emerging into chinese traditions: the mid-autumn festival

and then it was Friday already! another unique day - believe it or not! basically I spent half the day at uni... and it would have been just an average Friday in Hong Kong if it wasn't for the moon! (yeah you think, now she's completely gone nuts) but seriously, it was Mid-Autumn Festival - due to the full moon! It is one of the most important holidays in the Lunar calendar, celebrated on the 15th day of the 8th moon of the year - and yes, that is in October, cuz the lunar calendar beginns in February... get it?! anyways. it is the tradition, that Asian family members and friends will gather to admire the bright mid-autumn moon, eat moon cakes and sit around there brightly lit candles in Victoria Park. In Hong Kong there is a fire-dragon dance and at least half the poplulation and just as many tourists are on the streets. Fiona (friend from Scotland), Warning (our buddy, and yes thats really her English name ;)), Yip (her boyfriend), Christina (from Austria), Heidi (Christinas Buddy, a chinese girl with quite an interessting English name!!) Suzanne (from England) and I were just in the middle of it! We went to see the fire dragon.
The history of the festival is, that once - centuries ago, there was a small fishing village on Hong Kong island, called "tai hang". One day, the locals killed a python (Pythonschlange) which had found its way into town - a bad idea - since resulting from that a great storm devasted the town, and locals ended up sick: the Plague had come!! A town elder though had a vision of a buddha, telling him that performing a dragon dance would cure the people from their suffering. Ever since then, the fire dragon dance is performed by the few villagers of Tai Hang - which is today called Causeway bay, poplulated slightly more dense, in memory of the buddha who saved them.

Well, today, the streets are jam-packed with people, more than you would have ever seen in any place, all aiming to catch a glimpse of the now 60 meter long fire dragon which is being carried through the buzzing streets. The atmosphere is amazing... loudly celebrating people, aromtic smells of the burning incense sticks of the dragon and the hypnotic rhythm of the drums and cymbals (German: Becken (instrument!)). It feels just like beeing thrown right into some kind of undescribable whatever, I have no words for that! you gotta see it to believe it. Decorations are beautiful - with flags everywhere and lanterns lightning the city, especially Victoria Park, where another million of people is quietly sitting on blankets, holding lanterns, burning candles and enjoying the night out with their close family and friends.

For us, it was especially nice to have our local buddies around, since they could explain us so much about the happenings over a Shanghaian dinner (which was much better than the actual stuff I ate in Shanghai) and let us take part in their traditions. definately one of Hong Kongs unique events! Together, we wandered the streets and throughout Victoria Park, taking in every bit of it, shooting pictures (check claudia-schmitz1.medion-fotoalbum.com) and of course carrying our own shining little lantern, carefully not to let the little candle inside of it burn its yellow, orange or red paper to its ashes and trying to memorize the moment! I was just amazed!! A great day.










Saturday was more or less a not-much-done day.... just hung around here with Megan, who was leaving in the afternoon to go back to Anji. For lunch we went to the Spaghetti house, and yummmmm such good food. I guess I've never eaten so much deverse foods in just one week!

Sunday I did school stuff, or at least I started learning - together with Verena at Big Wave Bay Beach ;) , in the East of Hong Kong Island - a beautiful part of the region and afterwards we met up with Julia to have dinner at the mexican place again - I just can't resist this wine!!

Monday I did school stuff as well - for real and all day long... as I had to study for the first exam here, which I had yesterday: CHINESE!!! and - surprise surprise, it went much better than I'd thought, so letz wait and see the results!! now today, Wednesday the 11th was just another busy school day. in between a lecture and a seminar I picked up my new china visa - a multiple entry one so now I can come and go as much as I like - or at least until my passport is full of stamps... for lunch I met up with Warning in one of the campus canteens and now I am wondering whether to go to Taiwan, Yunnan, Chengdu, the Phillipines, Singapore or Malasia or Indonesia for my next weekend trip. any suggestions?

I just talked (thanks to skype) to Kathrin in Mexico... its 9:30 am there and she is preparing for a Spanish exam... so good luck with that and enjoy your holiday at tha beaaaaaaach!!I'll upload some pictures on the site above and try to sign up for utube so I can also share some freaky motion pics with you! but I'll do that tomorrow I guess... or later. bye, doei, tschüss, zaijien, adios, ciao...