Light and Sound

It can be very noisy here, 30 storeys above the city street. Right now, at about 1am, there is some sort of construction work going on. Half an hour ago there were fireworks going off - and that is one of the more heart-attack-inducing things that goes on regularly on the city streets; bundles of tiny firecrackers will be tied somewhere convenient on the pavement and set off. Very noisy, and very unfortunate if you're a foreigner not familiar with the practice who happens to be nearby when they're set off.

During the daylight hours today there was some sort of show going on down the street. I could hear the singing and the announcer from my apartment, as well as the occasional army drill-style shout. I could see them from here, too - some kind of song-and-dance on a stage that was a bit far away to make any useful details out.

About a week ago there was a procession a good deal closer to my apartment - just a block over, in fact. A marching band came up one of the streets, and I even took a couple of photos (if you peer closely you can see the guy with the bass drum):





I still don't have any trouble sleeping, though. In fact, I've been getting more sleep than is normal, since I don't have to get up very early.