Some Things I Saw Today...

Today, I saw...

My friend Alexis's four month-old dog Chocolat waiting for him outside of our practice room during aikido. I walked up to her and she started wagging her tail. She was so precious and jumped on me. I told her she was a very patient puppy, got a drink of water, and returned to the aikido techniques. After practice, everyone came up to her to play with her. And finally, when her "Daddy" came out, she started whimpering with joy and jumped up on him. Alexis took the leash off of her and she was jumping for joy.

A grandfather getting off of the bus at Gongguan. As he was doing this, he turned around and called his grandson to follow him. Just then, I felt a young boy push past me and catch up with his grandfather. As we waited at the curb for the light to turn green, the grandfather, a short, fat Taiwanese man of about sixty, put his arm around the boy, who was also short and fat, and who must have been about eight. They stood there with their shaved heads, the grandfather's hand on the boy's shoulder. I wonder if fifty year ago, a short, fat grandfather put his arm around this man, who of course was just a boy then.

A mother lovingly holding her sleeping four year-old on the bus. Next to her, her husband is loooking over a stack of math tests.

Two students in my aikido class who are boyfriend and girlfriend holding each others' hands during lunch.

A four year-old boy on the MRT looking up at me from his seat. I smile at him and he smiles back. His mother is next to him. She looks completely exhausted. I don't try to get her attention, as if to let her know her son is cute. She doesn't have time for that kind of thing. I smile at her curious son again and he smiles back. I hope right about now she is sleeping deeply.

A Taiwanese boy of about eighteen on the bus reading a screenplay in English. It looked like is trying to memorize the words.

A busdriver waving at me and pointing behind him, then driving by. He is not taking passengers and wants to assure me there is another bus behind him. A few minutes later, my bus arrives.

My three Taiwanese friends dressing up for their Halloween Party. One is dressed as the Status of Liberty. She is holding a book in her hand just like the real Statue of Liberty, except her book is the Lonely Planet Guide to Taiwan. Another friend is dressed like a ninja fighter complete with a sword. Another is a princess. I don't know about the ninja fighter, but I think my friend really is a princess in real life, and her friend who is dressed as the Statue of Liberty has lived in the States, and her boyfriend is from Texas.

A boy of about ten is doing kungfu (gongfu) moves in the foyer of the restaurant that we are leaving. His mother is nearby and looks totally exhausted. I really want to challenge him to a match, because he looks like he knows what he is doing (or more probably, it looks like he watches a lot of TV), and I am also in pretty good shape these days.