I've described our walk from home to school many years ago, but as so much has changed, I thought it might be timely to re-visit it and this time reverse it to describe our walk back home in the afternoon.
We meet up on our shared third floor of the massive school complex, meeting in Cassy's block B which is the middle chunk of three interconnecting brick monoliths that make up the lower and middle schools. Passing twittering packs of schoolkids clumped together at various odd points in hallways, classrooms and stairwells, we drop down one of five staircases fanned throughout the building. This one leads past the ATM machine and beside the great lobby, always buzzing with parents, carers and kids meeting up after school or after-school activities. We exit from the battery of glass doors at the front of the school to be disgorged into the wall of heat baking the forecourt. The star spangled banner and the Taiwanese flag flap above us as we edge past the legion of guards and the guardhouse before wandering past the ubiquitous bank of yellow cabs with their milling, socializing driver pack at the ready. After beginning our trip down the road out the front, we are usually stopped at the pedestrian crossing leading to the first row of shops parading down this 6th section of Chung Shan North Road.
We usually see various groups of kids calling, "Hi, Mrs. Braggett, Hi, Mr.Braggett!" as they head back to school for more activities on their way from the local 7/11s or bakeries with snacks in hand. We wander past the "Best Buys" known for their sales pitch of "Buy one, free one" which always makes us feel very laudable by freeing the odd captive T-shirt or two! Onward past funky little hole in the wall bars and eateries, antique emporiums, convenience stores and the famous Wellman's store which stocks all sorts of delicacies and hard-to-find items for the foreign client.
Each block is covered by substantial awnings which keep the rain at bay in these sections as well as the searing afternoon sun. The footpath is wide, and could be quite luxurious except that scooters huddle in packs beneath the covering, taking up at least 2/3 of the available space, turning the boulevard into a bit of a goat track! The various shops pave their own footpath section so we cross a giddy mix of marble, tiles, concrete and bitumen at all different levels and angles: it certainly keeps us on our toes! Joe Laundry (dry cleaning) sometimes receives a pick-up or drop off from us and we're always amazed at his bargain prices. Our dentist, Dr. Fu resides in this block as well.
We quite often stop to buy some milk at one of the 7/11s and try to resist the French patisserie as it wafts out sweet smelling zephyrs and displays mouth watering treats! Cedric, the owner, also stacks great sacks of imported French flour at the door of his shop. We're now reaching the final block of shops before being thrust out from under the awnings and into the afternoon elements. This block has the cute ballroom dancing studio upstairs, a Subway, furniture store and various fine wine stores which we suspect are fronts for something else....how could they all survive in this quiet stretch?! There is even a shop dedicated solely to various types of honey! On a funny little raised up section in front of an apartment building is a stationery store and a wood fired pizza takeaway, before the shops fizzle out and we're greeted by the sprawling Shi Dong Elementary School.
The "pencil school" has giant replicas of pencils and pencil stubs in its front garden area. One pencil leans lazily against the second story of the main building as if it has been forgotten mid-sentence by a Gulliver sized author. The school is usually releasing thousands of students as we make our way by, scooters, cars and bustling parents compete with ecstatic bouncing students of all ages to crowd the footpath and road. We thread our way through eventually to cross the road and walk through our self titled, "Forest of Tranquility"! Officially called Lanxing Number 1 Park, it has trees with fairy-tale strands of vines dripping down from each one. There are noticeably fewer trees though every year, as the ravages of various typhoons uproot and damage them one by one. The concrete path is newly stamped and the park is full of Youbike stations, garden beds and the odd quirky sculpture competing for glances with the very odd garish Chinese style bridge and tiny amphitheatre. Faux grazing goats try to inspire a bucolic feel, but it's not really working as the traffic drones incessantly in the background as diesel fumes waft through the "idyllic" setting! Further along is a new kiddies play gym before we head out of the park and down Bessy's laneway.
The river runs close to the laneway, so we squeeze down beside the unusual little stand-alone photography studio and past Bessy's hair salon which she runs from her little back room facing the lane (both Cass and I get our hair cuts here). Almost immediately we're released into another pocket park, where we have our semi-regular "Moop" sightings. The shore bird has been noticeably absent in the recent heat, no doubt wading riverside till things cool down a notch or ten. We wander through this park to the multi-coloured, intricately carved temple at the end. This is the site of the previously referenced "tongue lashing dance" which occurs once a year in a delirium of beetle nut, beer and strident music with fireworks. At this time, as is the case on 364 afternoons of the year, all is quiet save from some burning of fake money in the temple furnace and the odd semi-homeless man practicing his ablutions in the outdoor wash basins.
We turn into another lane and then swiftly again into our own. The sun blazes from the west right into our faces as we make the last 200 metres and we crack the lock of the main door open before grabbing the advertising brochures from the mailbox and heading up to the third floor to greet the cats and crank up the air-conditioner. That's our typical daily reverse commute!
Photos: Cassy's and David's classrooms: mine demonstrating the digital power of mesmerizing colour and movement! The rest are of our walk home.