Was I Just Visited by Gangsters?

It’s coming up on election time for mayor and local representatives, and I most likely just visited by gangsters promoting their candidate. If you’re looking for me to post a picture of the candidate which he just gave me when we shook hands, don’t look for it here!

I told them as I have other candidates and their workers who’ve come by the last two weeks that I don’t have the right to vote here, but as is usually the case I’m still politely handed the literature. Never mind that I probably wouldn’t want to vote for them even if I could as it was clear that over the noon hour they had a little too much to drink.  Not the best way to attract voters, but I guess it doesn’t matter as they have other means.

Yesterday eating lunch with coworkers at a local establishment the owner and his wife did not seem their normal talkative happy selves. We think it’s because the customers at the other table, a group of 5 or 6 men one might describe as looking a little thug-like. My coworker had seen them the previous evening eliciting a discomforting reaction from one of his neighbors. Maybe they were out  “encouraging” the voters. A couple of the same fellows were back at the same restaurant in the evening when I drove by again.

A friend from a nearby township said that votes are going for 5,000 NT per person in the election in which he is assisting. The present mayor of that place is a known gang leader. Three years ago I heard that another local acquaintance’s father (whose family used to be a prominent in the community) was coerced into stepping down from re-election after he was physically threatened. Democracy at work. But my country’s democracy has it’s own problems too.

BeiGang Matsu Birthday Celebration

Last night I went with 2 friends to visit the family of my friend Sam in North Harbor (BeiGang), an early cultural center in Taiwan. We were told we would just be eating snacks so we ate a light supper first, but we were in fact treated to a full course home-cooked meal! Afterward we learned the meal was prepared in the home and not hired to outsiders was because of the death of an extended family member in the last year.

BeiGang is no longer on the main circuit on the annual Matsu pilgrimage, but it does retain a unique claim to fame with regard to the celebration of the birth of their goddess Matsu. Children put on make-up and climb atop trucks to give away candies as the parade of dozens of trucks passes through town. The candy truck circuit began last night, and will continue every evening for the next five days.

I was uncomfortable and didn’t stick around to watch the candy parade very long. In the 15 minutes or so I observed, I was particularly struck with how unhappy those on the trucks looked. I didn’t see a single smile the whole time, and I wasn’t the only one who noticed this either. That reminded me of how how last Christmas a Christian church came to visit the restaurant I was at in Tainan at the time for Christmas caroling, a celebration of the birth of God’s Son Jesus Christ as a baby into this world. Due to what was probably a busy day of work and the start of a long evening of caroling, not a single one of the carolers was smiling, and the singing came across as tired and forced. Maybe it’s better to keep activities like these short so that all those participating can continuously radiate an aura of joy. Not always easy to do!

A Couple of Taboos

This morning at the junior high school it was not easy for the teacher and I to get the students to use English to talk about their field trip to a popular amusement/cultural park earlier in the week. So toward the end of the class when the word “point” came up naturally in the flow of conversation, I changed the topic to ask about something I heard yesterday from my Taiwanese teacher while studying a Taiwanese language textbook on popular folk culture (specific topic: The Moon Festival or Mid-Autumn Festival).

Is it OK to point at the moon with your index finger? We do this all the time in western culture, so think nothing of it. With smiles on their faces the students informed me that,  in Taiwanese folk culture, it is taboo. If you point at the moon, Thai-im-niu-niu, the moon goddess, will come and cut your ears to punish you for your disrespect.

The students at the junior high gave me the same explanation as the teacher yesterday. Then they excitedly shared another taboo that is also forbidden in popular Taiwanese culture: It’s not OK to sit on a pillow, because if you sit on a pillow, [it] will rot away.

We also talked about a proverb I wrote about last year. A girl shared that twice her dad had gotten rid of dead dogs in this manner. When talking about the cats, one young man didn’t know how to say “hang” and said  “decorate” instead, prompting the teacher to break out laughing. He also didn’t know how to say “put” or “lay” with reference to dogs. These are not what you would want to put on (decorate) or put under your Christmas tree!

I’ve observed a couple of class periods now how enthusiastic the students suddenly get when we turn away from the magazine they use as a conversational starter and I ask them about Taiwanese culture instead. I’m really looking forward to what the teacher has asked them to share with me about Taiwanese culture for next week!

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The reason I was reading about the Moon Festival yesterday is because I’m planning a truck announcement/blessing for the Mid-Autumn Festival later in the year:

“O Lord, our Lord, your majestic name fills the earth!  Your glory is higher than the heavens…  When I look at the night sky and see the work of your fingers—  the moon and the stars you set in place— what are mere mortals that you should think about them, human beings that you should care for them? … O Lord, our Lord, your majestic name fills the earth! ” 耶和華我們的主啊！你的名在全地是多麼威嚴，你把你的榮美彰顯在天上。。。 我觀看你手所造的天，和你所安放的月亮和星星。 啊！人算甚麼，你竟記念他？世人算甚麼，你竟眷顧他？。。。 耶和華我們的主啊！你的名在全地是多麼威嚴。

Mr. Ding's Blog

For those of you who asked, here is Mr. Ding's blog. The link was already passed to FB users.

Mr. Ding Wins More Deserved Recognition

My friendly neighbor and friend, 47 year-old Mr. Ding, who in school only had a middle school education and who I introduced in this blog a few years ago, is very very happy today. He won a national wood-carving competition and is featured in both the printed and online edition of a major newspaper today! The grand prize is 150,000 NT dollars. Congratulations Mr. Ding!