In the car, I saw that not much had changed in Taiwan or Taipei for that matter. I slept in the car along the way and finally arrived at my uncle’s apartment. Da-Quan seemed to fuss a lot, probably from having to get up early, but soon seemed to be in a better mood later. Arriving in their apartment, my aunt, whom I will call Aunt May, came out to greet me. I was very happy and excited to see her. Da-Ging or Jim, who is four years older than Da-Quan, woke up and greeted me sleepily. He had gotten much older and bigger since the last time I saw him. I, sighing deeply, noted how much time goes by too quickly. Soon, Uncle Heui, Da-Ging, and Da-Quan had to leave for school and work that day and so they left and said that I would see them later. I kept remarking about how humid it was in Taiwan.

After calling back to the United States to reassure my family of my safe arrival, I got some rest to adjust to the jetlag. I felt both, tired and out of it, as soon as I hit the pillow. You always feel tired and dizzy after jumping ahead 15 hours. As soon as I woke up, Aunt May and I went out the supermarket (called RT market) which was next to Costco. We were to buy milk and other food items. The market was a combination of stationary/food/thrift stores all in one. There was even a Starbucks coffee shop inside. Immediately afterward, we went over to my grandparent’s apartment. It was a joy to see them again. They were my father’s parents who usually visited my family every other summer. I also saw my youngest cousin, Da-Chien, for the first time. The little guy was able to walk and could only utter nonsensical gibberish, which was really cute. He was only one year old.