Taiwan – all the karaoke and food you could ever want, and then a lot more
Shan spent nearly the entire flight from Bangkok to Taiwan helping me learn a few basic Chinese greetings and other words and drilling me on the correct way to address each one of her relatives in Chinese as you don’t call people by their names there but instead call them “Big Uncle” (if he’s the oldest) or “3rd Aunt” or “younger male cousin” and these titles differ if the uncle or aunt or cousin is from the dad’s side or the mom’s side. Confused yet? Me too.
After all the work I put into memorizing the correct title for every relative I would meet, we get picked up at the airport by an older male cousin on Shan’s Mom’s side so I do my best to greet him with his correct title and after he doesn’t quite understand what I’m trying to say he says to me in pretty good English, “Just call me Anderson.” Strike one for the white guy. 
Anderson drives us to the two-floor apartment in central Taipei where we will be staying and we are greeted by almost all of Shan’s 20 or so very friendly and lively relatives from her Mom’s side, the next door neighbors and their kids and grandkids, loads of food, and karaoke; the foreshadowing of the next two weeks couldn’t have been any more perfect. Again I tried to greet everyone in Chinese with the title I had memorized for each one of them but with polite blank stares back they instead told Shan they were really impressed at how well I could hold chopsticks. Strike two!
Overall, our time in Taiwan was really great as all of Shan’s relatives on both her Dad’s and Mom’s side were incredibly warm and welcoming and very generous. Her uncles and aunts brought us lots of fresh dumplings, pastries, and fruit for breakfast in the mornings, treated us to incredible huge meals (with karaoke of course) at several good restaurants, and cooked some of the best food I’ve ever had. Her cousins took us to some cool fun bars and high-rise karaoke clubs. And even the really friendly next door neighbors walked us around some of the best places to get food nearby our apartment, cooked some fabulous food for us, and told us to come over and use the internet in their house whenever we wanted.
Some of the other highlights of our time in Taiwan were the following…
– Shan’s parents hosting two very special marriage celebration gatherings in honor of us. A dinner for about 20 people with Bill’s friends from college and former colleagues, many of whom played and still play key roles in the development of high-tech industries in Taiwan. And the next day, a lunch with about 80 relatives and family friends from several generations, and yes of course karaoke. Both were multi-course meals of absolutely delicious food with lots of warmth and laughter, and after this gastronomical double-header I’d never felt so stuffed in all my life.
– Seeing the grade school Elsie attended nearby our apartment and having her tell us about, and even kind of demonstrate, how she led the other kids in morning exercises which was quite an honor.
– Visiting the grave of Shan’s grandfather on her Dad’s side and paying our respects by placing fruit, rice wine, flowers, and burning fake money.
– Polishing off nearly an entire bottle of gin at a hip Taipei bar with my college friend Howard Man while discussing politics and business in Asia and coming up with ideas that will solve all the world’s problems. Funny how gin helps with this.
– Teaching my cousin Becky how to play mah jong and playing with Elsie until 3am in our apartment. We were so thrilled that Becky flew in from Singapore to spend a weekend with us in Taiwan and join us for the 2 marriage celebration meals as we always have a great time with Becky and now have been fortunate enough to have spent time with her in 4 countries. We hope that list keeps growing!
– Touring the scenic Taroko Gorge National Park a couple hours south of Taipei and enjoying some nearby hot springs with Elsie.
We both loved our time in Taiwan and especially the chance to spend so much time with Shan’s parents and relatives and friends. They all welcomed me into the family with open hearts and I hope we will have more opportunities in the future to spend so much quality time with these fun and caring people, and enjoy more incredible food.
For more pics, check out:
http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id=109604522&size=m&context=set-72057594077600351
Anthony
Tags: Travel
Shan