Taiwan is a sweet place. One of the things I love the most about this little island is the rich culture. Taiwan's culture is steeped in religious traditions and over 93% of of the population practices a combination of Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism. This month happens to be "Ghost Month" where the Taiwanese honor their ancestors and appease the ghosts of those who have passed on. The city has been full of ritualistic amazingness complete with food offerings, and burning paper money (fake paper money, that is). I still need to get one of my students to explain to me what it is all really about because I feel like all of my knowledge is coming from my failing memory of my World Religions class that I took last fall.Yeah, my memory's not that great.
Anyways, last Sunday, after church, a group of us went to a nearby town and hiked up a great big hill to see this amazing statue of Amida, one of the Buddhas. You could see the statue as we were going up the hill. 
When we arrived at the top, it was glorious! A lot of people were staring at us because it's not often that you see a group of white people in this part of the country.
When we arrived at the top, it was glorious! A lot of people were staring at us because it's not often that you see a group of white people in this part of the country.The Buddha in this picture is blocking the beautiful and awe-inspiring temple. 
Above are pictures of where they burn incense for their ancestors. And below is a picture of me with my incredibly cute Filipino friend, Regina.
The fabulous day ended after sunset as we rode the train home from Chunghua, through cities and rice fields. I was exhausted, to say the least, but was really happy that I was able to get out and enjoy something so cool so close by.
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