A soggy sock of a day here in Taipei was a metaphor for how keen we were to strap on the gladrags and head off to work at the crack of dawn for one final week. The sky was leaking a steel grey sheet with some velocity, and there's still a damp and tepid soaking in store for us before we get home this afternoon. Teachers are alternately glum and ecstatic, depending on whether they're contemplating the week ahead or the holiday at the end of it. The kids seem to have entered that special twilight zone reserved for all schoolkids at the end of an academic year: they haven't completely dropped the veneer of proper respectfulness but it's slipping off them like a thin coat of varnish that hasn't quite dried.
We've continued our social whirl that dances around us for just a few weeks at the beginning and ends of each semester. On Wednesday, we had Brandon, Wal and Angela round to watch the first, highly controversial state of origin at our place. It was a highly addictive, exciting game and everyone relished the action and sampled some of the Maya pizzas we'd got in for the occasion. Washed down with a couple of beers, it was a great mid-week interlude. The "Nation" met in predictable fashion on Friday as we eschewed the delights of the organised fun of the lower school end-of-year party. It was probably a wise decision as various stories filtering back to our ears pretty much confirmed our worst prejudices, including the fact that one of the buses broke down out there leaving more than a few stranded at Danshui, scrambling for the MRT or taxis!
On Saturday, Cass met up with an inner circle of her book club, and these dilettantes of all hand-held portable baggage then proceeded downtown to the "bag store", just down the alley from the main exit of Chungshan MRT. Cass just enjoyed looking this time, as she is pretty much awash with new to newish bags at the moment. The others, although in similar surfeit, still managed to load up with a few fine items! They had fun on the train down and back and Cass picked up her usual delicious morsels of gossip to feed me tidbits the following day.
I went to my team leader's house for dinner on Saturday evening and we were treated not only to her new house which is fairly spectacular, but also to a lavish feast which would have taken hours to prepare and many dollars to purchase the ingredients. It was a very lovely gesture: certainly not a pre-requisite for her job. We have some people leaving our team (including me as I move to grade 5 and 4 next year), most notably Dave and Michelle, both of whom I've worked with for the past few years. I've enjoyed the collaboration with both but will especially miss the friendship with "Young Dave" (as Cassy calls him). Much to my horror, we figured out he actually could have been our son if we had been that way inclined in the initial bursting buds of our relationship! Anyway, it's been refreshing to have a young man as a close friend: it gives a way different perspective of the world....(for example, am I really that cynical?!)
Sunday saw us enjoy the delights of seven British acting veterans strutting the big screen with all the skill and aplomb that comes with that sort of experience. The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel was just a magnificent romp, and brought back memories for me of the same backstreets of Jaipur I had traveled through and in and around just Christmas before last. The colours were brighter and the din softened, but there is no way you could capture that particular Indian city aroma! Inspired by the movie we went straight to the Spice Shop for an Indian afternoon feast to extend our mid Asian escape!
This coming week promises little different in terms of ant-hill industrious urgency. We have to get stuff fixed for the girls, such as instructions for their carer, litter, food, coverings etc as well as get ourselves properly organized for a couple of months hiatus from our life here. Car, motor scooter, plants, etc etc. all need to be taken care of in varying degrees. Apart from all that, we still have to look after our increasingly restless charges for another week of lessons!
Photos today: One of my classes in last week zany mode. These "Instagram" style photos are very Doris Day in the lens department which is not such a bad thing for my wrinkled and furrowed melon! Cass spotted her favourite car outside school the other day and I finally got some rare backstage, access all area passes from Kiss concerts in America framed up.
Thanks for putting up with our endless stream of mind-numbing minutia for another year: this blog is taking a break till at least August 12. See ya!