Sunday, November 28, 2010

The end of the voting brings peace and quiet - I hope.

So Taiwan has been enveloped in elections, campaigning and voting, and more campaigning and more voting. We do not watch Taiwanese television. We do not read Taiwanese newspapers. We hardly even converse with Taiwanese locals. So how did we know there was an election going on?
We heard it.
Every night. Every morning. The wannabe mayors and representatives came out in droves and blasted their promises to the streets. They stood on soap boxes on the corners of busy intersections, with their support groups in tow, waving flags, giving away pencils and tissues emblazoned with their faces.
Little trucks meandered through the streets, airing the delegates promises out of large speakers.
Fireworks lit up the sky, scaring the stray dogs I am sure, continuously.
But now, the votes have been cast. Hopefully, the campaigning will cease. And we can watch a movie without having to close the windows as the sound of the trucks and fireworks takes over our living room. And we can walk calmly around our streets without having to listen to crackling speakers and staring at cheshire-cat grinning campaigners.
All we will have to listen to is the soothing sound of the ice-cream come garbage truck, singing its happy melody at 7pm every night. The closest to a noiseless Kaohsiung that we will ever get.

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