This month marked our 3rd anniversary of living in Taiwan...If you want to take a trip down memory lane, you can check out my previous post:
http://tonkin-tribe.blogspot.com/2008_06_01_archive.html
As with most foreigners living here in Taiwan...the plan usually is to come for a year, and then most, if not all have ended up living here for years...so this was our original plan too...and 3 years later we are still here!
In 3 years we have lived in 4 different county's...Firstly Kinmen (which is not quite Taiwan, but a little island between Taiwan and China - beautiful beaches!)...then it was Donggang in Pingtung in the south (and our first earthquake experience!), next came our move to Yilan on the east coast where many earthquakes were felt and where it rained about 363 days of the year, but was beautiful and green - now I know why...it was because of all the rain...and finally, yes I say finally, since I don't plan on moving around this island again...we are now in Hsinchu (which is known as the windy city), on the west coast (where I had my first encounter with a snake!).
Although traveling had never been high on my priority list when we were in South Africa...I always said to Jason when the kids were older and off on their own, then he and I could travel the world...turns out the universe had different plans! It was actually me who did all the research and lay in bed one night and said "J, I think we should do this"....and I am so glad we did!
Don't get me wrong, it hasn't been plain sailing, not by any stretch of the imagination. It is very hard being away from family and friends and all that is familiar to you. When you are in a foreign country where everything is foreign, the language, culture, religion, food, eating utensils, toilets, even the side of the road they drive...but it has been a wonderful experience, and one that has also brought us our beautiful little girl.
Not sure if many will know this, but since I was about 14 years old or so, I wanted to adopt a little girl from China. I had seen documentaries on tv and read articles about the orphaned baby girls and I knew in my heart that one day I would adopt a little girl. I had no idea how it would even be possible, but it was something that I knew would happen. When I first met Jason I told him I wanted lots of kids, including my little girl from China. The years went on, and then when we decided to move to Taiwan Jason said to me "you know what this means?" and I looked at him puzzled???? and he replied "we will be that much closer to China"...and then it dawned on me....of course!
For more about the adoption journey, you can check out our adoption blog...
http://adoptingasia-faith.blogspot.com
We have made a few life altering decisions while here in Taiwan too.....
We became vegetarian around August/September last year...for two reasons...namely health and ethical. We decided we would no longer support the meat industry...after watching www.meat.org - meet your meat ***warning*** it is quite a disturbing video.
Also having done research on the effects of meat on your body, and the significantly raised risks of cancer, heart disease and diabetes, not to mention that when you eat meat you may be consuming hormones, drugs and other chemicals that have been fed to the animals before they were killed....we have stopped eating meat (which includes fish and chicken too). It has taken a bit of adjusting for me who has to do the cooking, but it has been great!
We now are also doing a lot of juicing and eating more raw foods...so we have lots of fresh veggie and fruit juices. It is quite funny...I was starting to research all about the raw food lifestyle, next thing Jason comes home and says a colleague at works wants to sell us her juicer (for NT$ 300 - about R73)...talk about the law of attraction!
The other decision we made is to immigrate to Mauritius...
Jason and I spent a few weeks in Mauritius back in 2000 (Willow-River was about 10 months old and I fell pregnant with Talis-Rain while we were there...)...anyway, while we were there we would often talk about living in Mauritius...I never really thought it was a possibility...till we were in Taiwan and I started researching it and found out Jason can get citizenship through descent (since his mom was born in Mauritius). We have now made so many plans for when we are there, namely to build our own sustainable home (actually it is called an Earthship ~ check out our blog http://tonkin-tribe-jagabagsrefuge.blogspot.com/) and to have a little vegetarian restaurant/live music venue, with a few other ideas alongside it. We are looking so forward to it, and absolutely can't wait!
Jason is now teaching in the Hsinchu Government English Program. He has been teaching at a local elementary school since January and is loving it! It was tough the first month or two when he started because we were without a salary for 6 weeks!!! But...we survived, as we always do! He definitely prefers the Government school to teaching at the Bushiban...the Bushiban tend to use and abuse you...although he likes to be abused...preferably by me! LOL....but seriously...the Bushiban do tend to take advantage and expect more and more from you....the other great thing about him teaching in the Government Program is that he gets to be home in the evenings at around 5pm...so we love having Daddy around for dinner! Jason has now started his own blog...Taiwan Perspectives... http://jasontonkin.blogspot.com Check it out sometime....
June also saw us take another trip down to the Refuge in Taichung...we love going down there for the weekend....although this time we just went down for the day...it was nice to just go and chill and listen to some live music....
June is also the month that we had the Dragon Boat Festival...
Dated : 5th day of the 5th lunar month
Qu Yuan
The Dragon Boat Festival, also called the Duanwu Festival, is celebrated on the fifth day of the fifth month according to the Chinese calendar. For thousands of years, the festival has been marked by eating zong zi (glutinous rice (糯米)wrapped to form a pyramid using bamboo or reed leaves) and racing dragon boats.
The festival is best known for its dragon-boat races, especially in the southern provinces where there are many rivers and lakes. This regatta（赛舟会）commemorates the death of Qu Yuan , an honest minister who is said to have committed suicide by drowning himself in a river.
Qu was a minister of the State of Chu situated in present-day Hunan and Hubei provinces, during the Warring States Period (475-221BC)（战国时期）. He was upright, loyal and highly esteemed for his wise counsel that brought peace and prosperity to the state. However, when a dishonest and corrupt prince vilified Qu, he was disgraced and dismissed from office. Realizing that the country was now in the hands of evil and corrupt officials, Qu grabbed a large stone and leapt into the Miluo River on the fifth day of the fifth month. Nearby fishermen rushed over to try and save him but were unable to even recover his body. Thereafter, the state declined and was eventually conquered by the State of Qin.
The people of Chu who mourned the death of Qu threw rice into the river to feed his ghost every year on the fifth day of the fifth month. But one year, the spirit of Qu appeared and told the mourners that a huge reptile
During the Duanwu Festival, a glutinous rice pudding called zong zi is eaten to symbolize the rice offerings to Qu. Ingredients such as beans, lotus seeds（莲子）, chestnuts（栗子）, pork fat and the golden yolk of a salted duck egg are often added to the glutinous rice. The pudding is then wrapped with bamboo leaves, bound with a kind of raffia and boiled in salt water for hours.
The dragon-boat races symbolize the many attempts to rescue and recover Qu's body. A typical dragon boat ranges from 50-100 feet in length, with a beam of about 5.5 feet, accommodating two paddlers seated side by side.
A wooden dragon head is attached at the bow, and a dragon tail at the stern（船尾）. A banner hoisted on a pole is also fastened at the stern and the hull is decorated with red, green and blue scales edged in gold. In the center of the boat is a canopied shrine behind which the drummers, gong（铜锣）beaters and cymbal（铙钹）players are seated to set the pace for the paddlers. There are also men positioned at the bow to set off firecrackers, toss rice into the water and pretend to be looking for Qu. All of the noise and pageantry creates an atmosphere of gaiety and excitement for the participants and spectators alike. The races are held among different clans, villages and organizations, and the winners are awarded medals, banners, jugs of wine and festive meals.
It has been incredibly hot here, and so the boys nagged to cut their hair...much to my dismay...so the boys all got their hair chopped off! I then decided to go for a trim myself, and ended up cutting off way more than I had anticipated....but....it is hair...it will grow back!
Here are a few pics of them before they cut their hair...and a few of Asia-Faith too...aren't they just beautiful???
and here they are enjoying the new pool we bought for summer...with their summer haircuts!
Lanybug, our little foster baby is doing really well...she is becoming more vocal now, and testing out her little voice by babbling and trying to "talk" to us...it is too precious! She is 2 months this month. It really is great having a baby around the house again!
Well...that was June....hope you are yours are happy and loved!
~* Peace and Love *~
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