More stuff from Taiwan
So I thought I'd blog some more from Taiwan, sitting here in the basement at 11:00 pm in the hotel using their wireless Internet to download some podcasts.
(One of the things that's keeping me occupied aurally while I'm walking around and driving around in taxis and when I'm at home on the couch trying to understand Chinese TV is listening to podcasts/radio shows of wrestling news in the US. Wrestlemania is this weekend and it's going to be huge.)
My uncle and his family left this morning to go back to Cali (Goin' back back to Cali Cali). Since it was their "adventurous spirit" that was driving most of the tourist-y stuff, I'm spending more time not going around like a madman trying to see everything Taiwan has to offer, which is good because I think I'm not much of a traveler. I like being comfortable and being in a foreign place for a brief time does not feel the same as being at home. Taiwan is a place that's just in the middle of being foreign and being home. While I have no trouble at all feeling comfortable in my Grandma's place, I do feel uncomfortable with the constant running around being a tourist usually includes. So, when I'm here, I enjoy sitting around, talking to my family members, and spending time with my Grandmother while I can.
That's not to say that I haven't been running around the last few days anyway. Since my uncle and his family (the ppl we came to Taiwan WITH) have not been with us these past few days, me and my parents have chosen these past few days to run around and visit those friends on my father's side of the family that we haven't seen in awhile. So, seeing Grandpa Wong (not actual Grandpa but more of a term of endearment) and his family, namely.
Grandpa Wong's relationship to us was explained to me thusly (I've known him for quite awhile but I was never old enough to realize that I didn't have any clue as to who he was in our family tree/history so I asked and my mom was kind enough to explain it to me). When WWII was going on, my Grandfather (well, both of them really but this is a story about my Dad's side of the family) was fighting for the Chinese. After WWII, he wound up positioned outside of Beijing while Grandpa Wong, who was a friend who was in the same unit as him during WWII, was positioned inside of Beijing. When the Communists and Nationalists were fighting, Grandfather was trapped outside of the city while my Grandmother and her family (my aunt and dad) were inside of Beijing. Since Grandfather wasn't there to take care of them, Grandpa Wong did.
After my dad was born, which was shortly after the city was seized and the Communists won, Grandfather wasn't allowed back into the city because they lost the battle and he was taken prisoner. Grandpa Wong took care of Grandma until my dad was 100 days old and, assumably, old enough to travel. Grandma then went to get a license to bring her children to Taiwan, where she grew up and still had an older sister. The excuse was that since they didn't have Grandpa, they needed to go back and be with family in Taiwan. Grandma got the license and she told them that Grandpa Wong was family also and would be traveling with them. Since Grandpa Wong had a different last name, Grandma said that he was her cousin on her mom's side. They managed to leave Beijing and refugeed themselves to Taiwan. Along the way, they ran into an exiled Grandpa and they all went to Taipei as a family. Until Grandma died 8 years ago, she and Grandpa Wong still called each other "cousin" when referring to each other.
Ok, so that was a long story. Anyway, we went to go visit Grandpa Wong and his wife (which would be... Grandma Wong). They were nice and fun to talk to but Grandpa Wong, unfortunately, is showing signs of Alzheimer's. He often got his stories confused and forgot ppl's names, including mine and my dad's real names (when my dad was growing up, Grandpa Wong always referred to him and his sister by their nicknames, even to this day. Him and his family may be the only people left who still call Dad "Xiao An"). But he was still an interesting and charismatic person. Grandma Wong was nice too. She cooked us lunch and we all ate.
Today was lunch with more family friends, altho these ppl I'd met already at Grandma's Birthday lunch. I don't know the complete story about how we know this Grandpa and Grandma (I think it's Grandma and Grandpa Chung?) but I generally know. Grandpa and Grandma lived in the same neighborhood as Grandma and Grandpa Chung in Taiwan as young adults. They were both military families. Since money was tight, their families depended on each other to eat and entertain themselves. My mother and her siblings grew up with Grandpa Chung's kids. Grandpa Chung taught my mom and her siblings how to speak English. Later on, when my mom was going to college and majoring in Math, she taught math to Grandpa Chung's kids (they're younger than my older uncle by 10 years).
Ok, I don't think anybody's interested in reading these random older stories of family friends. They only reason I'm posting these here is to stall for time as I try to remember what the hell else I've been up to. The days are starting to blend together. I do know time here's short. I think I leave in like... 2 days or something like that. 3? Something like that. We're leaving Saturday night at 10-ish Taiwan time and come in Saturday night at 7-ish San Francisco time.
I bought the soundtrack to Dreamgirls two days ago. I loved the movie on the plane but I know that watching it on the plane is the absolute worst way to watch it. I'm going to get the DVD when it comes out (unless it's ALREADY come out, in which case I'll get it when I get back to the States) and watch it on a proper TV at a proper comfort level. Still, the music's fantastic and I want a chance to listen to it over and over again.
I also bought a new watch. My watch here got busted a couple of days ago. Well, not BUSTED. It still works. It's just that the "6" on the watch face came off the face and has been rattling around the watch face. It doesn't bother me except every now and then it'll get itself lodged in between the hour hand and minute hand and jam them so they can't move. When that happens, I have to shake the watch until the 6 gets un-lodged and then reset the time... which is annoying and very un-productive because I have to keep asking what time it really is. My new watch is automatic and works on kinetic energy instead of batteries. Which I find really really cool. I keep staring at the mechanism on the watch face, which is actually kinda bad because it looks like I keep checking my watch for the time because I'm bored. I'm just really enthralled by the mechanism.
Ok, these really really really annoying business men just came in and sat down to work and gossip. They're being loud and obnoxious so I'm going to finish typing and post this and leave.
(One of the things that's keeping me occupied aurally while I'm walking around and driving around in taxis and when I'm at home on the couch trying to understand Chinese TV is listening to podcasts/radio shows of wrestling news in the US. Wrestlemania is this weekend and it's going to be huge.)
My uncle and his family left this morning to go back to Cali (Goin' back back to Cali Cali). Since it was their "adventurous spirit" that was driving most of the tourist-y stuff, I'm spending more time not going around like a madman trying to see everything Taiwan has to offer, which is good because I think I'm not much of a traveler. I like being comfortable and being in a foreign place for a brief time does not feel the same as being at home. Taiwan is a place that's just in the middle of being foreign and being home. While I have no trouble at all feeling comfortable in my Grandma's place, I do feel uncomfortable with the constant running around being a tourist usually includes. So, when I'm here, I enjoy sitting around, talking to my family members, and spending time with my Grandmother while I can.
That's not to say that I haven't been running around the last few days anyway. Since my uncle and his family (the ppl we came to Taiwan WITH) have not been with us these past few days, me and my parents have chosen these past few days to run around and visit those friends on my father's side of the family that we haven't seen in awhile. So, seeing Grandpa Wong (not actual Grandpa but more of a term of endearment) and his family, namely.
Grandpa Wong's relationship to us was explained to me thusly (I've known him for quite awhile but I was never old enough to realize that I didn't have any clue as to who he was in our family tree/history so I asked and my mom was kind enough to explain it to me). When WWII was going on, my Grandfather (well, both of them really but this is a story about my Dad's side of the family) was fighting for the Chinese. After WWII, he wound up positioned outside of Beijing while Grandpa Wong, who was a friend who was in the same unit as him during WWII, was positioned inside of Beijing. When the Communists and Nationalists were fighting, Grandfather was trapped outside of the city while my Grandmother and her family (my aunt and dad) were inside of Beijing. Since Grandfather wasn't there to take care of them, Grandpa Wong did.
After my dad was born, which was shortly after the city was seized and the Communists won, Grandfather wasn't allowed back into the city because they lost the battle and he was taken prisoner. Grandpa Wong took care of Grandma until my dad was 100 days old and, assumably, old enough to travel. Grandma then went to get a license to bring her children to Taiwan, where she grew up and still had an older sister. The excuse was that since they didn't have Grandpa, they needed to go back and be with family in Taiwan. Grandma got the license and she told them that Grandpa Wong was family also and would be traveling with them. Since Grandpa Wong had a different last name, Grandma said that he was her cousin on her mom's side. They managed to leave Beijing and refugeed themselves to Taiwan. Along the way, they ran into an exiled Grandpa and they all went to Taipei as a family. Until Grandma died 8 years ago, she and Grandpa Wong still called each other "cousin" when referring to each other.
Ok, so that was a long story. Anyway, we went to go visit Grandpa Wong and his wife (which would be... Grandma Wong). They were nice and fun to talk to but Grandpa Wong, unfortunately, is showing signs of Alzheimer's. He often got his stories confused and forgot ppl's names, including mine and my dad's real names (when my dad was growing up, Grandpa Wong always referred to him and his sister by their nicknames, even to this day. Him and his family may be the only people left who still call Dad "Xiao An"). But he was still an interesting and charismatic person. Grandma Wong was nice too. She cooked us lunch and we all ate.
Today was lunch with more family friends, altho these ppl I'd met already at Grandma's Birthday lunch. I don't know the complete story about how we know this Grandpa and Grandma (I think it's Grandma and Grandpa Chung?) but I generally know. Grandpa and Grandma lived in the same neighborhood as Grandma and Grandpa Chung in Taiwan as young adults. They were both military families. Since money was tight, their families depended on each other to eat and entertain themselves. My mother and her siblings grew up with Grandpa Chung's kids. Grandpa Chung taught my mom and her siblings how to speak English. Later on, when my mom was going to college and majoring in Math, she taught math to Grandpa Chung's kids (they're younger than my older uncle by 10 years).
Ok, I don't think anybody's interested in reading these random older stories of family friends. They only reason I'm posting these here is to stall for time as I try to remember what the hell else I've been up to. The days are starting to blend together. I do know time here's short. I think I leave in like... 2 days or something like that. 3? Something like that. We're leaving Saturday night at 10-ish Taiwan time and come in Saturday night at 7-ish San Francisco time.
I bought the soundtrack to Dreamgirls two days ago. I loved the movie on the plane but I know that watching it on the plane is the absolute worst way to watch it. I'm going to get the DVD when it comes out (unless it's ALREADY come out, in which case I'll get it when I get back to the States) and watch it on a proper TV at a proper comfort level. Still, the music's fantastic and I want a chance to listen to it over and over again.
I also bought a new watch. My watch here got busted a couple of days ago. Well, not BUSTED. It still works. It's just that the "6" on the watch face came off the face and has been rattling around the watch face. It doesn't bother me except every now and then it'll get itself lodged in between the hour hand and minute hand and jam them so they can't move. When that happens, I have to shake the watch until the 6 gets un-lodged and then reset the time... which is annoying and very un-productive because I have to keep asking what time it really is. My new watch is automatic and works on kinetic energy instead of batteries. Which I find really really cool. I keep staring at the mechanism on the watch face, which is actually kinda bad because it looks like I keep checking my watch for the time because I'm bored. I'm just really enthralled by the mechanism.
Ok, these really really really annoying business men just came in and sat down to work and gossip. They're being loud and obnoxious so I'm going to finish typing and post this and leave.
posted by Chris "Krang" Yang | 8:45 AM
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