Happy Double Ten

I am very happy to announce-

I made it!

Throw my hands up and clap with glee!

To what, you may be asking, did I make it to?

Fall break, of course.

We started back in early August, and unlike schools in America, there is no labor day weekend. Needless to say,  the last nine weeks have been quite an intense beginning of the 2017-2018 school year!

But, that is not what this blog is actually about.

Today is Double Ten Day here in Taiwan- a day similar to our July Fourth in America.

But, once again, that is not the topic I desire to share in this blog..

I want to talk about the Moon Festival or Mid-Autumn Festival as it is sometimes referred to. 

As its name implies, it has to do with the moon. This festival occurs during a full moon. But, that's not why its one of my favorite Taiwanese holidays. 

I like it because  families sit outside and ...

BARBECUE!

Don't picture American barbecue!

Erase those images of hamburgers, hot dogs, and steaks from your mind.

Erase that image of the man of the house standing at a grill armed with a long spatula.

None of those fit Taiwanese style barbecuing.

If you can, imagine thin slices of pork, chicken, and beef.

Imagine clams and squash wrapped in foil.

Imagine fish balls, tofu, and timbula (fish paste) patties.

Imagine a grill only standing about a foot or two tall with multiple persons each armed with their own set of tongs.

If you can imagine all that, you are almost there.

This year we once again were invited to join the Morrison dorm students at their annual Moon Festival barbecue. Who wouldn't want to barbecue on the roof of a nine story building?

We climbed up to the roof just as the sun was preparing to set.

Although not a dorm student, Jacob pitched in stringing the necessary lighting.

Armed with grills, blue stools, and tongs, each group barbecued and spent time together. Unlike typical Moon Festival celebrations, marshmallows followed. Morrison is an American school after all.

Two of our grilling partners! 

While not as delicious as Ohio grown sweet corn, I did enjoy the corn-on-the-cob!

This was a delicious and fun way to end the weekend before heading back to school for a final week before fall break.

Wednesday was the actual holiday, so we decided to have our own private Moon Festival barbecue.

Carl did a great job buying a variety of different foods for our private feast. 

So armed with our little propane grill, personal tongs, and two kinds of barbecue sauce, we dug in.

Being on the sixth floor gives us a nice nighttime view of Taichung.

Their side of the grill was loaded down with the meat while my side had vegetables, tofu, and fish! We did discover that carrots and broccoli don't leave much to be desired when grilled.

For the Taiwanese, this is a multi-hour event. Everyone in the family joins in the fun. Grandmas, grandpas, aunts, uncles, cousins all cooking, eating, and spending time together. We condensed ours into a shorter time period.

And how, you may wonder, did this tradition become part of something called a moon festival?

A tv commercial.

Yes, it all began with a television commercial of a family celebrating the holiday by barbecuing.

Never underestimate the power of advertising!