Capturing Life in Taiwan

I wish I could magically mentally take photos and mini-movies of what I see each and every day as I pedal around Kaohsiung.  So many funny, fascinating and curious things that are so hard to describe and I can't always stop and take photos along the way (I'd be run over more often than not).

I want to capture the businessman waiting to cross the road, wearing a beautifully cut double-breasted suit, polished Italian shoes and a conical straw hat.

I want to capture what it's like to ride a bike in this city. I have to say that the drivers are the only thing I absolutely dislike about Kaohsiung (and I hear it's a lot worse in Taipei). You can't, not for a second, take your eyes or attention off of the road because anything could happen. I'm sure I'll post a rant about drivers in the near future. I know I've mentioned it in the past but a proper bitch and complain session is in order.

I'd love for you to see how crazy it is shopping in any grocery or department store. I have never lived in a city with so many people and although it doesn't feel that crowded on an everyday basis, when you go shopping all of those people seem to come together in one place. I'm not a fan of shopping and the crowds just make it much more unpleasant.

I'd love for you to see: 

- couples ballroom dancing or people doing tai chi in the parks at night 

- locals walking along the bike path calling out "Good Morning" and smiling broadly every morning as I bike through

- being stared at when I stop at a red light and they being so enthralled with me that they miss the light turning green

- people trying to have a conversation with me even though they speak maybe 10 words of English and yet, somehow, we understand each other

- watching people make dumplings or cut up a chicken or basically prepare any food at the afternoon market - it's awe-inspiring

- chaperoning a school dance and watching how everyone surrounds any boy or girl who dare to dance together and cheering them on (with cellphones held high to offer some light and to capture the moment)

- that same middle school dance thinking that it's not that different here - the boys are still holding up the wall while the girls dance in a group 

- a young mother flying by on her scooter with twin babies sound asleep in a sling in front of her 

- a family of four on a scooter with the children standing at the front - no helmets

Here are online images....no joke

- dogs and scooters...dogs are so well trained that they just ride along on the scooters.  When the owners stop at a corner, the dog will hop off, do their business and hop back on.  Often I see scooters outside of a 7-11 and the dogs are waiting patiently for their owners and they never have a leash.

So many things to see each and every day.  If only I could capture them all.