Cass has written and taught a Shakespearean unit to her Grade 8 kids this year after she was tasked with its implementation after some pressure from the upper to middle schools. She actually, famously, devised most of the broad brushstrokes of the unit while sitting on the back of the Harley as we made our way westwards last June! The solitude, engine's soothing note and inspiring landscape really got her thinking and there were no other distractions: its not like you can hop off anytime you like! The pre-planning, writing and teaching of the unit has been widely acclaimed until now by school administrators, but even noted by the visiting Pat Basset who is the president of NAIS (National Association of Independent Schools) in America. He speaks on this video, and Cassy's unit is mentioned from time marker 15.30 till about 17.10. It's apparently rare that he speaks at individual schools at all, so this mention is all the more lofty. An idea that had its genesis in Cassy's mind as we rode between Coonamble and Coonabarrabran? It might be mentioned by big Pat at some illustrious bed of learning somewhere in the world next time he drops some pearls of wisdom!
We took a road trip to Taichung! My great mate, Gurecki, is leaving this year and one of his requests was that we try to do a "roadie" with just four of us. Plans were vaguely made and we loaded up the car with Wol, Gurecki , me and Michael G to head to the next nearest big city in Taiwan. Although just over 150 km away, we'd only whizzed through previously on our way further south. This time, we sliced and diced our way through some seething freeway traffic on Saturday afternoon to arrive at our hotel by mid afternoon whereupon we got settled and headed out for a look/see.
Our first impressions were good ones: although also a big Asian city with a population packed into a small footprint, it had a feeling of spaciousness and modernity. The taller buildings, of which there were many, seemed all new and their interesting architectural designs set them apart from their blander Taipei counterparts. They were also nestled back off the street, allowing wide walking boulevards, fountains, public art and plants to soften and/or enliven the cityscape. It had a laid back feel while still pulsing with an undercurrent of big city excitement.
We had huge amounts of fun as we wandered first through afore-mentioned public spaces and parks before settling at the Ble D'Or, where we cradled huge steins of beer and snacked on nachos, tacos and various other decadent, fat-filled "boy's road trip" style foods. After a few lazy hours, we moved on to The Frog, a bar set up by a small stream in the middle of the city. Eventually, as night descended we made it back to the hotel to have a little break before heading out again. Not knowing the city meant we were directed to all sorts of weird places we wouldn't normally choose, but it certainly made for some interesting stories and lots of laughs. One club we were directed to had some strange version of The Chippendales dancing (we declined to enter!), and yet another was so uberslick with a mix of dark marble, subtle neon lighting and hypnotic techno beats, that we had trouble finding each other again if we went to visit the bathroom or the bar! Suffice to say, we had an interesting mix of venues and situations and stayed out far too late!
Lazy morning (although we all tossed and turned on typical rock-hard Taiwanese beds) then we met for brunch before heading off again. It would be remiss of me not to mention that we were also accompanied by a strange wooden statue of Gurecki's that he bought in Venezuela 20 years ago. I named him Circus Jesus (CJ), because of his long extended conical hat and his uncanny resemblance to a benevolent Jesus' face. CJ was not allowed to enter many of the bars we went to, so we spent half the night finding hiding spots for him outside so we could retrieve him later. He's also an extremely awkward shape, necessitating him being cradled by the back seat passengers both ways: glad I was driving! CJ and the rest of us had huge fun on the trips down and back playing loud music, telling tall stories and drinking numerous cans of beer (not the driver of course!!)
Cass had a very quiet weekend and we were pleased to be reunited on Sunday afternoon. I am carrying a sleep debt today, but managed to catch up on some sleep last night. So fun times were had, but tinged with a pang of regret: yet another great friend will be moving on soon. The bright side: looks like a great excuse to visit Nagasaki more frequently!
Photos: Some Taiwan facts, Cass chowing down at lunch in my office, and various trip shots.