Two favorite spots on my way home from work.

First, the train tracks. Sometimes we get caught at the crossing just as the barriers come down. I love standing there right by the tracks as the trains come by. The ground rumbles as they approach and the wind rushes past just as the engine reaches the intersection. The noise of the train overpowers the cacophony of the warning signal. Then there's the rhythmic clanking as the rest of the cars go by. I love it.

All of the trains on these tracks are passenger trains. The blue ones are the local, smaller and slower trains and the orange ones are the longer-haul ones that are bigger and faster. The high speed train travels on completely different tracks and stops not too far from the school. At 6:30 in the morning many of the train passengers are students getting to their various schools around the city. Many of our students take the hour long trip down from Tainan.

My other favorite spot is the kite flying park. It's actually called the art park because it surrounds the art museum but oftentimes in the afternoons there are kites swirling around in the sky above the park. We always get stopped at the lights at the corner of the park and I get to watch the kites for awhile. My favorite one was up yesterday. It's a string of ten black fish undulating just like real fish would in the water. I'd love to see that one get launched. Some day I'll have to stop and find where the people are who are flying the kites and watch them for awhile.