Ghost Month and followup

Yesterday my Chinese teacher notified us that it was the first day of "Ghost Month": the 7th month of the lunar calendar, when all the ghosts are released into the world for the entire month. It's the time of year when locals warn against going near water (ghosts might drag you in), changing housing (your new house might be inhabited by ghosts), and going on trips (er...they might follow you?).

There's consequently been even more burning of ghost money and incense on the sidewalk. Great for my lungs, I'm sure.

I've been surprisingly busy since last post, though little of it is because of class. Ah, the blessings of photographic memory on Chinese vocabulary. I have to wonder, though, what will happen if or when we have an end-of-term cumulative exam. Teacher has not made clear whether or not we will have one. The suspense!

I finally went to LUXY on their Wednesday's ladies night, along with every other ABC in Taipei, and some other ShiDa students. It was fun for what it was, and the bartender's fire show was definitely the highlight of the night.

Friday I had dinner with some cousins, then did the nightmarket thing with them, before we all returned to one of my aunts' houses for a late night game of mah-jong. Then we crashed there. My mom flew up the next morning at 6am, but I didn't see her at all that day. I left my aunt's house, went home, and changed for the Sunday Breeze's Saturday pool party. Although I was apprehensive about it, due to the fact that I was going alone and the weather was less than stellar, it turned out to be pretty fun. Went to Forumosa's monthly Happy Hour, this time at the Taiwan Beer Garden, afterwards, which was also a lot of fun.

Sunday was the requisite family gathering to celebrate the arrival of another family member-my mom-to Taipei. The whole lot of us (15) slept overnight at a hot springs hotel in Beitou (北投), though there were more than 20 of us eating together that night. Most of the uncles returned home due to work the next morning. What a strange phenomenon, that most of my aunts do not work, whereas my mother does.

And, finally, I have been to two expos in the past two weeks, the first last Monday to a Computer Expo at Taipei's World Trade Center, and one this Monday to a Comic Expo.