Sun after the storm

Woke up again at 4am, and couldn't sleep for a few hours. When I finally fell asleep at nine, I was woken up and the rain. It was a terrifying downpour, and within seconds the ground was soaked as water accumulated. Houses here often have metal sheeting roofs, so when rain falls, and it fell like I've never seen before, the noise is thunderous. Despite this, I slept until four in the afternoon.

As Typhoon Nesat (尼沙) nears the island, the front systems in the north and south are affected, and torrential rainfall was expected. Now, she has become a medium sized tropical storm (scale 7), with 180km/hr winds. Every year typhoons cause billions in damges, and already in mountain areas roads have been broken by flash floods and landslides. Poor planning and random development and cultivation also means that the soil is eroded in many places, increasing the risk of damage when it pours. The rain fell for hours, and hours, causing some localised flooding in the eastern and southern parts of the country. But now, the storm seems to be over. I don't think the typhoon will directly 'invade' the island (this is the term they use on the news). For strange reasons, Nesat approached Luzon in the past few days, and then suddenly turned 90 degrees and is now heading towards Japan.
Thank goodness for that, since I'll be going away with my parents to Green Island （綠島) in the East Pacific. Let's just hope Nesat does decide to change her mind again, and ruin our trip.

Something ridiculous in the news today. In Taiwan, it is custom to commemorate the dead by preparing meals and placing it before them. So in crematoriums you have rows and rows of small altars dedicated to the deceased, usually with a small name plate and a picture, and in front of that bowls of rice, dishes of vegetables, meat and fish. An usually incense would be burning night and day. This food in Taiwanese is literally translated as 'food at the end of the feet' (腳尾飯)---I think it denotes food served at the 'end of the road'. It is a custom not to eat this food again, since it has been served to the deceased, so has a negative energy in it (death is negative, or very ying 陰). What normally happens is that the food is either thrown away (which I think is a real waste), or fed to animals. Unfortunate people who eat this 'contaminated food' will become sick, and will have bad luck for one year.

Some investigative journalism has revealed that at the Taipei public crematorium, employers collect the food and then sell it to small restaurants (usually ones you find on street) for a windfall profit! These people, called 'black-hearted cockroach' （黑心蟑螂, 'black hearted' because of their dispicable actions, and 'cockroaches' because they creatures crawl on food if left on table too long) can make up to NT$ 60,000 (approx. €1,500) a month with this. A city councilor renowned for his skills at capturing the decays of society filmed this and sent it to the big media houses. Within moments, new channels blarred with the scanal, as reporters rushed to the crematoriums, small restaurants, and the city hall for questions. You can see the typical mentality of the media when such scandals break loose: 'Whose fault is it??'

It is very shocking, and shows how many unscupulous Taiwanese people would do anything for profit.

Look before you eat.