from the roof top

This one was taken from the roof top of our school, showing the adjacent building, which looks genuinely foreign to my own back yard. This is January, mind you. The boredom of modern practicality and architecture is enjoyed only by streaks of mildew, yet is made culturally bearable by a touch of history and nature on top. Notice the traditional Chinese roof, covering laundered clothing. Then notice the tropical shrubbery draping the sides in an effort to advert your attention from the mildew. The city has these characteristics everywhere: practical modern boredom never seeming to consume the bits of history, tradition, and nature speckled throughout as if engaged in gorilla warfare for the soul of Asian culture. The art of a place never dies where the people can still be called a people.

The pictures below were taken with Steve's camera, as I have yet to purchase one of my own. The whole group has gone digital and I have the old school. Old school is real hip, except when you are not at the museum displaying your exhibit. I'm in the market for the new school, just haven't had the time to do my homework for the purchase yet. One of Steve's pictures shows one of the hallways in our school. It's important that you spot me in the picture, mostly because it proves you know me. Also of interest is the classroom off to the near right. You can now imagine me teaching in it. The tie-dye picture shows Tammy's reaction to her sudden discovery that Costco in Taichung has already closed for the evening, and it shows my reaction at failing to name that tune in our Branch night's Classical music gun-down. It was a Mendelssohn and I called him Beethoven. My team still hasn't forgiven me. I had one job and I couldn't do it. Steve won the arm wrestling contest against all the girls like he was supposed to, but I just couldn't name every classical tune like I was supposed to. Shame on me. Sorry dad--you taught me everything I needed to know except that, I guess. The last picture is outside the grocery store with all our bicycles. I love having a bike to ride all over town.