food fair 

food

That just had to be the mouthwatering scent of a freshly cooked lamb chop I thought as I whirled and spun and dodged and weaved among the hundreds of people at the food fair. I’d already succumbed to a Latin American green curry chicken and bought some English fudge. This was certainly a sight and sound and smell extravaganza in that typical Taipei American School style of bigger is always better. In this case it was just too big and I couldn’t decide what to buy next so I got some Yakisoba and fried chicken from the Japanese stall and some luscious vegetarian pasta made by one of the top hotels from the Italian stall. Just to top it all off I carried away a steaming tub of home made chicken curry and a vegetable one from the Indian section.
The school was hosting its International Food Fair on Saturday and although I’ve previously avoided it, the lure of such fine food made by all these expats was far too tempting.

Little ponies were taking kiddies for rides through the car park and baseball throws and water drops and all the fun of a usual fete or Spring Fair were in evidence. The food, however, was the real star and it was just amazing how much there was. I didn’t get to the Korean, Chinese, Taiwanese, Nepalese, American, Irish, Greek, New Zealand or Scandanavian stalls although I do admit I had a few Swedish meatballs and got a slice of Pavlova for Cass from the Aussie section. It really was something to behold and the whole thing was just as neatly packed away and cleaned up by 6 that night when I returned from a surf. The custodian army at school were obviously all on duty and had scrubbed the school clean again in preparation for some devoted worshippers on Sunday and, of course, the resumption of school again on Monday.

We had a great surf on Wednesday afternoon after school at the Pillbox, some monstrous powerful bruisers pounding the northwest tip of the island. The aftermath of Typhoon Nockten was some seriously powerful and big swell and we enjoyed one of our best days here in Taiwan yet. I was sorry not to get some photos as I forgot to take the camera, as it would rival anything we get back home (discounting the fact that the water was so dirty you couldn’t see your board beneath you when we were sitting waiting: seriously!!). I went out again on Friday and surfed with Ross at Jinshan till it was so dark we couldn’t see the waves coming, again on Saturday afternoon with Carl and once more this morning with Carl and Ross. It was pretty good, but a lot smaller than Big Wednesday and poor Cass was really a bit of a surf widow this week!

We watched the Aussies just beat the Poms in the footy this afternoon before doing a super sized shop up at the top Tienmu Wellcome supermarket. The main reason we got so much is because Cass is hosting the Book Club this Tuesday evening. She’ll be cooking them some curries and a pavlova in her little desktop oven and she’s been scouring the little shops round here for ingredients this week. It’s quite amazing what we take for granted back home: one quick trip to Coles over there is the equivalent of visiting at least 4 different places here and then having to compromise on ingredients or just having an educated guess as the labels are in Chinese! As you can imagine, the house has been scrubbed to within an inch of its life and even the cats have been brushed and manicured. I’m going to do an exit stage left straight up to Carl’s for the evening as I’m afraid the intellectual fervour that will be raging here might be infectious: can’t have that!
Mum has supplied us with great wads of clippings from the Herald recently so we’ve been able to continue our weekend breakfast tradition of coffee, orange juice, raison toast and the paper, just like home. It’s a great start to the two days of the weekend and we often linger over a few articles in the afternoons as well. We’ve been spoiled by a couple of emails from friends back home as well (thanks!) and I was gratified that my histrionics in regard to the election hadn’t alienated too many people: just as well!….it’s my blog and I’ll write what I want!!!
The photos here are all from the food fair and include shots of the inside section only with some dancers on a stage outside. Both car parks were full of food as well!

dance 

computer cat 

computer cat

Mary has taken quite a shine to lying on top of the computer as we work and proceeds to bliss out on the heat to the extent that when she drunkenly hops down, she appears quite floppy and listless for a few minutes (photo above and below). She's had ample opportunity to be up there while I've been tapping away at my assignments this week, now mercifully finished and crafted in the same exacting manner in which most of the others have been created (i.e. shoddily pumped out at great ferocity with no draft and no revision!) I have at least one more course before Christmas and I'm looking for another graduate course at 600 or 700 level from a Uni in the States that I can do then transfer into New York State.

The ESL booklet was finally printed this week and although only 20 pages long, it has been rather a chore and I'm very glad to see it in the hands of parents and teachers as well as the School Board. I had been extolling the magnificence of the product for some months in my monthly report to the Board, so I was very pleased that I could finally issue them with the finished product.

Taiwan has served up a potpourri of natural phenomena over the last few days. While Japan has been smashed and battered by a succession of typhoons and rocked intensely by earthquakes, Taipei has experienced minor versions of the same. At time of writing, Ross, Carl and I have returned from a surf at the Pillbox, where a building typhoon swell shows all indications of unleashing some ferocious winds in the next 24-48 hours. We got some good clean waves at first, but sheeting rain and buffeting winds saw us abandon our efforts after a couple of hours. Cass jumped off the lounge last night hurting her injured ankle a little again when a fair earthquake upset our equilibrium. The apartment swayed and shook for a good 30 seconds, but we always see this as a good thing: better a series of little quakes than a big bertha after a long period of inactivity. Most of the recent typhoons have veered off before making landfall here, but this one looks like hitting about 2 tomorrow afternoon, possibly disrupting home time at school. We'll wait and see; the school usually takes their cue from the Taipei city government and they hold off till the last minute to announce school closures.

We watched the Aussie/Kiwi league test here today and delighted in the Aussie's win, although we wished Ross and Ains were here to make it a little sweeter! ABC Asiapacific continues to entertain us with some great TV, Kath and Kim starts tomorrow and the Melbourne Cup carnival will feature 6 hours of coverage. Unlike at home, this day has no resonance with our colleagues, so Lewy and I just might have a personal day to enjoy the coverage and have just a couple of sensible investment wagers!

I have to mention the photo below. During my conferences this week, this little fellow, all of 8 years old, decided that he needed to dress up for the occasion: his Mum told him he didn't need to, but he insisted on putting on suit and tie and even affected a Taipei American School badge on the lapel. If not quite presidential material, he certainly looks the part!
Thanks to our regular correspondents who sadly appear to be in a dwindling number. If you got an email from Cass in the last day or so you are in this group, so I'll take this opportunity to castigate anyone else reading this and "challenge you" (quote from our past boss, the mustachioed provocateur himself, Alan Green) to let us know you're still alive.

future president of the USA! 

I’ve decided to tap out a blog a little early this week and after venting my frustration last time, I promise I’ll get back to reporting just our events from this little corner of the world…..a safe place as long as the Chinese don’t start raining missiles on us, another story too frightening to contemplate, but one which seems unlikely even though a taxi driver told one of my colleagues that the Chinese would invade before Christmas!!!

Ross and I went for a surf after school on both Wednesday and Friday and again early on Saturday and we had various levels of quality. Wednesday and Friday afternoons were the pick and the Pillbox again provided us with some fair waves at an entertaining size. We can never complain about the crowd however: after getting all the boys from school out there one day in August none have come back, so Ross and I continue to surf our secret spot all by ourselves. It is a bit tricky and has rocks everywhere, but when you know where they are, it’s relatively easy to avoid them. The biggest problem is a strong current that sweeps us away from the main peak, but we’re getting good and strong from all the paddling!

Cass tripped down a tiny step at the front of the school on Monday and sprained her ankle. While gaily waving at a parent she did the wooly whoosh and various people came to her aid before the school nurse set her up with some ice and a wrapped ankle. She had Tuesday and Wednesday off school for some RICE treatment and now, nearly a week later, she is hobbling a little more freely. It was the other ankle from the one she hurt when she fell down our apartment steps last year, so that was good at least.

Ross and Ains had us over to watch the Aussie/ NZ league test on Saturday straight after our surf and it was a chance to eat some great lunch, all exotic goodies courtesy of the new Jason’s supermarket and to meet their new kittens, Abe and Gus. Much to Ross’ horror, the fact that Virg’n Mary were proving such a hit had seen Ains a little keener to get some cats, hence the move. I’m pretty sure he is OK with the decision and seems to have a ball with them. (Abe pictured above) Their new apartment is spacious and lovely and as we sat watching the game, eating our pies and beautiful ham, cheese, gherkins, pickled onion and that rare treat in Taiwan, beetroot (!) we could have been anywhere. We even drank some Carlton Colds!

We had a very lazy Sunday today and after a leisurely brekky reading some clippings from Mum, we watched some episodes of the 2nd series of “Footballer’s Wives” on DVD that we borrowed from another of the Aussies. We then did a super clean of the house and I anally dusted everything in sight before doing the vacuuming, while Cass did the bathrooms. Now I mention it, it’s a very strange phenomenon: I like to live in a clean environment but rarely do much about it between cleans. As soon as I get that duster in my hand I can’t stop till every tiny microbe has been scrubbed out and every surface, no matter how high or unseen is gleaming a happy little smile of dust-free bliss! Very, very strange…………….After that we decided to go out for a nice Sunday lunch, but Fangs was full so we opted for the far less salubrious Mos Burger next door! Best laid plans and all that…

This afternoon, we’ve enjoyed some commentary of the Aus/India cricket test and I’m still listening to it now, so that might explain the rather stilted style of this missive. Every now and then the Indian commentators shout out at great volume before calming down when they realize one of the Australians is not out after all! Cass is grading some memoirs after some marathon marking through the week and I have procrastinated to the extent that I now have a mountain of both school and uni work to do before Friday. I really do work best under pressure; at least that’s what I tell myself when I find ANYTHING to do except what I should be doing!! (like this)

the "auburgino" and "blacky" 

As two of the over a million strong Australian diaspora living and working overseas, the ability of the Australian electorate to be so insular is surprising to us. We sat through the election coverage last night wondering whether world events have any resonance with Australians, or whether they had swallowed hook, line and sinker a sneakily deceptive government campaign of negativity surrounding the home economy and interest rates.

I questioned many things last night. Did it matter at all to Australians that Tasmania’s unique and ancient forests were being wood chipped at an alarming rate to produce pulp for Asia so I can have a box of chocolates wrapped in up to five pieces of fancy paper or use a pair of disposable chopsticks wherever I eat?
Did it matter to Australians that families so desperate to escape tyranny and unspeakable hardship in their own country board unseaworthy boats to risk death coming to our country only to have their children locked up indefinitely behind razor wire?
Did it matter that when I go to an in-service overseas next year or when Carl goes to Jakarta for a soccer trip next Wednesday that we have to book rooms away from the street and eat in our rooms for fear of being blown up? Did it matter that all Australians who travel overseas have a huge target on their heads because the Howard government chose to join a war on a huge lie? Did it matter at all that over 15,000 Iraqis have died in a war that we joined without justification? Did it matter that 100 Australians were blown up in Bali as a direct result of our meddling in other countries domestic business?
Did it matter to Australians that our much-trumpeted “sound economic management” has piggy backed on a huge jump in exporting our finite natural resources to expanding economies like China who are “close friends” with Australia as a result?
And does it matter to any Howard voters now, that the government benefited hugely from a massive preference flow from the “lunatic religious right” FFP who have effectively obliterated the line between church and state, and that religious groups have so brainwashed certain electorates that liberal members (at least two) were elected purely on the support received from church congregations? I see this as a very dangerous precedent.

The thing that most frustrates us is that Australians have chosen to ignore these issues or just don’t care; all for what they perceive will be a couple more dollars in their wallet each week. I wonder how Australians will feel about our strange alliances in the world when terrorists finally target our own soil? I dread to think.

babbling on to the 3rd graders

We had a bit of action here at the weekend when the unit up the street from us provided a very un-Chinese display of emotion. A fellow was coming at all hours of the night and the next day bashing on the door, yelling out for his ex girlfriend as he had been (according to Linda, Mr. Lee's daughter) jilted and the girl had kept a large sum of his money. This resulted in the police being called and amazingly, this picture shows the SECOND time they just let him drive away! He hasn't been back yet, so maybe he got his money, or the shame of his very public emotional outburst got the better of him.

Cass has been away at camp this week and she will be back tomorrow. It's been a long few days without her and I've spent some time putting together the DVD shelves we bought a while ago and stopped only because a strange stigmata began to appear! Either I've been summoned for a higher calling or I overused my scewdriving hand a little: what do you think? While I'm speaking of things divine, this a neat segue to Virg'n Mary who have studiously ignored my attentions for the early part of the week and continue to lie in front of our closed bedroom door. Presumably, they think I have locked Cassy in there for a few days as they crane their necks around and sniff under the door for any sign.

Neither Ross nor I have been for a surf at all this week, partly due to busy work and partly because he has been attentive to Ains who celebrates her 40th birthday today. Carl and Hiroko and Steven were kind to have me for tea on Tuesday night and they twisted my arm again tonight (wasn't too hard!) so I'll have some tea and a chat this evening with them. Cass rang on Tuesday night and is having a predictably exhausting time at camp and has had to sleep at least one night in a tent, which I'm sure you can all imagine would not be her favorite cup of tea!

I've done nothing in regard to my assignments but have been relieved to finally take all photos necessary for our ESL booklet and it is at the printers now. The only trouble is that I may have allowed everyone to spend too much on books and resources this year: the budget might not take the strain of publishing the book! Oh well, they either want it or they don't. The new computer continues to work very well indeed and I have just subscribed to an audio service for the Aust/India test matches for $8 for the whole series. I've already enjoyed the first two days, especially with the Australians going so well.

Grand final night last Sunday was a hoot and everyone turned up and we had a ball. The big screen was stunning on one wall, the sound was through the stereo and we had Aussie beers and meat pies! Honestly, with a room full of Aussie guys (plus Ross, NZ and Penry, USA) we could have been at home, sucking down some Carlton Colds and having pies and sauce. Jason's marketplace even has "Crownies" now, but they are at a real premium; maybe next time!

We've got some emails recently from Mum, Helen, Sue and Thurza, which have been great and also Mum's Newcastle Herald clippings are starting to roll in with regularity, which makes for some excellent breakfasts on the weekend. We received some disturbing news from Fran, however, just yesterday(Cass doesn't know yet). Our friend and colleague, Jo Richardson has died. We were under the impression that she had beaten some cancer, but a new and virulent strain apparently took hold some time back. Jo was the person who employed Cassy all those years ago at Grammar when she was deputy there. It's quite upsetting to hear of yet another death among our close colleagues and friends of many years. On that note, I'll sign off for now.