Pearl of Eternal Love               Pearl of Industrious Mind      Pearl of Delicate Happiness
                 孔雀之珠                                         勇士之珠                                       幸福之珠

Where did the above pearl necklaces come from?  Well...I made them last Sunday, when Joyce, my host sister, and her family took us, Shiela, Kate and I, to Ping Dong (屏東) County and more specifically, Sandimen (三地門).  These necklaces are rather famous now in Taiwan due to a very popular movie, Cape No. 7 (海角七號).  It's a romantic movie, and it miraculously became a big hit.  Its popularity is surprising because there are no famous actors in the movie.  However, as a result of the film's growing popularity, all the actors and actresses are now famous and are seen regularly in Taiwanese commercials.  I even saw the movie two times. 

So, I was very excited last weekend, when we went to the Dragon Fly Beads Art Studio - the factory that provided the movie with the necklaces - and learned how to make them.  The necklaces are actually the handiwork of Taiwan's aboriginal tribes. 

When we got to the factory, we first had lunch at a cafe above the factory.  I had a strawberry waffle, which I haven't had since leaving the States, and let's just say angels were singing.  While eating, we were thinking about which pearl we wanted because each one had a unique meaning.  I ultimately settled on a pearl for eternal love, brave and industrious mind, and delicate happiness.  Then I also made one that means rich in harvest for my co-teacher, Jenny.

At the factory, everyone who wanted to make a necklace was paired up with a teacher from the Paiwan tribe.  Making the pearl takes approximately 10-15 minutes and then 40 minutes to an hour for it to cool down.  For 10-15 minutes, my face was pretty darn close to some rather intense flames.  You have to melt a chunk of glass-like material, shape it, add color pigments to it, flatten the color pigments, and then reshape the whole thing.  Here's a video of my teacher making one of the pearls for me. 

As I mentioned before, we had to wait approximately an hour for the pearls to cool down.  So, while they cooled, we went to an aboriginal village, known as Taiwan Indigenous Peoples Culture Park, where we saw some amazing cultural performances by local aboriginal tribes.  I really liked the intricate and colorful costumes that they wore.  Here's a video of one of the performances that I really enjoyed. 

So, after a day of making necklaces and visiting an aboriginal village, we then went back to Joyce's mother's home and had duck soup, which is supposed to keep us warm since the weather is getting cooler here in Taiwan.  And by cooler, I mean from 90 degrees to 60 degrees.  A lot of my students already have their down jackets out, and oddly enough, I'm considering wearing a sweater because I think I lost all the tolerance I built up going to college in Maine.  Well anyways, after eating some delicious duck soup, we went along with Joyce's family traditions after Sunday dinners: going to the night market, where all the children would play a night market game and bring home a toy prize.  Honestly, the fun never stops when you're with Joyce and her family.  Thank you for bringing us on such a wonderful trip, Joyce!  Kate, Shiela, and I had a great time!

For more photos from this trip, please click here.