員林

yuanlin. our plans to get out for an early 6 mile run along a relatively newly paved road around yuanlin folded when we awoke groggy-eyed on sunday morning. a horizontal sleeping surface was what the doctor ordered!

after enjoying the yuanlin grandview hotel breakfast (DELICIOUS!!!!), we drove about twenty minutes to the northern part of city to the site of the first cheng ancestor's gravesite (kevin's grandfather's grandfather). it was pretty interesting because we parked on the side of the street, and then kevin's relatives turned left and proceeded to walk between a cement wall and 3-4 ft high grass, some of them hacking the unruly, long greens with machetes along the way, creating a path to the gravesite.

we met many of kevin's relatives that he didn't recognize and hadn't met before - it was really refreshing and unexpected how kind everyone was and genuinely interested they were in getting to know us. for us, we were very interested in getting to know them as well, but we definitely felt a little uncomfortable with our own mandarin and taiwanese language skills (no taiwanese for me at all). in total, there were probably 40 or so relatives at the grave site, and another 20 or so at the mausoleum afterwards.

at the mausoleum, my FIL showed me the area with his relatives tombs were located, and in particular, his parents' tombs. this may seem morbid to some, but actually my FIL is very laid-back and relaxed, so it felt like a very humbling, intimate experience for me.

in the afternoon, we were off to taipei ...

best: although i grew up my entire life in the US, taiwanese breakfast are by far my favorite. a couple years ago, kevin introduced me to the concept of taiwanese hotel buffet breakfasts ... it was a whole new world. at the grandview hotel, i enjoyed two large servings of 稀飯 with 魚鬆 and an assortment of taiwanese breakfast sweet and savory side dishes.

worst: uhm, my FIL was set of getting us a local cell phone card and we walked what felt like 2 miles from the hotel stopping by multiple cell phone shops before we found one which sold temporary SIM cards. we were also rushing since we were on our way to lunch, so we arrived a bit sweaty and stressed, to say the least.

smile: without even realizing it, i broke out in a smile from ear to ear as our van reached taipei. even though i spend just a week each year in taiwan, the familiarity of the city, the bright restaurant and cafe signs, and the anticipation of all the food and activities for the days to come, all excited me as we arrived after a 3 hr car ride from yuanlin. it felt like the city was saying, welcome home!