My Taiwanese Family

Updated 14 June Monday 11:43pm. I have uploaded the photos. Thanks for your patience. :)

Today is a day of reunions with my Taiwanese family.

Reunion 1
After our buffet breakfast (included in the accommodation package) at 9am, my mother took us to see my grandmother who is currently residing in a nursing home. My grandmother is the main reason for my trip back to Taiwan. My heart felt a twinge of pain when I saw my grandmother lying there in bed. She looks so frail! So vastly different from my memory of her. She is hooked to a respirator to aid her breathing, otherwise all her vital signs are good. I sat next to her bed and held her hand while I talked to her, telling her that I have returned and have also brought my daughters, her great-granddaughters to see her. In early June, my grandmother opened her eyes but it wasn't sure if she could recognise anyone. After talking to her for a while, my grandmother opened her eyes to look at me. I was surprised and happy to see some reaction from my grandmother. Maybe she heard me and knows that I am back? Whatever it is, I hope my grandmother would get well soon.

Reunion 2
When my grandmother was sleeping, we left the nursing home with my 2nd maternal aunt who went to meet us at the nursing home. My aunt brought us back to her place which was a 10 minute walk away from the nursing home. There, I met my cousin-in-law and my 3rd maternal uncle who lived a few doors away. My cousin, the daughter of my 2nd aunt, called up when I was at my 2nd aunt's place. She apologised for not being there to meet me as she had to work and she asked to arrange a time to go for a meal. I am really touched. I haven't seen any of my cousins or aunts and uncles for 18 years yet they treated me as if there wasn't a gap of 18 years between us.


My Taiwanese family II

Reunion 3
My cousin-in-law sent us to my 1st aunt's place in Shen Ao. It's where my mother grew up. I have spent a significant amount of time here during my growing years whenever I went back to Taiwan. Time has changed so many things here. Sigh. But I could still pick out where the old houses used to be, where the path used to lead to the beach, where the well was, where... I couldn't help but smile to myself where all these memories started flooding in. It's a trip down my memory lane.
At my 1st aunt's place, I met my uncle, my cousins and their spouses as well as their children. Everyone was so excited to have me back in their fold, and my girls too. Now my girls are friends with their cousins. :) They "chided" me for taking so long to come home lol. 18 long years. :P
We went to lunch at a family restaurant just a 5 minute walk away from my aunt's place. Along the way, I managed to recognise more sights and scenery from my childhood. I took some photos of Jiu Fen shrouded in fog which is on the opposite coast of the bay from Shen Ao. Lunch was most delicious. I missed the Taiwanese taste. :P There were so much food that I was really stuffed. :P Gosh, going to be packing in the kilos haha.

Jiu Fen, opposite of Shen Ao, shrouded in fog as seen on my way to lunch

Some of the more unique dishes - Cold Dish: bamboo shoots with mayo, squid sausage and sashimi

Glutinous Rice with Prawns

Lobster Club Sandwich

Minced Meat Balls with Fish Roe

My Taiwanese family III (after a delicious lunch)

After lunch, my 1st aunt, my cousin-in-law and her daughter took my mother, my girls and I to Jiu Fen Old Street to have a look. Despite having been in Taiwan numerous times, I have never been there lol. It was really exciting walking the old streets, the colours, the wares in the shops, the aroma of food,... My girls were really happy and excited too. We managed to get souvenirs and other stuff. We had a rest at one of the shops selling yam balls. The yam balls were delicious, which tasted like glutinous rice balls. :) Unfortunately, as it has been raining the whole day, we couldn't see the scenery of Jiu Fen. Everything was shrouded in a layer of fog and shielded with rain. :( But still, it was kind of serene and an experience walking with our umbrellas in the rain and foggy streets. :)

Candid shoot of my family at Jiu Fen Old Street

A local snack at Jiu Fen - peanut roll with ice cream. It is similar to the popiah in Singapore but filled with crushed peanut and ice cream

Another famous snack at Jiu Fen - yam balls and sweet potato balls

The girls in one of the shops which brings back fond childhood memories for me

The girls with one of their cousins

The girls with another cousin

My cousin-in-law sent us back to our hotel around 8pm. We decided to go to a famous ramen restaurant that's opposite the hotel. There is always a queue at the restaurant lol. Our food came after a 15 minute wait. The pork bone soup was full of favour, rich but not oily. :) Absolutely delicious!

The Japanese Ramen Restaurant - Liu Ding Mu



Thoughts
As I was waiting in the laundry room waiting for our clothes to be washed, I thought back on the events of today. It has been an emotional day for me. Seeing my grandmother so frail and weak, meeting my relatives and cousins again, seeing places where I grew up, ... I am really glad that these people are my family. I am glad now that I am half Taiwanese lol. I won't wait for another 18 years again before returning to Taiwan. With the girls now older, we should be able to come back more often, especially now they know they have cousins in Taiwan. :)