Matsu Pilgrimage

Matsu, the goddess of the sea, is a very popular spiritual diety who has a very cool festival/pilgrimage in her honor. I read that there is over 500 temples in her honor on Taiwan. On the 23rd day of the 3rd lunar month a week long pilgrimage starts in her honor. It travels through three counties, and is walked around 280-300km across the island, round trip. THe story, as we know it, of Matsu is that she was an intelligent and gifted girl who loved the sea. She would dress in red and help direct sailors safely into the harbor during storms. After she ascended to heaven, she often appeared to distressed sailors. She was brought over from mainland China, as Taiwan was settled primarily by fishermen.

Luckily for us, the pilgrimage happens to go through Changhua, so we didnt even need to get lost trying to find out where it goes through in other towns. We talked to some co-workers, and they told us where some popular spots are to see it. Matsu is followed by many devoted, some bicycling, others walking, and some riding in trailers or vans. It is sort of a "parade" as the devoted pass through the town before the big spectacle. You are never quite sure when Matsu will arrive, so many people arrive many hours early to guarantee they have a good view and to show their devotion. In Changhua alone, they visited many temples, and fireworks and firecrackers were being shot off all over for many hours. It is dependent on many variables when Matsu will go through the towns, so its not possible to plan far ahead. A coworkers tells us of the time when Matsu came through a downtown area in Changhua at three am, and its not like they kept it quiet because people were sleeping.

This is an extremely noisy affair, which I loved. Matt and I got out pretty early, because I really did not want to miss anything. We found a seat on the bridge, and sat there for about 1.5 hours before the parade started. It wasnt too bad, there was a beautiful Porsche we had driven by earlier in the day that pulled up, plus there was some Matsu devotees catching some sleep on the sidewalk, and other things to keep us entertained. Being foreigners in Taiwan, we also had several people take our picture (that we noticed!). Some tried to be sneaky, but others were up front and said "Thank You" afterwards. We witnessed some of the parade, which was decent. It was very different because normal cars and scooters were pulling in and out. It wasnt in parade formation, it was basically that you went through when you got there. If you are driving, you just find a space and squeeze in. The parade had vehicles with statues and shrines, and also people dressed in costumes designed to look like various dieties. Mostly though, it was devotees either walking, cycling, or in vehicles. Vendors came out with grilled squid, sausage, etc. We were supposed to be meeting friends for dinner, so we were very happy when a nice lady from Taipei chatted us up, and told us that the big show would be around eleven. We left for two hours, then came back. It was crazy. This is one of the biggest intersections in Changhua that we were hanging out at, at least 2 lanes each way, and in some places very wide. They ended up shutting it down around eleven thirty. People just slowly crushed in until it was one lane each way, then only a one way, and then they shut it down. I cant even guess how many people were there.

Well, Matt and I knew basically nothing about the Matsu pilgrimage. We just knew there were a lot of fireworks and firecrackers, but the actual events we didnt know. We just kind of imitated what everyone else around us was doing. We ended up all scrunched together when the Matsu statue came into view. People were going crazy all around us. Then somebody laid down like a brick of firecrackers, and stuff was raining down everywhere. The heat wave was pretty intense as well, but Matt didnt really feel it. He was too busy trying to stay on his feet. I felt like I was back in a mosh-pit at a heavy metal concert, because people were trying to get out of the way, and I almost lost my shoes like I did at the Panic at the Disco (an old band from my high school years) concert. The fireworks show was absolutely, ridiculously amazing thing I have ever seen. They were going down a 4 lane road, shooting off the types of fireworks that you see at your towns annual firework show, with spectators only 10, 20, 30, 40 feet away. The fireworks only go maybe 10 stories high, and the ash is falling all around you. The smell of sulfur is all around. You have to crane your neck really far back to see them shooting right above your head. The show is nonstop fireworks for 15 to 20 minutes. You can feel it all around you, the noise is insane, and it's absolutely beautiful. What is also worth mentioning that as we were walking behind Matsu, there was several Moms there with infants, who were fast asleep! How could you sleep during that?!? Even though it was midnight by the time the show started, there was no age that would be inappropriate to be there. There were two year olds, and 80 year olds. Anybody is welcome. And what is even better, Matsu will be coming back through this weekend. Lucky us! There will be a video coming soon, but me being me can't figure out how to load it. We were hoping youtube but I dont know why thats not working...

Some sweet souvenirs!

We have picked up some souvenirs here in Taiwan that we really like. I think my favorite is a mask that we got at Taroko Gorge in Hualien when Tasha and Jeff were visiting. It's about 14 inches high, and is designed in one of the aboriginal peoples traditional way. I cant remember which it is, but I believe that it is the Ayatal people. We also picked up a cool tea pot, which is good for making the loose tea, not the kind in bags that we are so used to in the states. We havent used it too much, but I think we are just not in the habit of it. We also have gotten a cool dragon scroll, and a Buddha. There have been little trinkets here and there as well, but we didnt feel like posting any of those. Hope everything is going great back home! Miss you all! Also, our cats were being sweeties again. They amuse us to no end!

Our Kitties

So we have 2 wonderful kitties, who we have been snapping up a bunch of pictures of lately. Pizi especially is very photogenic, Xiao tends to run away from the camera whenever we pull it out. Being a girl, I think she is just scared of looking like a porker! Anyway, they amuse us a lot, and possibly spend more time with us than any other pet we have ever had before. Pizi is especially loving, and while they both sleep with us every night, Pizi has a need to sleep under the covers next to us. Xiao is a little less affectionate, as she had a very difficult life on the streets before being taken in by Bark Taiwan. Bark is the great company based out of Kaohsiung that took in Pizi and Xiao. Animals in Taiwan get mistreated a lot, and many become street animals. Bark helps as many of these as they can, especially the injured one as there are just too many for a little company to help, and also help with neutering street animals to try to cut the population. So if your interested in a Taiwanese pet, they are a great place to adopt from! Well, we have a lot of great pictures of them, so here are some.



Life here has been back to normal. However, on Sunday night I was going to hop in the shower, and I was standing there, and standing there waiting for the water to get hot. Nothing happening. Two minutes later, nothing happening. Decided to give it a bit, maybe it was a fluke, and it would turn on later. Our electricity was on, our gas was working, so we had no clue what was happening. After a frigid shower, we forgot to mention it on Monday! So we had another day of feeling like we were jumping into a Minnesota lake in April when we showered, to discover when we asked a Taiwanese co-worker that our hot water heater is run off batteries! The kind you get at 7-11. Matt ran and got some, and all fixed! We could not believe that hot water here is run off batteries, and we went without hot showers for two days with something that was fixed for 2 USD at 7-11. So that is our only interesting story of the last few days. Hope everything is going great for everyone back home!

Kenting pictures

Kenting-Mom and Pat part 2

Kenting is an absolutely beautiful place. Even in the low season, it being winter, it was like 80 degrees every day. I guess during summer it gets to over 100, which would be way too hot to do hiking, or really anything other than beach, in my opinion. But I have a very low tolerance for heat. We stayed at a beautiful place on a hill over South Bay in Nanwan. The first day we got there we just hung out in the water and on the beach...until we were kicked off due to a tsunami warning! We went back to our place, sat on the porch some talking to the other guests and watching the news, keeping an eye on the Japan earthquake and seeing if it would affect us. Well, it really didnt hit Taiwan much. The guy who owns the hostel, Achi, is a surfer and he said that the waves the next day were a lot more powerful than they are on a normal day. We also felt a little bit of it when we were playing in the water, or so we think. The waves got pretty strong for just playing in the water. We also went up to Kenting National Forest. Sadly, or stupidly on our part, our camera was not as charged as we had thought, so we didnt get that many pictures :( Mom and Pats cameras were with low batteries as well, so all of us missed out on a lot of pictures we would have taken otherwise. It was really gorgeous, and there was some really neat caves that we didnt get any pictures of. The trees and rocks and everything are absolutely beautiful in the forest. It was just a fabulous place. We rented scooters for the day and explored, and the whole area is just beautiful. Scarily though, Matt and I were coming back from breakfast back to our place, and we saw a snake! A really gross, like a 5 foot long black snake. We tried to figure out what it was, but couldnt decide for sure. We told Achi, but he didnt know either 100%. Could have been a cobra, or could have been this other one that tries to steal chicken eggs from his neighbor. Im just glad it slithered off. Sure gave me the heebie-jeebies though.

Overall, we had a great time! Kenting is such a beautiful place. I wish we would have been able to take more pictures, and stay for another week or so, but we will be back! Its a great, relaxing vacation, and a great place to just hang out and catch up with people!

Sorry, we will be posting pictures shortly. The web album site is not working right now, but as soon as it is we will get them up. Thanks!

Long time, no see!

Hi everybody!

I realize I talk to a lot of people on a semi-regular basis, but you still dont get to see or hear all that much about whats going on with us! Well, Tasha and Jeff visited us in early January and we had a lot of fun. We spent some time in Hualien and Taipei, and they spent some time here in Changhua while Matt and I worked. Well, my Mom and Pat are visiting right now! I am quite bored while everyone else is sleeping, and since I was uploading some pictures I figured I would share them with all of you. If you have not seen the pictures from Tasha and Jeffs visit, I may post a few on here if I have the motivation.



So one of my favorite parts of Taiwan is the night markets. I absolutely love them. Especially the ones up in Taipei or in the big cities. Changhuas is nice, and the food is good, but it doesnt have that amazing energy that big cities just pulse with. There is so much great food, fun games, little shops and trinkets, and people everywhere! Lots of noise, crowds, and there is truly something for everyone. Well, with Tasha and Jeff we were able to go to both Shilin and Huasi Night Market up in Taipei. We played games, did pretty poorly for the most part, although I did win a stuffed animal thing from those claw machines you drop some coins in. Also, the fruit here is beautiful and delicious! There are a lot of fruit stands at Shilin. I love how many colors they are. I really want to try the purple dragon fruit. I guess there is two varieties, and we have only ever tried the whitish one. To me they seem kiwi-ish, one white and one purple, both with black seeds.

Well, we haven't been up to anything too exciting recently. We have to save a lot of money to spend on those pesky little, or not so little, college loans. However, we have two days coming up soon and although we havent finalized any plans we are hoping to do something exciting! You will know when we do! The weather has been getting really gorgeous lately. It still gets pretty chilly most nights, but some days have been getting close to 80. Its been just fabulous. Matt and I have been trying to get out for walks to enjoy this. One day recently we wandered up to Bagua to get some sun, and see all the hawkers selling their stuff. Cant say for certain, but it looked like one lady had ostrich eggs! They were huge!



Mom and Pat have been here since Saturday evening. We all got back to the hotel, and went for a short walk. We happened to stumble upon the Banciao Night Market, which was a lot better than we could have hoped for. We were just out to stretch our legs before turning in (and Matt and I were starving). I had a tasty pork chop (my first that I have knowingly eaten since arriving here), Matt had a steak, and Mom and Pat enjoyed some very Taiwanese noodles with sprouts.

The next day we exhausted ourselves trying to fit in as much of Taipei as we could. We went to 2/28 Peace Park, which was quite cool. There were a whole bunch of people doing martial arts in the park, which was super neat to see. Pat would know more about it than I would, but even I could appreciate and differentiate different styles. Cool swords stuff, tai-chi, Pat said some kung-fu style, and various other stuff probably.

Then we were off to Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall, where there was some sort of event happening. There were a ton of people there, and I dont even know how to begin to describe it. It was pretty neat though.

We decided to do the Maokong Gondola next, which was definately worth it. We didnt know what we were doing though, so ended up getting in the line/queue for the gondola with the crystal glass floor. It was absolutely amazing, but it took a lot longer, and Im torn on if it was worth it. We did get a gondola cart to ourselves, it didnt cost anymore, but we had to wait in line for a long time! I think on a weekday it wouldnt be such a hassle, but weekends in general in Taipei are a pain in the butt. Oh well, like I said, I am torn on if it was worth it. Doing the gondola is of course worth it, but Im not sure the glass floored one is. It was absolutely beautiful. The ride was amazing, and not very scary even though that type of stuff normally scares me stupid. Once we got up to the top it was even more spectacular. The view was amazing. It was a hazy day, so you could see the mountains off in the distance poking out from clouds. Then the top of Taipei 101 standing among the clouds. It was like something out of a fairy tale. I truly loved it. I cant wait to go back. The view was one of the prettiest I have seen. We ordered a locally grown tea, from in those very mountains, and some lunch. Ate it right there on the deck with the amazing view. (I know I keep mentioning it, but I just cant help myself.) We tried a new food! Pat has been great in just how adventurous he is with food, and so we tried turtle dove! It was actually great. Moist and delicious. Matt was the only one though who actually ate the head, but we all enjoyed the rest of it. We headed back down the mountain, on the normal carriage of the gondola this time.



Then off we went to Taipei 101! We had hoped to make it before dusk originally, but that just did not happen. It is not nearly as cool in the night time, although it does light up prettily. You just cant tell what anything is from that far up, it just looks like pretty lights everywhere. Oh well, now we know. After that we had been out and about for around 11 hours, and were pretty tired. Headed back to the hotel, and stayed in the rest of the night. I think Matt and I had overly optimistic ideas of what you could all do in Taipei in a day, so we missed out on some of our favorites. We are now back in Changhua, but will be off on more exciting pursuits this weekend! I promise I will try to write again soon!

Christmas Pictures!

If you click on the pictures you can see them bigger! Ill write more next week. Tasha and Jeff are here, yay!