These 4 pictures neatly sum up another eventful week in Taipei, although they don't reflect the horror of grading nearly 100 essays each in the past week. We had a respite over the weekend and yesterday, but the next round of essays (more involved and longer format) will reach our desks a little later today. I'm sneaking this blog post in as they write, as I know I won't get another chance for at least a week and a half.
I celebrated the grading of said essays on Friday by having a few beers with Wal and de-calibrating the events of the week. On the way, I was reminded again of the different way people live here in comparison to Australia. The photo up top was snapped as I waited at a traffic light and is not an atypical sight. Not only is the tiny baby being cuddled in mum's arms, but a toddler is also wedged in-between mum and dad (see the leg sticking out the right hand side??) Families on scooters, often without every member helmeted, are a common sight here. Somehow, despite not being sequestered away in the latest baby capsule locked into the back seat of a giant SUV, babies survive the mad traffic here. Admittedly, I'm not aware of traffic fatality statistics: I might be horrified if I was!
Military sight of might is unleashed every year in the lead up to Taiwan's national holiday and the metallic muscle regularly flies over our apartment in various rotor churning and ear splitting formations in the weeks leading up to the official day. The awesome power of this sight doesn't really transfer to photo or video: we're always in awe at these flyovers, although, cynically, we wonder how long these mighty machines would withstand a full-on Chinese attack.....best not to contemplate that one!
The NRL Grand Final was a magic game and we had a couple of guests to watch as well. The game was slightly spoiled by one of the most awful refereeing blunders I've seen in a long time: the correct decision was made eventually, but not before Canberra altered its attacking option. We felt this could have led to a change in the ultimate result. Oh well, it wouldn't be the same without a bit of controversy. Mind you, I'd be ropable if it was Newcastle on the receiving end in such a big game!
We've not often been in possession of U.S. dollars. Our upcoming trip to Vietnam necessitated that we have some cash to pay for visas at the airport, along with photos, documentation and forms. We'd forgotten about all this rigmarole in Vietnam as it is a long time since we visited last. We've booked what looks like a delightful hotel solidly positioned in the midst of the French Quarter, so we're looking forward to a few days of strolling, sightseeing and eating delicious food, albeit at a very sedate pace. We'll be trying not to think about our doorstep of essays awaiting us back home!
We'll be rushing home from school on Wednesday afternoon and in Daniel's car being whisked to the airport at 4 p.m. with a return on Saturday night. Sunday should be food shopping and preparing for the following week before getting into grading again.