At 12:00 sharp the lights go out and the soothing moods of Curtiss Steiger’s saxophone fill the air with mediocrety. Lunchtime has arrived. Am I the only one with a soundtrack? Nobody flinches. One hour of quiet discussion and eating and light returns, once again accompanied by the mind-softening musak.
And back to work.
I had a pleasant walk through Taipei today. I am finally realising that there are in fact old buildings in Taipei and that they are not all concrete monstrocities. In fact, many of the 1-storey concrete buildings, upon closer inspection, are indeed original Japanese-era constructions clad with concrete and roofed with steel. You can see the original building poking through occasionally, or where the concrete has fallen away, revealing the old brick-work.
Another brick in the wall
I ended up in Chang Kai Shek Memorial Hall area (see my previous visit here), where I joined most of the young people of Taipei for their weekly music and dance sessions. It’s funny, and very different from home. The square is dominated on two sides by large halls that house the national theatre. In front of these halls are large windows, and in front of them are areas covered by the awnings of the roof.
In the reflections of these windows you will find team upon team of dancers, using the area to practice. Next to where I was there was a large acrobatic squad chucking girls high into the air, break dancers and RnB kids busting their grooves. It was an amazing sight. The sounds, however, were what made it memorable. In the square at the same time was a large brass band competition and the tiny Getto Blasters could certainly not compete. As a result, the scene I remember is of hip hop kids spinning out to the beats of … brass.
In the red corner … brass band
Gravitational Effects
In the blue corner – hip hoppers
Kids enjoying the scene
One of the most interesting things is the way that the kids are doing the youth culture thing. It seems to be subtley different. Here you get one ‘alpha’ kid doing the dance moves and teaching it to the others, right down to the small shoulder flicks and attitude. In Europe I think it would be more like freestyle and people competing. I have heard many time the ‘confucian’ attitude to doing things (master and student) is what explains some of the cultural differences. I have maybe even seen it in their attitude to copying electronics goods – you learn from the master, copy him, and when you master it you can express your own ideas. Perhaps.
I had a nice day trip to Juming Art Museum on the north coast with Klara (Swedish girl who sold me her scooter… and it turned out she was a designer… and well we got along ‘very well’). The day was more like a Californian spring day (I imagine) and for once the air was really cool and clear. We had an amazing ride over Yangmingshan mountain – the volcano at the end of my street.
This is my favourite statue from his Tai Chi series. The amusing thing was watching the Taiwanese take photos of each other imitating every sculpture… and of course taking photos and sniggering.
Me, hanging out in the sun in front of one of the larger sculptures… and being truly local by being on the phone!
Wee kid.
Klara and I in a cafe on the North Coast.
This is one of the major landmarks in Taipei. And here is a kid who cares more for bubbles and running around in circles. If you turn up at this place in the morning you will find legions of Tai Chi people appearing like some slow motion Kung Fu movie. And in the evenings you can find the yoofs all break dancing and listening to music – although for some reason it is all rather more friendly and less confrontational than urban subcultures in the UK. If you see a punk, they will be immaculately roughly dressed in branded punk clothing… more a style statement than anything political, I think.
In the same location you can find two large halls. National theatres that show operas and… well I could maintain my aura of being well versed and cultural in these aspects, but it is all a lie. And you can see the Mitsukoshi department store tower in the background.
When the doors of the memorial shut (exactly what happened as soon as I arrived, as it happens) everyone rushes off, without hanging around at all. It’s a hilarious habit of the Taiwanese that they only do activities for the shortest possible time, before running on to the next thing (usually eating). For example, at the beach, while us Euros are hanging around staring at clouds, all our Taiwanese friends sit down (avoiding the sun) ‘do’ the beach, tick it off the list and run to the next activity. It’s hilarious, and quite bemusing for us guys who like to chill and practice doing nothing!
