Taichung, Taiwan.

Almost immediately after getting back to Los Angeles, I found myself jetting off to Taiwan to visit family. My internal clock was so whacked from jet lag that I fell asleep on my flight right after boarding and found myself waking up around Tokyo - haha, it was great! Usually I just watch in-flight movies until my eyeballs come close to falling out, but this time, I was so exhausted, I peaced out practically before the plane took off. The main purpose of this summer's visit was to visit family, especially my great grandmother, who'd been in and out of the hospital most of this year. Rather than going up, down, and around the country like we'd originally though we would, we ended up staying in Taichung most of the time so we could stay close to the hospital and not have to miss any of the strict visiting hours. Even so, there was still a lot to do - and eat! I was with relatives almost all hours of the day. It was relaxing to just sit back with no agenda and see family that I usually see only once a year.

Visiting the Costco in Taichung with my grandpa - here they have barristers to form more organized lines to get samples - TOO ASIAN! :)

Me with my sister at my uncle's office - hmm, it's good to have a sister @ military school
My cousin Sarah with my brother

Me with the office dog, 弟弟 ("Little Brother")

We tried to keep ourselves occupied within the city despite the weather - hot, humid, and later on, rainy from the typhoon. We visited several night markets and went shrimping. I got a lot of flack because I'm officially the family princess because I can barely get my rod together and I was too freaked out to grab the shrimp after I caught one (it was still really alive!) so I had to get other people to unhook it for me. In my defense, though, I did catch the most, so HA!

My sister with the first catch of the afternoon

Trying to herd myself through the deodorant-less masses of the night market @ 一中街, Yi Zhong Jie

My uncle waiting in line at one of the food stands at the night market

I'm always really bad at taking pictures when I'm in Taiwan because going there isn't like being a tourist. I don't really do anything, and I know I'll just be back soon enough, haha! As I get older, I'm starting to appreciate my yearly pilgrimage there more and more.

Being my usual moronic self in a quick trip to Taipei with my cousin Tiffany

A typhoon-y view of Taipei 101 by the Shin Kong Mitsukoshi department store

Hanging with my cousin Cory at Gold Class, a movie theater with reclining seats and food & beverage service at the Tiger City mall

[Almost] all the guys in our family on Chinese Fathers' Day [L-R] - my uncle, dad, brother, grandpa, and uncle

My 超級三八 sister with my 超級三八 aunt and uncle

The end of my trip was extremely bittersweet. While I was looking forward to seeing my friends and family (my sister and dad had gone home four days earlier than me), it was also time to say goodbye to my relatives for a whole other year. Most importantly, though, my last day in Taiwan also marked the passing of my great grandmother. While I didn't get the chance to get to know her as well as my other cousins, what with my family living over 5000 miles away in California, that lady was a real trooper. 94 years of life, 4 grandkids, 9 great grandchildren, and 75 years of marriage under her belt. Damn.

With my great grandmother two summers ago :)