A wedding and a new name

Ling2Qiu1! Take a look for the different sections of each character (details in post entitled "introducing my new name").
A sashimi boat: all the rage here. The food at this wedding reception was not unlike the Chinese New Year party my kindergarden hosted.
The happy couple prepare to walk underneath a pair of light sabers. Why not?
The bride and groom. They were beaming.
Our table with the bride and groom. Weddings are less formal here; folks feel comfortable wearing jeans. Vivian, my director, is standing beside me in the black dress.
The 13 course meal! From memory I can recollect: rice balls, steamed rice, shark soup (a delicacy), lobster tails!!!, lamb chops, broiled fish, sashimi, shrimp, another type of pork soup, a pork dish, rice pudding, and fresh fruit.

A few new things to discuss

So I'm back into the blog. I took a little hiatus there for a bit but now I feel the need to update everyone on the day to day stuff. I haven't been on any little trips in the past two weeks so my news will consist of events occurring in Kaohsiung.

First off, my violin arrived quite some time ago! The above pictures tell the whole story. It was really exciting and I finally found someone to reset the sound post yesterday. It actually sounds good and I look forward to using it in my lessons. Thanks Mom!!!

In the post proceeding this one (above), there are some pics of the Taiwanese wedding I attended with my director last weekend. Vivian, my boss, is standing beside me in the black dress. Believe it or not she is 32 and has two daughters!!! The bride is wearing a red dress and is standing in the middle of the shot.

This was quite the affair. Aside from a buffet, I've never seen so much food in my life and we got plastic bags at the end to take home the uneaten portions! This reception was for the bride's family and friends. The day before, the groom celebrated with his relations. The actual wedding was on the Saturday in which the groom picked up his bride from her parent's house with an even number of cars and an even number of other people. This is important because even numbers are auspicious. When giving money at a wedding, you always give an amount that consists of the numbers 2 and/or 6 (i.e. $2200NT, $2600NT, etc). NOT 4! This number represents death.

In actuality we hardly saw the bride and groom. They entered the swanky restaurant in a procession of faux torches and light sabers (a la Star Wars). They did visit each table to have a brief toast but that was it. Finally, the bride changed into a new red dress in order to say goodbye to her guests (at the end they both stood at the door giving out candy and cigarettes!). The entire party lasted about 2 hours.

Above I've also included pics of my Chinese name in traditional characters. I actually wrote it myself (albeit painstakingly). It's probably far from accurate but it'll give you an idea of how it looks. I'm getting my own chop made soon!

take care!

love Rach

Introducing my Chinese Name!

It's all the rage here to get your very own Chinese name. This way, you can get chops (aka stamps) made with your characters, how cool is that!

I just spent about 1 hour with the staff at my bushiban trying to come up with the perfect one. We wanted to keep some of the same sounds that are in my English name while selecting suitable characters for my personality, outlook, flare, etc, etc, etc.

And the final verdict was:

Ling2 Qiu1

Maybe a little bit of explanation is necessary. Firstly, this is written in 'pinyin' which is a system of phonetics I've been learning. The numbers represent the tones; 2: rising tone, 1: high tone. In terms of English phonetics my Chinese name sounds like "ling cho". There are a couple of reasons why we chose these sounds. First off, "ling" is the Mandarin version of "ring" (r and l are interchangeable). Secondly, "cho" is a version of "chel" (think 'Rachel'). So my Chinese name, with regards to phonics, is a combination of the first syllable of my last name and the last syllable of my first name. Cool eh?

Now for the meaning, the good stuff! Ling, in my opinion, is the best part. It means: spirit, soul, spiritual world, alert, departed soul, efficacious, quick, effective, intelligence, wonderful, wonder, mysterious, supernatural, divine, clever, nimble, sharp, with quick reflexes, good, excellent, work, witchcraft (as in shamanism). The character itself is quite complicated. Unfortunately, I'm not sure how to post the characters so hopefully I'll be able to figure something out soon. It'd be great if everyone could have the visual experience in addition to the written explanation. The character for 'ling' has three sections. The first represents rain, the second symbolizes three mouths (lots of talking!), and the third represents the shaman's wisdom.

The second part of my name, "qiu", is really quite beautiful too. It simply means autumn (my favorite season), harvest, and ripening. I always looking forward to Autumn. Maybe this is because new events and experiences always start at this time: school, new jobs, new places to live, travel. I think that it's also a period of increased relaxation and introspectiveness. Plus which, it's a beautiful time of year!!! The character itself is also simpler. The left side represents wheat and grain while the right side symbolizes fire. Very appropriate because I can be pretty fiery and passionate.

So that's it! Let me know what you think of my new name. The characters are awesome so I'll have to post them somehow.

lots of love,
Rach

Apparently I'm "Taiwanesing"....

Help!!!!
Tomek just read the blog and noticed multiple spelling and grammar errors!!!!! This is terrible! It's starting already!!! I've heard of people who live abroad and after a while start to lose their vocabulary and grammar skills. Some even start speaking with slight accents and begin to forget their articles (i.e. "the"). Help!!!!
I've been resisting this but it's already caught up with me. I read challenging books (just finished Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood, excellent!) but with little effect on the apparent degeneration.

Any suggestions on how to slow this process down? Will I begin to communicate like a high school student before long? What must I do?????

distressed over grammar issues,
Rach

Another good quote

"Think it more satisfactory to live richly than to die rich."
Sir Thomas Browne

Some more words to live by!

TAIPEI!

Rachel and Desiree on the Taipei MRT (Mass Rapid Transit).

Taipei! ~ February 26

Taipei 101. The design of the world's highest building (that is until 2008) was inspired by traditional Chinese architecture. Auspicious symbols adorn the entire structure. This picture, for example, features a wind motif which brings good luck. We also saw modern dragon motifs and coin shapes on each side of the structure.
Another view of the wind motif. This is from the observation deck. The weather was not co-operating but we still saw brief glimpses of Taipei. This building also has the fastest elevator in the world, boasting speeds of 55-60 kilometers per hour. It took only 37 seconds to reach the top.
A guard inside the Chiang Kai Shek Memorial. CKS was the founder of Taiwan and is revered as being a pivotal figure in the island's history.
The gateway on the opposite side of the CKS memorial.
Entrance to CKS's statue. These two structures (this and the gateway) were striking because of their unique design and colour scheme (the roofs were indigo). Typically, important buildings in Taiwan are incredibly colourful and ornate temples with red roofs (a very auspicious colour).
The ground tiles at CKS memorial.
One of two buildings at CKS memorial. This is an example of the traditional temple style building.
One of my favorite pictures! This woman was selling dried fish and squid at the Snake nightmarket.
A dried-goods stall at the Snake nightmarket. The market received this nickname because it is famous (or infamous depending upon your outlook) for selling snake blood and meat. It is believed to be an aphrodisiac which also cures physical ailments. The demonstrators actually kill snakes in front of an audience (we didn't catch this!).

Desiree on the bus to Taipei! She's enjoying a new delicacy in Kaohsiung: Mister Donut!

Maolin National Park ~ February 19

We happened upon a clay workshop in the Love Valley. These jars were drying in the sun.


A path the waterfall.
I actually jumped in! Beautiful temperature but not too deep.
At Dona Village in the morning. It was so good to breathe the fresh mountain air.
We had dinner and lunch at this restaurant which cooked its meat on a slate stovetop.
Dona Village from the park road.

The sky was unbelievable. I couldn't help but stop and take some shots.
The traditional housing style of the local people. Unfortunately, they stopped making slated buildings due to the lack of materials.
Maolin in the morning. Gorgeous!

Kenting National Park ~ February 12

Desiree and Vera on the boardwalk.
The southern-most point of Taiwan. The wind here was incredible and the whitecaps were apparent. Check out the ship to the right.


More views of the ocean, this time there's calmer waters.

Cliff Expedition

These pics are from a little trip I took to the ocean. This place is literally 20 minutes from my house!! Beautiful eh?

A piece of driftwood that caught my eye. I must be my father's daughter!