This was my third year competing on the AIT women's Dragon Boat Team. Participating on this team has been one of the highlights of my time in Taiwan. I love starting my Saturday in a boat. We paddle together, working to become as one unit. The peace of a new morning on the water takes the cares of the week and puts them in perspective.
This is the first year our team was asked to participate in the Eye Dotting Ceremony a few weeks before the race. We had enough willing members to create a mixed team and the race fell late enough in the season that Maddie and Elena were able to be on the team this year. We met the team at a local temple and hung around watching and waiting to get in our boat. Nobody really knew what was going on. The event began with a celebration of drums, a dragon dance and of course, lots of firecrackers. The scent of incense drifted down from the upper level of the temple where offerings were made to gods. Then we followed a big parade down to the docks where the ceremony was to take place.
I was a bit surprised to see all the boats lined up on dry ground. Next to each boat stood a nice looking couple with a sign declaring which team would be in each boat. Water was sprinkled on each boat, then the dot was painted in the center of each eye. This awakens the dragon and gives hi good favor towards you. Each team captain then dotted the eyes of their boat.
Part of the event (the reason I had come) was a good long row from the eye dotting site to the race site. Our boat was closest to the water, so the first to go in. On one hand this was good because we had never lifted one of these extremely heavy boats as a team and carried it together. On the other hand, we had no clue what we were doing so there was a lot of confusion and yelling at us in Chinese. It would have been helpful to see how this was actually supposed to happen. Eventually, without a plan to follow, we all needed up in the boat and settled in for our long row up the river.
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