It’s a very rare occasion when I refuse an invitation to go to the beach after school if someone is heading over. This is exactly what I did on Wednesday, however, preferring to spend a bit of time doing some boxing and then heading home while it was still relatively early. We don’t get home until at least 6.30 if we head over and I didn’t think the quality of the surf warranted the trip this time. I got a call from Wal and Josh about 6 o’clock telling me that they were headed for Veteran’s Hospital here in Tienmu after Josh had a very solid longboard kicked into his face by an out of control surfer over at Jinshan. I went over to the hospital a short time later and was just in time to see him ushered in to a plastic surgeon who did a fantastic job sewing up a gaping wound. The nose had been broken as well, but luckily didn’t need re-setting. He’s a bit of a pretty boy, is Josh, and I think he was worried about it scarring! I suspect that you’ll hardly notice it in time.
This weekend has seen the arrival back in town of Chad and Cathy. They stayed with Gerri and Doug, so it worked out really well. Friday night, Chad went straight to the Green from the plane, and it was a pretty much designated boy’s night, just a half dozen of us and Chad catching up. We had a great time and backed up again on Saturday, when lots more people came down. Cass and I turned up about 9.30 in the evening and that was a good time, because we not only got to see Chad and Cathy, but also see the Aussies beat the Poms in cricket and a last gasp win over the Kiwis in the league…doesn’t get much better than that!!
So, a pretty wild couple of nights were had and we felt pretty socialized out today. Cassy really enjoyed catching up with what Cathy was doing and she heard all sorts about life in Singapore. It sounds like it would be just about perfect for couples with young kids (like Chad and Cathy). They have a live-in helper who does all the domestic duties and even cooks their meals as well as looking after the kids when needed! The school sounds like it is built on mega proportions, making even our school seem quite small in comparison. Conditions also sound better, but I can’t help thinking that it probably wouldn’t suit our circumstances nearly as well: it’s just too far from a beach for one thing! Anyway it was a little bitter-sweet to see them again. On the one hand, it felt great and just like old times to have them back, I half expected Ross and Coombsy to walk in the door as well! That’s the bitter: it was just for the weekend. The transient nature of international school teaching makes this happen a lot, but we’d been pretty sheltered from it until this year when lots of our good friends left and it has had an impact on our lives.
As is often the case after a couple of nights out in a row, we feel pretty tired today, so we’ve just hung around home, interrupted by a short walk to the Carrefour to get some supplies and a retrieval mission to pick up my scooter. Photos: an idyllic shot of the Grand Palace hotel taken near the airport. Cass leans back to catch a close-up look at a plane coming in to land….it’s very exciting and we can just get so close to the end of the runway here: it wouldn’t happen at home in a million years! Big dog on a scooter, one of Taipei’s regular funny sights, and Josh and friends at the hospital.