This year is quite special because it's my first time celebrating Mid-Autumn Festival in my country, the Fiji Islands.
On the morning of the 10th of September, I was surprised to receive a plate of cut mooncake. It had a nutty, sticky, and sweet filling, with thin moist crust on the outside. It's also referred to as the mooncake with five different nuts.
This made me feel so special, that I asked my Chinese friends to tell me the meaning behind it all while a smiled in glee and fascination.
According to them, it's about a lady that lives on the moon. It was limited to this information due to the language barrier and having to refocus on our planned work tasks for the day.
After doing some of my own research, I found that the lady on the moon is called Chang'e. She became an immortal that lived on the moon after drinking an elixir that was gifted to her husband by the Queen of Heaven.
Chang'e's husband was called Hou Yi, he had asked her to look after the elixir after he refused to drink it because he wanted to continue being a mortal with Chang'e.
However, one of Hou Yi's students wanted to get his hands on the elixir in order to become immortal. To keep Hou Yi's student from getting the elixir, Chang'e ended up drinking it. She instantly became immortal and flew to the moon.
Giving friends and family mooncake is wishing them good health, longevity, and prosperity. I absolutely love this, it warmed my heart that my Chinese friends were indirectly wishing me these through the mooncakes I received.
After enjoying mooncakes, we made our way to Paintball Pacific.
Paintball Pacific is a new company that just recently opened in Vatuwaqa, Suva. It's become quite popular amongst people of all ages, ethnicities, and even people with physical disabilities.
We were the first to play a one-on-one paintball combat session. The fee was $49 per person, in which they provided 100 paintballs per player.
It was incredibly hot but fun. I did sustain a little scratch on my left middle finger from the tires, and the paintball shots are ejected at a high velocity, so I did also get a bruise or two on my arms.
Finally, we went to enjoy a hearty lunch at Sunny Pizza, Grace Road's Kitchen. We ordered burger combo meals, extra fries, and boneless chicken popcorn.
If you have the chance to celebrate Mid-Autumn Festival, try ordering mooncakes. Then eat it under the beautiful moonlight with friends and family over a nice cup of tea.
Watch more about it on my YouTube channel, Fijian Girl Learning.
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