Haňule z Kyjova

The Phillipino woman I called May, her true name however is Vilma. She is an interesting person. She is now working in this community taking care of one of the grandpas. The grandpa has Alzheimer, so he is acting like a small baby sometimes, sometimes gets very angry. He liked me the first time we met, smiling all time and making faces on me, then the other day he woke up and he did not recognize anyone at all. He could be also very dangerous as May said sometimes he used to hit her or be angry at her for no reason. I am really glad that my grandparents in their age still have their wits as this is one of the worse things that can happen to you when getting old…

May has 5 kids. Her first husband died many years ago and her first two daughters live in Phillipines. Then she found a new partner and had another 3 kids however they did not get married as her partner was undergoing a process how to get to USA and if he changed his marital status he would need to start anew. Now he is in US with the younger children and she is in Taiwan working hard to get some money for the two older daughters with are still studying at universities. She does not know if the relationship will continue or not. She had the dream of coming to USA too, however now it seems that maybe she wont be able. But she is a strong woman, she learned a lot chinese, before working in Japan also can speak Japanese, so I think she will find her way.
The community is donated by many companies around, and also by different temples and monasteries. So they have a lot of food given to them all the time. They also have a bakery and a tofu factory so people can order these products. Those who are still able can work at their gardens.
Houses are very small, always two small rooms and one kitchen and small bathroom. Buildings make three streets, there is a cafe, a dining room and a small room for prayers. Some students from university come here to volunteer and help. The place is really peaceful and so I decided to stay one extra night here and take some rest.

The second day I helped in the restaurant to prepare food for some workshop which was taking place in there. In the afternoon I had time to ride a bike to the giant golden Buddha statue which I could see in the mountain opposite the monastery. It took me maybe 40 minutes to get there as the bike was old and slow. The statue is really huge, and there was a nice view of the surroundings however I could not find the kind of peace there. I thaught why people need to build such huge things. I remembered our cathedrals and that they are also built to make people feel how small they are… Maybe the same feeling here…
In the evening May suggested that I can go with her on Saturday to Taichung that there is a kind of flower festival and she is going to meet some friend which is a professor at a university. I had no other plans so I agreed.