moon cakes

Apparently, back when moon worship was all the rage, a holiday was formed in China to celebrate the harvest and to celebrate family. I think it's a pretty big deal, considering my students were outraged at the price of "moon cakes"--$24.99 for four-- and longing to be eating cheaper, undoubtedly better, mooncakes under the moonlight with their families back home.

A few of my students, probably thinking they'd earn extra credit, brought in some interesting tidbits about their festival. I eat this stuff up, and so should you.

It starts with the legend of Houyi, a great archer and architect, and his wife Chang E, whose "beauty was surpassed only by her curiosity".

So Houyi goes and saves the world by shooting down nine extra suns that had suddenly appeared in the sky. For this he was rewarded with a pill containing the elixir of immortality, but with strings attached--he must fast and pray for one year before taking it.

His wife screwed everything up, she found the pill, swallowed it, and found herself inconveniently soaring to the moon. Upon reaching the moon, she coughed up the pill in dismay, which turned into a jade rabbit that, day and night, pounds out a celestial elixir for the immortals.

But she's not up there alone. Another permanent lunar resident is Wu Kang, a mortal who happened to piss off an immortal because of his laziness. As punishment, he was sent to chop down a cassia tree on the moon, an impossible mission. For, as we all know, a cut in cassia tree heals itself within a day, and so Wu Kang is still up there chopping... for eternity. You'd think he would have died by now, but that's because I forgot to mention that he learned how to become immortal from his immortal master. Obviously.

So, that is why on the 15th night of the eighth lunar month the moon is brightest and the harvest is celebrated. An inspirational date.

One of my student's brought me a most coveted mooncake, which ways about 100 pounds, and tastes like a mixture of peanuts and honey, with a cool design on the top.

Now it is Friday-- I can't believe the weekend is already here, and with it, no plans. One thing I don't want to do is school work. One thing I must do is exactly that. Boo. I was hoping for a trip to Wonderland.

Hot chocolate with 2 marshmallows, crackers and cheese, a comfortable couch, and a good novel on a Friday afternoon. This has to be one of the best combinations on the planet. Nothing to prep for Saturday and a chance to escape into another world with a steaming drink and a filling belly. The most delicious comfort-- something I used to do all the time when I came off the bus growing up. Mom would have the popcorn popped, the tea made, and I would read my favorite book on the big green leather couch.

I haven't actually gone back to that routine in years, but now I am back on high school schedule, which finds me home at 4:00, with one beautiful hour to myself to make a snack, and snuggle up with my favorite book. It just can't be beat.

This morning James and I woke up at 7:00, and went for an hour hike through the Bruce Trail. This is my favorite time of day. It's fresh, and quiet, and chilly, and beautiful. Fall is here, the leaves are turning, the river's are chilling, and swimming this morning was an option (we found and followed this river which brought us to a fantastic waterfall) but the shallow pools only accepted me up to my thighs, and I couldn't bring myself to go under. Would have been worth it though.

We made it back on time for our traditional pancake breakfast with the whole house, which is such a great part of the weekend. We live with some truly wonderful people, and coffee/orange juice and blueberry pancakes are a great way to start the day.

I am trying to get a hold of my brother so that I can go to apple fest today. Besides tea/popcorn and book, fall apples are my next favorite thing. It really doesn't take much to make me happy in the fall. I can't wait to get my apple crisp on :)

Overall, life is great.

Tiiired.

My schedule:

Wake up: 7:00

Leave house: 8:00

Prep: 8-8:30

Teach at Columbia International College: 8:45-11:35

Eat something..

Hamilton District Christian High: Get there before start time--12:24

Teach: 12:24-3:00

Columbia Tutorials: 3:30-4:30

Groceries: 4:30-5:00

HOME: 5:00

dinner... etc.

You get the point...

A pretty normal workday, I'd say, but for some reason-- I'm POOOOPED.

Maybe it's because the evenings are no longer free.

They seem to involve a lot more planning, and a lot less socializing.

Snooooze!

Anywhoo, what can I say? I love teaching, I love my students, and I love learning. It's a win win, except for the fact that I'm still poooped, and it's time to make dinner.

For those of you wondering what I'm up to, I hope this helps.