Let's talk trash, temples, and weddings!

This past weekend, my roommate Sarah and I were finally able to dispose of the nearly ten bags of trash we had accumulated over the course of two weeks. You might be wondering "Dang girl! Why did you let all that trash pile up?" Unlike in the US, where you throw your trash in a communal dumpster or wheel your trashcan out every week, Taiwan employs a slightly different method. Instead, a garbage truck and recycling truck will drive around at certain times of the day blasting classical music (similar to an ice cream truck albeit with less delectable treats inside). When you hear the music, it's your cue to head out and hurl your garbage or recyclables into the corresponding truck. At this point, I should mention that recycling here is pretty intense; I have 4 separate bins: paper, plastic, food waste, and general trash. If you miss the truck, you're out of luck and have to wait till next time.

Unfortunately, I had to learn that lesson the hard way. Last Saturday, I was awakened by the distant cry of classical music, which only means one thing--trash time! Not knowing which direction the music was coming from, I jumped on the bed and craned my neck, hoping to catch a glimpse of the garbage truck. As I saw the garbage truck approach, I rushed down the stairs with bags of trash in hand, only to see the truck driving off. Disappointed, I reassured myself there'd be better luck tomorrow. Only to realize the garbage truck doesn't come Sundays. Hence why we had trash piling up for two weeks.

Luckily, we were able to dispose of our trash this past Saturday! The good vibes continued as a few ETAs, Iris (our coordinator), and I headed to a temple in Taipei to attend a Buddhist memorial service for victims of natural disasters. Once there, to our surprise, we were treated as guests of honor, bestowed flower pins by nuns, given a box full of sweets, and whisked away to sit in the second row. The ceremony commenced with the highly revered Master Di-Chiao, the Head Abbess of the temple, who gave a short speech, followed by a series of speeches from other guests of honor, including the Ambassador of Tuvalu, (apparently the world's 4th smallest country). Dance performances and chanting proceeded. We were even asked to be a part of the flowers offering ceremony, where we went up and bowed three times while holding a ring of flowers. Halfway through the service, a nun approached us and asked if we wanted to attend a wedding banquet. Naturally, we just had to say yes!

The dance performance

After the service, we got the opportunity to speak with Master Di-Chiao, who gave us health advice based on her research and cautioned us against eating microwaved food. We then were ushered into a van and arrived shortly at a complete strangers' wedding. Once arriving and seated at our table with nuns and attendants from the memorial service, the ETAs and I received a short introduction as "the Americans" and were asked to stand up and wave. Somehow, amidst conversations with the nuns, we also ended up promising to perform at the temple's annual performance show. Later, we were served a series of tasty vegetarian dishes and even took some pictures with the gracious bride and groom. I don't think any of us expected to end up crashing a Taiwanese wedding when we started the day, but I'm so grateful to get the chance to experience that!

With the beautiful newlyweds!

With the Head Abbess

Here's to more unexpected adventures!

Chia