Five months have now elapsed since I relocated to Taipei and I continue to be content with my life here. I continue to be surprised with how easy the transition has been and how quickly time has passed since I arrived.
Since my last post, Taiwan has been in the throws of "ghost month," a buddhist/taoist religious event that celebrates the opening of the gates to the spirit world.
While ghost month has little affect on the lives of foreigners and non-believers, many Taiwanese take special precautions throughout the month-long festival. Swimming is to be avoided as the spirits of those who died at sea may pull you into the afterlife; if one hears there name being called from behind, they must never turn around as it is likely a spirit trying to trick them; and staying out after dark is best avoided during this month, among other things. Interestingly, seemingly any mishap occurring within the month can be attributed to some sort of ghost activity. In order to appease/honor the spirits, homes and businesses offer food and beverages to the ghosts on tables adorned with incense and decorative offerings made of paper. I'm still awaiting my first ghostly encounter.
The start of the festival was marked in Taipei by a fireworks display on the banks of the Danshuei River. While I've never been much of a fan of firework displays, I thought the atmosphere would be entertainment enough. Upon arriving at the fireworks venue, I was immediately reminded why I had not attended Vancouver's summer fireworks festival for years.
"People mountain, people sea" (人山人海) is a locally used idiom that accurately describes the hoards that turned up to view the fireworks. After attempting to wiggle my way through shoulder-to-shoulder crowds for the better part of an hour I gave up and left. I heard the thunder of the fireworks from a good distance away from the riverside but I was glad to have escaped the crowd.
I was hoping to travel around Taiwan a great deal during the summer but weekly warnings of impeding Typhoons kept me boarded up at home awaiting extreme storms that would never come. I suppose it was lucky that the weather stayed so nice throughout the summer as I was able to walk to work every morning.
My summer work concluded at the end of August and I returned to the work schedule I had in the spring. I have the same class at that school, meaning only 6 students which makes it a fairly easy job. I have also began teaching adult conversation classes in the evening. At first I was nervous about standing in front of a class of adults for an hour and a a-half but I've impressed myself with how easily I've managed it, I think I owe my new-found confidence to the acting experience I've gained here.
The transition from summer to fall has also brought on a rash of acting work. I'm now the leading role in a series of English dialogue skits set to accompany a business English textbook. The book scenes are for the same magazine company for which I have been working. The increased workload has kept me busy and my bank account full.
I am still looking for a few more work-hours to fill my schedule but as of right now things are settling into place quite nicely. I have no big plans for the next few weeks but I am sure they will be as enjoyable I have become accustomed to here in Taipei!
