoman

Cornel Halloween Carnival
Supergirl on her Super Scooter!

Meoli Coffee Shop
Carinna on the rope swing

Meoli Coffee Shop
Our whole group at Meoli - Rachael, Carinna, Elisa, Me, Stephen, Eva

Meoli Coffee Shop
Rice fields

Taroko Gorge
Swallow's Grotto - roads here are blasted into the walls of the cliff

Taroko Gorge
Hiking in Taroko

Lukang
Crazy ceremoy we saw

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This is the smallest alleyway in Lukang, it's known as the Kissing Alley because you're so close to the walls

Alishan
Waiting for the sunrise

Alishan
"Here comes the sun, do do do do do do"

Lukang
The famous lantern shop in Lukang