I discovered a weird thing one day when I was bombing around on my new
bike; something that appeared to be a "ghost" school. I saw this
building from afar, and headed toward it. I figured from my vague
awareness of some Chinese characters that it was some kind of
vocational school. I rode on in—and up; this being a hilltop
operation—and found an abandoned complex. I could tell it
wasn't just closed "for the season;" there was no sign that there had
even been minimal "mothballing" maintenance.
It's kind of nice to hang around. It's quiet and private, and you can
explore a bit. In retrospect, I suppose it was a little ill-advised
to spite the "buddy system" and go it alone; I might have fallen off
something or other, broken a bone, and had to creep down the hillside
for a kilometer before I could draw the attention of someone who could
come to my aid....
Anyway, I got a few nice pics of some nature in the area, like this
view of the mountains and some pretty flowers. One thing I didn't
think of capturing this trip was a shot of a classroom interior.
There was a greenboard with a lesson written on it in chalk; but for
the weeds growing 'round about and fallen leaves drifting through the
classrooms like tumbleweeds, you'd think the class had just recessed
for lunch. Spooky.
So, of course, the question is: Why was this facility abandoned? It
finally occured to me to ask someone, and I got my answer. The
structures were condemned after the big earthquake on September
21
Got a pic of myself, here. My camera is a bit of a wonder. I just
turned this thing upward and got a shot of myself. When I downloaded
it onto my laptop and started to process the image it was a little
startling, not to mention a mite disconcerting. This is a 5 megapixel
camera (Sony CyberShot DSC-W1), and the shot is close range. One
could easily do a population count of my oversided facial pores from
the image! Not very flattering. This explains why the image to which
this thumbnail links isn't much bigger than the thumbnail; I want to
minimize the kind of damage to one's self-image which can be wrought
in our modern hi-tech, hi-rez era.
I got another shot of some particularly high mountains on my way home
from the school.
There was one bit of public archtecture whose installation was nicely
framed by my stint this year in Dongshih; the tearing down of the old
train station and erection of the "Hakka Cultural Center."When I first arrived in Dongshih for my interview with Pauline at Joy English School, I got here about 2 hours early. I popped in, introduced myself, and said I'd look around town a bit and come back in time for the meeting.
I noticed the old train station at the end of the block, and headed over to investigate. It was a dilapidated wreck of a building, strewn with trash. Behind the station I found, not tracks, but a very lovely, well-designed, well-built, and well-maintained foot and bike path. I began a trek down this path, while watching my watch.
Well, as things turned out, shortly after being offered a job by Pauline, work on the new "Hakka Center" quickly began. They tore down the old train station and quickly-but-thoroughly built this new structure.
For the Grand Opening, they decided to make it a "kids' day." Kids
were given paper and pastels and asked to draw some pictures. I
presume they'll be proudly displayed in the center at some future
date.
Anyway, these images capture kids busily at work creating their
masterpieces.
Just for kicks, I'm throwing in an oddity; a digitally processed image
of a part of a wood deck at this center. This processing enhances a
fascinating glyphic-looking coloration; this might have been the
inadvertent handiwork of a worker dragging a ladder around during
construction or decoration. I think it's charming as hell! Maybe you
can digitally incorporate this into something of your own.
"Home again, home again / jiggety-jig!"