ShiLin Writing Class II

(back row, the guys) David, William, Michael, Sean, Rob and Andy
(front row, the beauties) Elaine, Vivian and Emily
(missing) Jenny

Yesterday (Friday) my second session of my writing class in ShiLin came to a close, marking the end of an 8 week intermediate level writing course. It was a fun class to teach and they were an interesting group of students with a variety of backgrounds. I was impressed by their English ability, and their commitment to improving themselves in many ways. I wish all of them good luck in the future, and with luck I will see them again soon if the writing class has another session! 

Tomb Sweeping Holiday!

Last Wednesday was Tomb Sweeping Day, an official holiday when Taiwanese people are supposed to gather together with family members and head out to the family gravesites and tombs to remember their ancestors. Since I have no family here, and Connie's relatives were taking care of the family duties, Connie and I decided to head out to one of the local tourist attractions for the day: DanShui! One of the sites of the earliest foreign settlements in Taiwan, DanShui (also called TamSui) is a collection of narrow streets filled with a mix of buildings of local and foreign style. The River Boardwalk is perhaps it's most interesting attraction, and that's where Connie and I spent our afternoon. 

Still a Fishing Port

DanShui is still an active fishing port, and the people here still go out each morning to fish for the local catch. You can see here the fishing boats lying just off the boardwalk and waiting to go out the next morning. 

Strawberry Sausage?

Just past the train station there is a stand that sells Strawberry Sausages, which Connie tells me are quite good. I would never have thought of combining pork (?) with strawberries in sausage form, but from the people buying them they seemed to be popular enough.

Kids Incorporated

Along the boardwalk, jammed between the food stands, shops and arcades, you will find small places like this serving the needs of the chronologically challenged. Pretty much the same rides and amusements you can find in any shopping mall in the world. 

At the start of the boardwalk we find...

McDonalds is everywhere, even on the boardwalk. The place under it is a "print club" center where you can get your picture taken by a machine that will make little colourful stamps with images of yourself and your friends on them. You can even get laminated trading cards with your image on them, and young people here often trade these cards and stamps with their friends. Every one an exclusive card with a limited run! 

Hey, I can see the lines underneath!

This fellow paints out calligraphic versions of what I assume are poems and other famous literary works. He was quite elegant as he slowly drew his brush across the page and copied out the Chinese characters from underneath it. I find it interesting that Asians consider calligraphy to be a fine art and commonly grace their homes with it, while Western peoples tend to prefer more concrete images of life as their idea of art.