Well, today was my day to go to my favorite school. I really like teaching at my Tuesday school. I have 3 sixth grade classes, a first grade and a second grade. In my sixth grade classes I don’t really have any books that I have to follow. They have a basic subject that they talk about during the week and I can just pull vocabulary words and conversation out of that. It really makes my job easier if I don’t get put in a box. My teaching style is so unlike anyone else’s that I have a hard time with curriculum sometimes. People just can’t write a book for someone like me.
So, today in sixth grade we were talking about the Moon Festival. Why you might ask? Because it’s coming up next Tuesday and they need to learn some English for it. We talked about barbeques and fireworks, beef and chicken, pomelas and Moon Cakes. It was a blast. I also got to learn all about what the Moon Festival is all about. I will now take the time to tell you the story. So, little children, pull up a chair and sit really close. You don’t want to miss any of this. It’s really good!
Long, long ago in a land far, far away there were 10 suns who ruled the day. Normally these suns were good and brought much happiness to the earth down below, however one day a great king made the suns angry. He sinned against their greatness and made them appear in the eyes of men to be weak and lame. So, to teach the evil king a lesson the ten suns began to burn upon the earth . They made it so hot that neither plants nor animals could survive. Everything began to die and wither away. Nothing was left untouched. The king would cry out day and night seeking the suns forgiveness but it never would come. He had infuriated them for the last time and they would make him pay.
In desperation the king called for anyone, anyone at all who could help end the drought. From out of his army came a mighty man who said he would do battle with the suns and save the earth from death. So he went out and fought a might battle to the death! For days and nights the battle went on with no one knowing who would win. Sometimes the suns would win, sometimes the man. At long last the man shot an arrow through 9 of the ten suns and brought them down in death. The last sun, seeing that he was all alone gave himself up in service to the earth and troubled her no longer.
In reward for this great deed, the king gave the warrior magic pills that would make him live forever. The only problem was that the warrior was a jerk and no one liked him. He got himself married to the prettiest woman in the world and then preceded to misuse all the people in his country and also his wife. So, one night his wife got up and stole all his pills and killed her husband. Feeling like living forever would be a good thing she then went on to eat all the pills at once. Everyone knows that if you take to many drugs you will get high. This is what happened to her and she began to float, float and float away, all the way to the moon. She got to the moon and she realized that she was not where she should be. She figured that the gods would make fun of her for getting herself up there and so she made a palace for herself on the backside of the moon. The palace was called “The Cold Place” but because she was so beautiful it shown with light.
Now, ever so often I’m told, the moon will turn all the way around and everyone can see her full beauty. This only happens once a year. The same time as the moon festival. On this one night you can see her beauty in it’s fullest glory. The moon will not shine any brighter on any other night. So, they have a festival in her honor. People will sit under the moonlight thinking that her beauty will soak into their souls and make their love for each other that much stronger. Husbands and wives, boyfriend and girlfriend, mothers and daughters, fathers and sons. Everyone.
And that is the story of the Moon Festival. Right now we are planning on having a team Barbeque on that day. We don’t have school so I think the team from Nantou will be coming down. But we’ll see what happens.
Until next time this is Daniel in Ji JI
