Monday, August 27, 2007

Hsinchu training / Ghost Festival

I caught the train to Hsinchu this morning. I spent the day at the school headquarters training for the upcoming semester.
The unisex bathroom:
A guy unwittingly locked the bathroom entrance door while I was in a stall. He must have been surprised when I appeared, washed my hands, then walked past the urinal he was using.

When I got back to Zhongli, I saw, smelled, and heard people in the streets with their paper money, incense, and firecrackers. Suddenly the air is so smoky.



2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Mmm, I can smell the hell money burning now. Do you have any memories of these rituals from when you were very young? Over the years Grandma did less and less but when I was young it was much more common. The table looked so beautiful with all the food laid out with special dishes and shot glasses of whiskey. That always struck me as odd, having non-drinking parents. Perhaps they will imbibe on the Other Side.

Elizabeth said...

I have a few vague lingering memories.