Well, we somehow feel transported back about 20 years into an Australian middle and high school system that used to feel like it was sucking the very life-blood from your body, transforming from a vibrant energized entity on Monday into a pathetic lifeless husk by Friday afternoon!
Cass and I both had similar feelings at the end of a very exhausting first full week with students. In some ways we felt a little better, as we ran into our friends on separate occasions later in the week, Dan and Michelle, and both of whom independently came up with similar remarks. At least a decade younger than us, even these teacher-athletes were feeling the start-of-year pressure. Another thing that probably isn't helping is our teaching/student load: A quick look at the student numbers in the chart above shows that they're not going easy on the old folk (us!): in fact we've got the most of anyone by a long way. I suppose we should take it as a compliment!
The heat continues to roll across the city-scape in unrelenting waves, creating mirages on the tarred roads and sapping our strength as we commute to and from school. We're a lather of sweat at the completion of both journeys providing a very uncomfortable start to the workday, despite the cooling towers on the roof pumping cold air into every nook and crannie of the vast building where we beaver away each day. We're glad we're sequestered in classrooms throughout the day though: despite the non-graded attractions of teaching PE, we'd prefer not to be slowly basted and roasted in the ever hotter Taipei sun.
A tumultuous thunderstorm that hammered down sheets of rain in biblical torrents on Friday afternoon delayed our return home. We each had separate dates: me with Wol down at Uli's and Cass with her book club up at Sherri's place. Earlier, when we arrived home from work, bedraggled, wet and tired, neither of us felt much like socializing, yet we each ended up having good nights. There's something about the taste of a cold beer or a crisp champagne, respectively, that provides just the right tonic to wash away a torrid week.
In the slightly less fiery temperatures of the early evening on Saturday, we took our usual pleasure in wandering around our neighbourhood. Everything, and I really mean everything, is available within a short stroll of our front door. We strolled along checking that shops and establishments were still operating, usually a bit of a lottery after we've been away for a couple of months, and we were pleasantly surprised to see all remained the same. Moksha was our destination, a newish Indian restaurant with authentic southern Indian fare, with some different offerings from the usual as well as a very extensive menu. It's a popular spot and we were lucky to snare a table without a reservation. We tried a few different dishes and my fish was delectably spiced and cooked, real melt-in-the-mouth style. The creative serving plates and service all made it a very pleasant dining experience.
Cass continued to catch up with a mountain of domestic chores as well as the increasing demands of our fickle couple of skinny, spoilt cats! Their under-performing kidneys mean more litter being used and more changes of litter necessary, and their ever-changing taste in food means mountains of empty gourmet food tins needing to be transported to the garbage along with the left-overs they refuse to eat: lucky she loves them! I snuck out to test myself against the steps after a long lay-off. How would I go? I was slow and ponderous, bear-like dragging myself up, but I made it to the top and celebrated with my chilled water upon returning to the bottom in a pool of sweat.
Photos: An aged beef room at Carrefour, straight from Australia!, one of Wol's pots, Himalayan salt (just for you, Chris!), Moksha, a very creatively decorated Grade 8 locker, the steps and the view as well as the chart showing what hard workers we are!!