by Eric Mader
As part of its efforts to "keep Taipei moving," the Taipei
City Cultural Affairs Bureau will offer free walking lessons this year to
interested residents. All city
residents are strongly encouraged to sign up.
The walking lessons, to begin in June, will be held on a
specially prepared walking course at the southeast corner of the Sun Yat-Sen
Memorial Park. Principles of basic
locomotion will be taught as well as various points of walking etiquette. The series of topics covered will be:
WEEK 1: Walking in a straight line
In this course students will learn how to put one foot in
front of the other so as to move their bodies forward in a straight line. Focus will be on moving down a straight
sidewalk without zigzagging randomly from one side to another. The lessons are free for all Taipei
citizens, but women over 35 who participate will also receive a free bento
lunch.
WEEK 2: Keep right
In this course the difficult principle of "keep
right" will be taught and its advantages explained. To begin with students will practice
keeping to the right as they walk in a variety of simple settings: on
sidewalks, in and out of doors, etc.
The final course will focus on a more advanced skill: keeping right
while walking up and down a stairwell.
WEEK 3: Entrances and exits
In this third series of courses students will learn of the
many places one can chat with friends other than the entrances and exits of
public buildings. The use of
entrances and exits will be explained, and students will practice walking in
and out of buildings without stopping in the doorway to chat or stretch or
consider the weather or decide where they're headed next.
WEEK 4: Elevators and escalators
Basic elevator and escalator etiquette will be discussed. A special additional course will be offered to explain the black and yellow entry and exit arrows painted on city MRT platforms.
Of the city's free walking lessons Mayor Ma Ying-Jeou has
said: "We in Taipei have one of the best-educated populations in
Asia. It's about time we learned how
to use sidewalks, doors, and stairwells so as to help each other get around. For too long foreign visitors to our
city have been shaking their heads and laughing at us. It's time we learned to move around
like we are really in a city and not in the middle of a field."
Email: inthemargins03@hotmail.com
This page
is at http://www.necessaryprose.com/