We were invited to an evening party at the Taipei Bin Guan, or the Taipei Guest House. To give you an idea of how classy a party it must have been, here's a little description of the place, and I'll also tell you that the president of Taiwan was there:
The Taipei Guest House, located in Ketagalan Avenue, is not open to the public. It is used mainly by the President to entertain VIP guests or by the government to hold National Day receptions and other important functions. It was constructed from 1897 to 1901 and remained the governor's residence throughout the Japanese occupation, which ended in 1945.
The House is rectangle-oriented along an east-west axis, with a U-shaped two-story main structure. On the first floor, there is a reception room in the east wing and a banquet hall in the west. The second floor is also for receiving visitors. Inside, the ornately carved columns are ubiquitous. The whole space looks tasteful and imposing, thanks to the column tops with carving of spirals and leaves, the friezes, the nicely shaped crystal lamps and chandeliers hanging from the ceiling, and the delicate arches carved with deer heads or leaves.
The House is surrounded by gardens, in particular the backyard, where there are ponds and dense foliage, trying to portray the Chinese legendary abode of immortals. With all these, the Taipei Guest House may be rated as the most elegant baroque style architecture in contemporary Taiwan.
Wendy and I had a good time, sampling the food and drinks, stargazing (that is, gawking at the VIPs), and watching Taiwanese Opera performances that were made more interesting by the fact that each performance represented a different style or aspect as the opera changed over time (for instance, the inclusion of jazz instruments as part of the musical band in the latter half of last century).
Today Wendy is in Taipei, trying to get an official copy of her diploma from National Taiwan Normal University. I'm in my office at San Min preparing for Wednesday's workshop on classroom management and discipline. It is also about time for me to review for my Chinese class this evening. I'm learning common Chinese characters, based on their radical. So, I'm learning characters that use the ren2, shui3, xin1, nu3, mei3, zhu2 (person, water, heart, woman, beautiful, bamboo, respectfully) radicals. It helps the old man remember....
Dr. Phil in Taiwan
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