If you've ever seen the movie Tangled, you know what a sky lantern is.
Well, I can tell you from experience that the magic of sky lanterns isn't just something out of a fairy tale. Every year, the village of Pingxi marks the Chinese New Year with a several week long Sky Lantern (天燈) Festival and fills the sky with so many beautiful lanterns it would make Mandy Moore jealous.
This year's Chinese New Year festivities started on the Lunar New Year, January 23. It is estimated that every year between 100,000 and 200,000 lanterns are released in the cute little hamlet of Pingxi over the course of the festival. However, the biggest day of festivities falls on the last day of the Chinese New Year, which this year was February 6th. On the final day of the festival, the town organizes a big concert and a mass release of 1,000 lanterns at once (it's amazing, see above video).
I wonder what the measure word is for a group of lanterns? Herd, plethora, murder?
Apparently the tradition of lantern launching in the area first began after the Han settled there. There was so much crime in the area that the settlers began using lanterns as a way of signaling to each other that they were safe. This tradition eventually evolved into a full scale yearly festival after the town;s coal mines shut down in the late 20th century and the villagers needed a new source of income. And, when you go, you definitely get the feeling that this event is the town's bread and butter. Everyone and their brother (literally) sets up booths all along the sides of the road selling everything from stinky tofu and grilled squid on a stick to Turkish chicken wraps and patterned bath robes. And, of course, there are lanterns of every size and style for sale everywhere.
Every kind of dumpling imaginable!
This guy was selling brown sugar lollipops, spicy snails, and corn on a stick all at one very enterprising stand
Toy lanterns and night light lanterns for sale next to a stack of ready to launch DIY lanterns
In some ways, today's lanterns still retain some of their original meaning. The only difference is that now, instead of being a symbol of safety, they are used as more of a prayer for safety in the new year. Nowadays, it's become popular for people paint their wishes for the new year, which usually includes something about health and safety, on a lantern and then light them up and let the lanterns carry their wishes to heaven. The streets and train tracks were swarming with people painting their wishes and releasing them. Some of the lanterns were cute, some were funny, one or two were quite pretty and, in accordance with the Chinese zodiac, dragons abounded.
This lantern reads: "Mega Millions + Super Lotto + (something I can't make out in Chinese) = Billionaire!"
This little guy falls firmly into the cute category
One of the more impressively painted dragons (yeah, I was a little jealous of their lantern painting skills)
Cherrica, Christine, and I painted our own lantern with my host parents, Jane and Jason.
Jane's side, she wished for health, luck, and peace in the new year.
Cherrica and I signing our side, complete with dino-dragon holding explosives. It says "Happy year of the dragon!"
Christine drew a crowd that watched eagerly to find out if a foreigner can really write in Chinese (spoiler: she can)
Jason's side
Getting ready to launch our wishes!
There it goes!
Although the whole day was absolutely amazing, nothing can compare to the grand finale mass lantern release and concert. While we didn't get there in time to release a lantern in the first wave (there were already over 2,000 die hards lined up for the noon sign up when we arrived at 11), we were lucky enough to get a place in the third wave of lanterns (and, by default, a better of the first wave when they went off!). It was a great experience and I'm so happy I got to participate in the festivities.
Please note that, while the following pictures and the video at the beginning of this blog are pretty, they just can't do the real thing justice. My advice: If you're ever in Taiwan in early February, you just have to go see the lantern festival for yourself. It's breathtaking!
Setting off the first wave of lanterns
This is what 1,000 lanterns looks like!
Getting ready to set off our (rapidly decorated) lantern
I feel like some sort of "Goodnight Moon" reference would be appropriate here?
You know what they say, "Time flies when you're having fun." It also flies when you're so busy you can't see straight. And when you're both at the same time, well... whiplash becomes a distinct possibility. But enough with the idioms. The point is, I realize that I have been a very bad blogger lately. Even my 93 year old grandfather has noticed and voiced his displeasure. So enough with the guilt trips, everyone (cough*mom*cough). I'm back.
A lot's happened over the last few months. For starters, I officially survived my first semester as a teacher! I also turned 23 and, as most of you already know, my family came to visit me for Christmas. It was pretty much the best Christmas present anyone's ever given me and it was really fun to get to share a bit of my life here with them!
So, without further ado, here's a (really quick and abbreviated) recap of what I've been up to lately so I can get back to my regularly scheduled blogging:
1. Siena and I took some of our wonderful 4th graders on a field trip to the Houtong Cat Village to thank them for all the hard work they put into our weekly English sentence skits.
Siena was very popular with the cats in the cat village (this particular cat
flat out refused to get out of her lap)
Only in Taiwan: you can buy cans of wet cat food and feed the cats with chop sticks
2. I took a ride on the Maokong Gondola with my host family and had lunch at a lovely teahouse.
With Candy on the Gondola
Traditional Taiwanese tea set
3. My family visited me for Christmas! We spent about a week with my awesome host family in Luodong and another week traveling around Taiwan.
With Pei Cheng's preschool class after teaching a lesson about Christmas. Immediately after
this picture was taken, the kids mobbed my dad, who they decided was actually Santa.
My two families at our beautiful hotel in Wuling (right by Sheipa national park)
Mom enjoying the bounty of the Kaoshiung night market: strawberry shaved ice and fried mushrooms
Getting dirty at the Guanziling mud springs
We were rather surprised when we discovered that the Formosan Aboriginal Culture Village
at Sun Moon Lake is actually more like One Piece World (One Piece is a very popular anime)
And, to make our vacation even better, one of my friends invited us to their New Years Eve party, which culminated with us fireworks display at Taipei 101 from their roof! This is why it was awesome:
4. I turned 23! I had an early celebration with my family and my Taiwanese friends before my family went home. On my actual birthday, I headed to Beitou to check out the hot springs, beautiful Japanese architecture, and hell valley (a thermal vent that releases 70 degree Celsius water, so hot that the area is constantly shrouded in an etherial mist).
Celebrating at a delicious Peking duck restaurant
In Hell Valley with Stephanie
5. I attended the Fulbright midyear conference in beautiful Xitou Leader Hotel (right near Sun Moon Lake). I got to learn a little bit about all of the awesome research being done this year in Taiwan and "reconnect with nature."
A boat ride on Sun Moon Lake
On the Sky-Walk, part of one of the many nature trails surrounding our hotel in Xitou
6. Since the midyear conference took us all the way to the middle of Taiwan, Christine and I decided to stay in the area for a few extra days and explore the towns of Lugang, Changhua, and Taichung.
Mazu Temple in downtown Lugang
Lugang's narrowest (and most famous) alley is called "Breast Touching Lane" because it is impossible for two people to pass each other going in opposite directions without their breasts touching
Rowing around on Taichung lake
The Baguashan Giant Buddha in Changhua
*Whew* I think that's enough for one post. Up next, I'll tell you about my wonderful winter break trip to Japan and Pingxi's awesome lantern festival!
When planning out Halloween activities for Pei Cheng, I was told to wear my Halloween costume on Wednesday and Thursday and that all of the English teachers would tell their students that, if they dressed up on either day, they could go trick-or-treating in my classroom. However, the school decided at the last minute that there were simply too many kids who wanted to participate so we had to move trick-or-treating to the courtyard because the principal was afraid it might become a safety hazard if all of the kids tried to come my classroom at once. That's right, we had to adjust our plans in order to avoid a candy-driven riot of adorableness. I love my job.
In the end, the way the Halloween festivities at Pei Cheng ended up going down kind of made me feel like a mall Santa (okay, more like a twisted Nightmare Before Christmas-type mall Sandy Claws in a bat costume).
Getting ready to see all the good little boys and girls
It was a two day extravaganza. The school set up a whole display stage on which the students could (between classes) come up and trick-or-treat with my co-teacher, David, and I. Instead of helper elves, I had the 6th grade hall monitors (in the purple vests) working as my bouncers all day. They had to set up little orange cones for crowd control. We even set up a festive holiday background for kids to have their pictures taken with me in front of.
My bouncers getting ready for action as the class bells ring and the kids run
to get in the trick-or-treat line
We were a popular attraction
Posing with the Halloween background board.
Note: I don't think Christmas boy's parents really understood the whole
"Halloween" thing when they were dressing him this morning
(which only made him all the more adorable)
Perhaps the free candy had something to do with it, but Halloween at Pei Cheng was a big hit. The kids loved it (some of them even switched costumes with their friends and tried to come back 4 or 5 times over the 2 days we had trick-or-treating) and even the principal got involved. He dressed up as a "killer" and helped hand out candy. One of my Taiwanese friends later informed me that this is very unusual (her actual word was "shocking") since, in Taiwan, principals are known for always being very serious and professional. I guess I'm just lucky to get to work with a principal who likes to have fun!
Hanging with spiderman and Pei Cheng's "killer" principal (heh heh heh, puns)
Candy for everyone!
Long story short, teaching in Taiwan has given me just one more reason to love Halloween. For more pictures (including close ups of some of the kids' adorable costumes), you can go to the school's photo album at: http://140.111.143.8/gallery2/main.php?g2_itemId=30606
October 10th, or Double Ten Day, is celebrated here in Taiwan every year as the National Day. It commemorates the uprising that led to the fall of the Qing Dynasty, and the establishment of the Republic of China in 1912. In other words, it's kind of like the Taiwanese version of the 4th of July. This year, 10-10 was especially exciting because the ROC is celebrating its 100th anniversary!
Commemorative arch set up for the occasion on a street shut down for the occasion
Every year, Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs holds a swanky Double Ten gala for all the diplomats and other important people in Taiwan. This year, all the Fulbrighters were invited. It was very exciting getting to go to a bona fide red carpet affair. We may be just lowly elementary school English teachers but lot of dignitaries and diplomats also attended. The president of Taiwan, Ma Ying-jeou, even made an appearance.
My lovely roomie and I on the red carpet
"I'm President Ma and I approve these dumplings." I didn't actually get to meet
him but I did get a chance to stand a few feet away and take his picture!
There were lots of interesting people from all over the world, more delicious food than I could possibly eat, and there was a fantastic traditional dance/drum performance in the middle of the little lake on the property. To be honest, I didn't really make a lot of fancy new political connections. The most famous person I actually talked to was Miss Taiwan (who, I found out after attempting to speak with her in Chinese, is actually from California). I mostly ate a lot of free food and enjoyed the spectacle. All in all, it was a pretty awesome party.
This one's for you, Dad.
Making custard cakes
Yum! We approve.
Giant flowering Taiwan! Let's hear it for agriculture, everyone.
They even hired some artists to make little clay figurines for guests. Apparently making clay miniatures on a stick is a type of traditional handicraft here in Taiwan. Back in the day, they used to be made of edible materials but now they're just for show (and therefore full of toxic chemicals that make the clay easier to mold). Either way, my parrot was way too cute to eat.
The artist and my fun new souvenir. Getting him home in one piece
was a definite challenge but he's very happy at home on my desk now.
