Peel Sessions

Listening to the rain yesterday, I doubted whether we were going out to view the moon on Mid-Autumn Festival. But as we made our way to the #25 bus and clambored on, I could see throngs of motorbikes heading the same direction. Once at Galung Bay, crowds of people zig zagged like ants carrying penguin balloons and other stuffed animals they had won as game prizes. Amongst the crowds were also cars and motorbikes moving their way between the people. Police stood around, not really directing traffic but more like observing the chaos and there to make sure that no serious injuries occured.

My friends, junior students at the college, Dandy and Carolyn told me that in their hometowns, many people went to the beach to see the moon too. For as long as they could remember, this was always the way. To see the moon's bright reflection in the water along with many giant fireworks glittering across the surface made me feel like a kid on July 4th again. Many circles of incense or candles were made in the sand. Sometimes the sand was piled up to make small circular dunes, looking like mooncakes that could fit several people inside.

李 白 Li Bai
Drinking Alone with the Moon

相 期 邈 雲 漢

永 結 無 情 遊

醉 後 各 分 散

醒 時 同 交 歡

我 舞 影 零 亂

我 歌 月 徘 徊

行 樂 須 及 春

暫 伴 月 將 影

影 徒 隨 我 身

月 既 不 解 飲

對 影 成 三 人

舉 杯 邀 明 月

獨 酌 無 相 親

花 間 一 壺 酒

月 下 獨 酌

月下獨酌
花間一壺酒， 獨酌無相親；
舉杯邀明月， 對影成三人。
月既不解飲， 影徒隨我身；
暫伴月將影， 行樂須及春。
我歌月徘徊， 我舞影零亂；
醒時同交歡， 醉後各分散。
永結無情遊， 相期邈雲漢。

原文 6

From a pot of wine among the flowers
I drank alone. There was no one with me –
Till, raising my cup, I asked the bright moon
To bring me my shadow and make us three.
Alas, the moon was unable to drink
And my shadow tagged me vacantly;
But still for a while I had these friends
To cheer me through the end of spring....
I sang. The moon encouraged me.
I danced. My shadow tumbled after.

As long as I knew, we were boon companions.
And then I was drunk, and we lost one another.
...Shall goodwill ever be secure?
I watch the long road of the River of Stars.

Samantha, a Chinese English teacher says that she saw people playing fireworks in the sea. They are let off in the water and bounce cross the surface. I did not get to see this because Dandy and Carolyn had took me to meet their roommate Selena's friends while Samantha and her boyfriend had continued to walk along the shore. Remember when I said that Mid-Autumn Day is like Valentine's in China? They had set up a small camp with bananas, longan fruit, orange drink, Tsingtao beer, candles and two boxes of mooncake. There were about fourteen young men and women between the ages of 19 and 20 altogether. I was introduced to Julia and Coco, while the guys did not have any English names and insisted that they couldn't speak English at all. When I tried to encourage conversation by saying in Chinese that I would only speak Chinese if he would speak English, the young man replied that my Chinese was better than his English. Many Chinese students are very shy about speaking English because they are concerned that their pronunciation is poor but usually, I can easily understand what they are trying to say in English. I have to tell them that only by using English will they be able to improve. On top of that, I am told that Chinese in general are shy about talking to foreigners, even though many of them understand English because they have been schooled in at least three years of grammar in elementary and middle school. Their mooncake had delicious white lotus paste and a little bit of yellow eggs in the center. For those of you who have never had mooncake, the paste is very sweet. The inside can also include fruits and nuts. The outside is golden brown with an ornate pattern embossed like old fasioned iron castes. Carolyn and Dandy choosed to stay on the beach and spend the rest of the night with Selena and her friends. The college locks the gate to the dormitories at 11:30pm to discourage students from going out late. They told me they would stay up the whole night and return in the morning. I was feeling pretty exhausted and decided to go home with Samantha and Jie, grabbing some fresh coconut juice on the way home and nestling in my own bed under the big bright moon.