The summer was interesting and full of various events for the members of the People’s Art Ensemble of Ukraine of the dance ensemble “Joy” of the Vinnytsia City Palace of Children and Youth named after L. Ratushna. The band has participated in international folklore festivals in Turkey, Poland and Germany. And just returned from distant mysterious Taiwan, where he took part in the 19th International Children’s Folklore Festival.
The International Folklore Festival in Taiwan is the longest, largest and most prestigious folklore festival in the world. The best bands from all over the world take part in it. This year the festival was attended by bands from Poland, Slovakia, Belgium, Japan, Finland, Thailand, Taiwan, Estonia, Turkey, Russia, India, the Philippines, Fr. Saipan. Ukraine was represented by Vinnytsia Radist.
The Joy ensemble visited Taiwan for the third time. Previous trips were in 2007 and in 2014. This year’s trip to Taiwan lasted a month. During this time, the band gave 25 concerts lasting 30 – 60 minutes. Ukrainian dances “Hopak”, “Kalyna”, “Vyshyvalnytsy”, “Hutsulka”, “Podilsky peredzvin”, “Podilsky vyhylyasy”, “Loburyaki”, Ukrainian folk songs “Za gorodom kozy”, “Porizala palchyk”, “Oh u poli” well “, and many others caused a storm of emotions, applause and admiration of the audience.
In the central square of the park, the ensemble held the Day of Ukraine, during which Taiwanese for an hour got acquainted with the culture of different regions of Ukraine, with the customs and traditions of the Ukrainian people.
Throughout the festival, our team had a support group consisting of locals. They attended all our concerts, accompanied our group during excursions. The support group presented a photo taken at our concert and wrote in Ukrainian:
“Every time I listen to great songs and watch dance performances on stage, I have to feel different, I am shocked and in anticipation! I look forward to a new meeting with this beautiful, lively and wonderful team of angels next time! At this time, I am deeply moved and love each of you. ”
The air temperature in Taiwan is 33º – 35ºС. High humidity. Very hot. It’s hard to breathe. But all this is compensated by such a high assessment of the audience and the emotions that were received by all members of our group.
During the festival, each country held a National Cuisine Day. Our children and teachers cooked potatoes with fried mushrooms and fried meat and compote. The participants of the festival liked our food so much that they ate everything to crumbs and came several times for a supplement.
We were fed a variety of foods: rice, french fries, pasta, poultry, pork, beef, fried and stewed fish, a variety of seafood, vegetables, ice cream, fruits. The children especially liked the mango, passion fruit, podtahai, kiwi, and some fruits that grow only in Taiwan. Most foods are prepared without salt at all. The taste is given by various sauces. That’s why everyone liked the dishes of Ukrainian cuisine so much.
The Ilan region, where the festival took place, is agricultural. Most fields are planted with rice and harvested several times a year. Bananas, papayas and other exotic vegetables and fruits are also grown here.
This plain region is bordered on the east by the waters of the Pacific Ocean, and on the west by the extremely beautiful green mountains of Taiwan. Our children had the opportunity to swim in the stormy waters of the Pacific Ocean and in the spring icy mountain water.
The capital of Taiwan, Taipei, is connected to the city of Yilan by a tunnel that is almost 13 km long. It was built for 15 years. In 2007, we traveled from Taipei to Yilan for 3 hours. And now, thanks to the tunnel from Ilan to the capital can be reached in 40 minutes. Speed is limited. For speeding violation, a fine of $ 6,000. There are video cameras everywhere. Therefore, no one violates traffic rules.
Many people in cities travel on mopeds. There are at least 8 video cameras at each intersection where there are traffic lights. Therefore, everyone follows the rules of the road. All roads, without exception, both central and secondary, despite the great heat, are in perfect condition.
In general, the Taiwanese are very disciplined, everything in them is painted down to the smallest detail and in minutes.
