Below our apartment....

Living abroad has always brought many fun opportunities.

• Like meeting some of the players from the Chinese national soccer team.
• Having the President of the country speak at your daughter’s field day because he went to that school as a child.
• Interviewed on TV for various things, mainly because we are foreigners.

A few nights was just another to add to the list…and one that my kids will remember.

President Ma Ying Jiu making his way to the stage.

• The President making a speech at the rally below our balcony.

Here’s a few snipets of things we heard/saw:
Fireworks shot from the building across the street. Our windows were shut at that point.
Whistles. Chanting. Shouting. Cheering. Flags waving.
Mamma Mia sung with intervals of a man screaming various chants that the crowd would repeat. Did I mention that this was taking place just 10-floors below us between 6-9pm?
President Ma giving his speech to rally the crowd to go and vote for him that Saturday.
Loud music.
50, 60, 70-year olds dancing. So wish I had a picture of this!

Yep, not something you see on a normal day, but then again what is normal when you live outside the culture you grew up in? It is all in the point of view of the beholder, isn’t it?

**Note that President Ma won the election and will remain the president of Taiwan for another four years.