Lazy Days and Holidays

ICLP scheduled another two days for ‘orientation’ after our exam on Tuesday. I don’t know whether this is part of growing up, becoming more Czech, or simply suffering from jetlag, but I have never felt more robbed of my time by a presentation. In the total of five hours, I think I learned two useful things, and even those two things I have already forgotten.

 The main library at TNU

 The view from my window

The view from my window at sunset

On top of that, I decided to ride down to a bank to exchange some money without realising that I would need my passport for that. I realised my mistake while in the metro, but I was already so far away from my apartment by then that I decided I would play ignorant and try to get my money exchanged anyway. It did not work. Instead, I took the afternoon to visit the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall and the National Taiwan Museum, the latter of which was being renovated and only had an incomplete exhibition on the third floor.

 The park by the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall

 Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall

 The National Concert Hall

 Another view of Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall

 Inside the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall

 Yet another view of the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall

 Chiang-kai Shek Memorial Hall viewed through Liberty Square Arch

 Liberty Square Arch

 One of the modern government buildings

 The 2/28 Peace Park by the National Taiwan Museum

Inside the National Taiwan Museum

The rest of my free time was good to me though. I took Friday and Saturday to format some manuscripts and send them off for consideration at journals. On Sunday, I got back into my translating habit, and I reviewed my tai chi forms.

Friday also happened to be a public holiday, and not just any public holiday – it was Mid-Autumn Festival. My suitemate and I went to the nearby Da’an Forest Park to people watch. We expected to see people grilling, but it must not have been permitted there. What we did see were several families having merry picnics on the grass and other people watching birds on the lake. We ate some noodles for dinner, but upon our return, I found that I had lost my keys. I figured they must have fallen out of my wallet when I was looking for change, so I hurried back to the restaurant. I almost got lost myself, but in the end I found the restaurant and before I even managed to explain why I was there, the waitress dropped the keys in my hand.

 Black-crowned night heron at Da'an Forest Park

 Another black-crowned night heron

Egret

It was a bit of a hike to the restaurant, so I was adamant I would not let it come to nothing. I decided to buy some moon cakes (yuebing), which were not very difficult to find. In the end, I was glad for the excursion, as it let me soak up something of the atmosphere: people queueing in front of Din Tai Fung, a homeless man sitting by his wife and son while playing the accordion, a mysterious congregation chanting a prayer before sitting down for a festive meal, and the melody of a lonely saxophone player wafting through the night.