the jimmymac attack!

The other day, Monday June 6 I started a class at 1:30. Five minutes later the sound of a jack hammer coming through the wall erupted ten or fifteen feet away. Not one of my three students even blinked an eye. No one made a comment about it. At times I could not hear them speak. However this is just normal in Taiwan. There have been days I hear this noise at home at my apartment and then I hear it at work when I'm there. Many buildings here are built of poured concrete. This makes them very strong and able to withstand earthquakes. That is good because if you've felt an earthquake you know it's important to have a solid building. But why don't they also install some pipes or other conduits to allow future installation of plumbing and wiring. When they need to install wiring or plumbing they are always pulling out the jack hammers and blasting away for what seems like hours.
Noise is everywhere in Taipei. The other day I was walking in the popular shopping district Ximen with a friend. When speaking right into my ear while walking along I could not hear what she was saying.
Another day I had lunch in a little Taiwanese restaurant. It seems they do not like peace and quiet. Although I was the only customer and the place was fairly quiet the staff took care of that anomaly. They were talking to each other which is very normal. But talking is not the correct word. They were screaming at each other. I don't think they were fighting. It is just their way to scream at each other when they could have had something like a civilized conversation. There was no regard for me - I'm just a customer. If I don't like it there are hundreds of other customers who will find their behaviour normal. Noise. Noise pollution. What a place.