another weekend

I had another interesting Saturday. Woke up early yesterday to go to the beach, but when I stepped outside and looked at the sky (chance of showers) and thought about the money and time it would take, I changed my mind. Thought some more and decided to go to a pool party at some country club near taipei 101. Took the MRT, then a bus, then walked up a steep hill, and arrived at this place. Not that cheap, but I got a free drink (sparkling water with lime, not in the mood for booze in the sun), and I found a seat. On the way there I had met some guys who study Chinese at a Catholic University (Fu Ren) which I used to pass by on the bus every day on the way to work. Some Germans, several Africans of various countries, an Israeli guy, French guy, some other guy, they were diverse and lacking in Canadians or Americans which is unusual for a group of foreigners in Taiwan. I chatted with a guy from Liberia for a long time. He had traveled all over Africa, and although he dropped out of high school, had worked as a teacher in Africa. Then he sold precious stones in Hong Kong for several years until the downturn hurt the business and he came to Taiwan. With imperfect English, he had managed to hook up several teaching jobs here and was saving money. I admire his ability to hustle and move around to keep his head above water. A pretty smart and nice guy. The party was okay, I'm a little old for it I guess, not much interest in beer bongs at this point. There were some girls in bikinis and the usual drunken louts trying to meet them, but not in any great numbers. I did like relaxing in the pool, and one of the dj's was pretty good. It was a little cool though and I found myself missing the seriously hot days. I ate a vegetarian hoisin duck wrap and left around 5:30.

Managed to get back home and take a shower before I went to see a free performance by the Cloud gate dance troupe at a stadium here in Banchiao, only 5 minutes away by scooter. Here is a link to part of one of my favorite pieces they did: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uWAhUA05R4c&feature=related.
Too bad I was so far away, but it was free and very interesting, even if I couldn't see the movements clearly and could really only enjoy it as tableaux. I find myself strangely moved by dance, even if I have no idea about some kind of narative, people moving in the interest of looking beautiful and doing it well touches me. Cloud gate are very interesting, mixing ballet and modern and (what looks to me like) martial arts and probably other things that I don't know into their dance. They also have excellent set design, and being far away sometimes helps you appreciate the layout of the whole stage. And the music was very interesting. Free shows are free, though, and attract lots of families. Kids, understandably to my way of thinking, are bored and talk constantly and run around playing, which is a little bit annoying if you actually want to see and hear. I'll have to pay and see them in a concert hall next time, still, very interesting.

I went home and read and watched a crummy movie and went to sleep. Not a bad Saturday and no hangover for Sunday.

Today I mostly just relaxed, but I did go out with RC to try a new "Cuban" restaurant in town. It irritates me a little bit because I have had this idea to open one for several years now, I'll be curious to see how it does. Actually, the only really Cuban food they have is a Cuban sandwich, with good, but not authentically Cuban as I know it, bread. The sandwich tastes good, not that cheap though. The rest of the menu is adequate Mexican food, other than Mojitos which seems to be a main selling point for the place. They have some Cuban decorations and music (and a lot of Mexican music), though I think they need to redo the lighting and painting to make the place feel right. The people who work there are very friendly and the manager gave us a little discount for a small thing, which was very nice and I will remember. I will go back for that sandwich and to see how they do.