Yesterday a typhoon passed over the northern tip of Taiwan and schools and offices were all closed. You could hear a collective “yes!” throughout the country when they announced it on TV. A day off was just what we all needed.

As foreigners who don’t watch Taiwanese newscasts we didn’t hear about this. We didn’t know what a typhoon break is. Stupidly we went to school as normal in the morning. Yes, something wasn’t quite right — the breakfast place with the dumplings wasn’t open and there was next to no traffic on the roads. Once we reached the kids’ school, however, even we had started to understand:

不上棵， 不上班 — “No school, no work”

There is nothing as relaxing as an unexpected day off. It’s such a wonderous treat. All of us read books in bed all day. The actual typhoon was a bit of a disappointment though. OK, it rained a bit — but it rains a lot here. Nothing special.