The following is an e mail from my friend

Irene Hwang

Irene was born in Taiwan

but came to America when she was about 6. We met at art college over 10 years ago.

Irene is a very very talented artist, writer, and musician. Not to mention she is an incredibly interesting person and great friend!

Now Irene is visiting family in Taiwan and has been sharing with me many of the interesting events that occur from day to day.

Below she talks about an annual event in which Dragon-shaped boats race each other. Irene has included some beautiful, colorful photos she has taken of these

traditional Taiwanese water crafts

I am so glad I get to be in Taiwan to celebrate a particular holiday that features two of my favorite events: eating and competitive racing in boats shaped like mythical creatures. Apparently today is the day we celebrate the death of a patriot whose body was tossed into the river but then his supporters decided to row out there with rice balls to feed the fish so his corpse will be largely ignored and intact. Love, Irene
The annual dragon boat race takes place in the Anping district in Tainan. After these guys are employed to fish the debris out of the water, the river stopped smelling like raw sewage. Thank you, fish net dudes!
The boats are all ready for many laps around the river.

The first race of the evening are three competing elementary schools. Boy, can those kids row!

Thanks Irene!