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Ghost Month

I woke to the smell of food combined with burning incense because today is August 3, 2016, the first day of Ghost month in Taiwan.  This blog chronicles my life as an English teacher and gives information about working in Taiwan, but mostly I will describe the culture. The reason I am able to learn so  much about the culture is because my son and I are living in the home of  our employers and have daily access to their culture.  My next four posts are about ghost month and after that I will backdate my post to May 10,2016, my exit date from Vietnam and my arrival date in Taiwan.  Then the posts will give information about getting a teaching job in Taiwan, but I since I happened to be starting this post on the first day of Ghost Month, I am going to go with that.  After all, what could be more interesting?  Who are the ghosts?  They are the dead who have no living relatives to provide them with their daily food and water.  During ghost month...
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Backdate to Taiwan arrival day

Culture shock!!!!  After spending 6 months in Vietnam, I am in culture shock for two reasons.  The first thing I notice is how clean Taiwan is and I think it must be the cleanest place on the planet. Taipei is modern and best of all, pedestrians have the right of way. There are signs posted with this statement. My second observation is that people come in all shapes and sizes.  The Vietnamese all look the same in body shape and size  Everyone is very short and thin.  It is very rare to see any hint on weight on the Vietnamese or any height over 5'4", even in the men. Even though I am myself from from Sacramento,, California USA, the most culturally diverse county on the earth, my brain has acclimated to Vietnam and the varieties in people  feel chaotic to me, unsettling, confusing. Of course, everyone here has black hair and eyes, so the only variety is in height and weight.  I can't imagine what it is like for a newcomer to the United States with the ...
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The ghosts will get you!

The government set up a new beach in the Tainan area and James, our host whose house we inhabit, promised us a trip to the beach today.  Well, Grandma got wind of this and forbid any visit to the beach area.  You know, she climbs to the fourth floor three times a day to refresh the water cups in the ancestor's room. As far as she is concerned, the ghosts are here.
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