Oh no!

I spent Saturday in Taichung, Taiwan with 4 other foreign teachers from the United States. As I flipped through the photos to post some for you to see, I realized that 85% of them could probably be mistaken for photos taken back in the States. With the exception of a few tropical trees, some Chinese signs, and an abundance of Asian population, many of the photos could have been taken in a quaint little upscale boutique area of Columbus, Ohio, or in an artsy metro park there. I don't really know what to think about that. Maybe the people I was with were feeling a bit homesick for the good old USA. But as close as it was to election day, I wasn't feeling too nostalgic. The few photos posted today show more typically Taiwanese influenced things such as the "jen jew nye cha" (as it sounds, but not as it's really spelled) which is milk tea with "bubbles" of large circular tapioca. And, honest, this is a photo of the fire department we walked by as we were leaving the restaurant where we had lunch. As you might imagine, I prayed no fire would develop during the night in our typical big city hotel in the budget range across the street from the train station. I am not sure how much trust one can put in the seriousness of fire fighters who look all too much like cartoon characters.
We did see some cool statues at a park and listened to some Taiwanese music in a very nice area near the park as we had bubble tea and just relaxed. I was fascinated by some artists who had wandered outside their gallery to hear the music. The shop appeared to be ceramics and paintings or calligraphy. It was quite beautiful and I daydreamed of "someday" when I can spend my days creating art. Sadly, I am beginning to realize that those days may never come. That's not an easy thing to accept.
Then we visited another area of Taichung which is a pedestrian shopping that resembles Europe (I am told). I woke before sunrise and took a few photos from the hotel window overlooking the train station. This weekend was also the weekend of the All Soul's Procession back in Tucson, Arizona. Last year I spent a few days at the procession and the day leading up to the procession. It's an incredible thing the artists do there. Ah, sounds like I also was feeling a bit nostalgic and missing some of the things I remember about America.