Ba
For two people who aren’t very talkative, hanging out in person was so much nicer than talking on the phone.
Ba’s love language mostly involves gifting stuff. Because I had been talking about my guava craving in recent years (usually in the context of how I’ve sometimes splurged to pay American prices for it), he decided to spoil me with what was effectively an unlimited supply of this fruit. Upon meeting up on the very first day, instead of greetings, he handed me two hefty bags of washed and cut guava. From then on, he’d provide a refill every day or two. I ate guava every morning and night, at the hotel and at their home, all the way into mid-flight on the return trip home. While I might never get tired of this delicious green fruit, I was stuffed to the limits around the clock.
This was also the first time in forever that he and I traveled together on his home turf and therefore were able to hold discussions of logistics. It was intellectually stimulating – calculations such as, due to some intertwined fare rules and enforcement realities, how the kiddos should use the reloadable cards for bus if and only if transferring to or from MRT within an hour, else it’d be better to pay cash. He went ahead and prepared a handful of NT$10, 5, and 1 coins for their combined NT$16 fare. The arbitrage opportunity was quite negligible, actually, but the fun was in the game itself. Finding joy in this sort of optimization problems is among the few things we have in common. It was nice to work with somebody capable and interested in thinking this way… well, I suppose my own tendencies were inherited from and taught by him.
Ma
On the other end of the talkative spectrum, Ma has a neverending list of things on her mind that she needs to share regardless of what else is going on. Hanging out in person also made the interactions more meaningful, though sometimes it can be puzzling how little she engaged with her immediate surroundings compared to the stuff on her mental checklist.
A quality that had influenced my life tremendously is Ma’s sense of curiosity and flexible mindset. She’s usually open to ideas, especially in the context of going somewhere or eating something new. She was also being a good sport in playing with the kids.
One of our missions during this trip was to find a new towel blanket, a classic type of Taiwanese linen that Hong was quite fond of. After checking with some stores, we were told that towel blankets had basically gone extinct as all factories stopped manufacturing them. That was a huge bummer. Then, a couple days later, Ma dug through her closets, found one that she had owned, and gifted it to Hong. Hong was so happy. This blanket had officially become a family heirloom.
Jane
Among all my cousins, Jane alone returned to our home island after finishing her studies. Considering how we grew up together and shared four years in Blacksburg, it’s a bit sad that we had only seen each other a couple times within the past decade. But well, it was great to catch up!
After lunch with my parents, she took us for a tour to Da Dao Cheng. She’s the kind of person who would know which food stand in which night market has the best version of a particular dish, and what one souvenir store on the street sells that the other one doesn’t. As such, she was the best kind of local guide that a person can have.
Xiao Gu Gu and Gu Zhang
Ba’s youngest sister is among the closest family elders that I grew up with, and she was allegedly the one who gave me my nickname. Her husband is the coolest uncle ever and, compared to my dorky direct relatives, has fun stories from his childhood.
Upon retirement, the two of them moved to 埔里 Puli, the mountain boondocks in the middle of Taiwan. Even with the modernized roads and transportation systems, going there and back to Taipei would be a full-day affair. As such, we hadn’t seen them in about 12 years. With Hong’s encouragement, we finally paid them a visit this time. And it was so nice… I had forgotten how much I missed them.
As usual, Gu Gu’s house was filled with enough food to compete with a Las Vegas buffet. With so much flavor of nostalgia in each dish, I couldn’t stop eating. Gu Zhang, the man who taught me and all my cousins to ride a bike because nobody in the Hou family knew how, also happened to be the top Chinese tea expert I knew. I still remember being a little kid and watching him demonstrate the various steps of properly enjoying oolong, and his blunt opinions on those who “waste” tea by using a mug. I asked a question, meaning to just download some knowledge, but it turned into him brewing oolong for us and gifting us a bunch of tea-related stuff. Alongside tea leaves was a clay teapot that he had personally used for many years. Seeing that the lid was separate from the pot, Gu Gu took a cord and did some beautiful Chinese knotting to tie them together. I don’t believe I deserve such a nice gift… because as far as tea ware goes, nothing in the world is more precious than that.
Xiao A Yi & Family
Moving southward to Kaohsiung, we visited Hong’s aunt and cousin. I had met Xiao A Yi once before but only knew of her son David indirectly from Hong and her parents. Neither of us had met his wife or children. I was somewhat guarded about meeting a bunch of strangers, but it turned out to be a very pleasant visit. They were a lovely family and we got along immediately. David’s wife even worked in insurance and knew what an actuary was!
Their little girl latched onto Xuan and Ting right away. Despite them basically not speaking each other’s language, the three of them had lots of fun together all morning. Ting was chosen as this little girl’s favorite older sister, and for once showed her ability to care for a younger friend. Pretty incredible.
Taiwan 2024 (5/7) – Hanfu – Peter's Blog
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