Day 21: 누나가 빠졌다

The Dragon Boat Festival is celebrated on the fifth day of the fifth month in the lunar calendar, which also happens to be my 20th day here. I went with little brother to pay respect to their ancestors. We drove around a mountain and lots of fields until we got to this house where they had this set up of a list of names, some decor and pictures. Each family brought a whole cooked chicken, 3 eggs, meat or fish and other food such as fruits, crackers and zong zi. Everyone also brought their own incense sticks and those papers with silver foil (paper money?). These are families with the same surnames who only see each other's faces 3 times a year. They prayed and burned incense sticks together then burned the paper money. When everything was done, they lit some firecrackers. The whole ceremony lasted for about an hour.

Zong Zi (glutinous rice and fillings wrapped in leaves)

I was just quietly watching them, when little brother (note: He's 6 years younger) told me that some people thought I was his girlfriend because I was an unfamiliar face. O_O After that, he wouldn't sit beside me! I was also embarrassed so I stayed away, feeling a bit annoyed because it wasn't my fault that I wasn't properly introduced. I guess I just have no luck with shotis.

This day was also probably the hottest day since I arrived here. Uncle asked me and little brother to pick more fruits in the afternoon. The heat made it extra tiring so I just sat under a tree for a while. Suddenly, little brother appeared out of nowhere without his shirt! He said "It's hot..." and something I couldn't comprehend. I couldn't even remember if I answered him properly. I didn't know where to look so I immediately got on my knees and focused on picking fruits. This 누나 was very, very stressed. Good thing I wore a huge hat so he couldn't see how flustered I was. After some time, he came back again (with his shirt on, thank goodness) to give me a slice of watermelon while this song happened to be playing from his phone. It was the sweetest watermelon I've had in a while~ ^^ (Insert huge sheepish smile here) 

The scene of the crime. ;)

You see, this little brother is my shobe's age. My sister plays online games during her free time. Little brother helps out a lot in the house - from farm duties to household chores and taking care of the dog. He's not old enough to get a license but he can ride a motorcycle on his own, drive a car through zigzags, and get this - drive a truck. He's only in third year high school, but I think he looks and acts mature for his age. I always feel bad whenever he sees me doing something incorrectly. There's nothing I can do better than him. He always teases me that I must want to go home where I don't have to do the work we do here. I really like it when he calls me 姐 which just feels different from Atsi.

That night, we went to Auntie's mother's house for a birthday party. There was a lot of food, and a lot of people. When I entered, everyone was staring at me. I just smiled and went straight to where Auntie was. The food was good, but I couldn't eat a lot because I kept feeling conscious. I was trying to listen to at least 3 people talk at the same time in Taiwanese dialect. I knew they were talking about me the way they were talking about someone's girlfriend who was also at the party. After dinner, I made small talk with the girlfriend who was the only other non family member in the room and played with some of the little cousins. It was pretty much similar to how we would celebrate birthdays in the Philippines. The ride back home was pretty pleasant as we talked about cultural similarities and differences. Oh and they also cut noodles using scissors here!

The little brother and his cousin, and their relatives