Happy Tiger Year!! pt I

Brace yourselves, dear readers, because we're going for a ride. Every time I come back to Taiwan, I make an effort to visit all of my relatives at least once or twice. This year is my first, and likely ONLY, time in Taiwan during Chinese New Year. That being the case, I feel like I have to cram everyone... into the span of a week.


Now, tradition dictates that you visit the father's side of the family for 年夜飯 (nian ye fan, New Year's Eve feast). However, because both of the sons (my uncle and my dad) of my dad's side are in the US, my grandparents decided to spend New Year's Eve with their eldest daughter (my aunt), who would be leaving the next day to go to Japan, and THUS wouldn't be able to 回娘家 (hui niang jia), which is the second day of the new year, when you visit the mom's side. ANYWAY! Long story short, I would be doing things backwards.

Aaand... my first stop would be Hsinchu. But not everything would be as it seemed! One of my dad's friends from his college days wanted me to meet Anita, one of his grad students. He had asked her to take me out around the town, and because she would be out for most of the holiday, meeting on New Year's Eve was really the only option.


Then, the rain began to fall, so after a quick lunch we took a stroll under cover of overhangs downtown. When we realized that the rain wouldn't let up, Anita took me on a driving tour around Hsinchu county. My sense of direction is really horrible, so I couldn't tell you exactly where we went. She was really cool and a GREAT conversationalist, which is awesome, because I suck at initiating small talk.

I did eventually get to my grandma's place a few hours later. It certainly didn't feel any different from other visits aside from a GIANT round table in the middle of... well, the house. Dinner at my grandma's was satisfying, as always.


Of course, for the New Year's Eve feast, we had bamboo which represents 節節高升 (jie jie gao sheng, step by step promotion), fish symbolizing 年年有餘 (nian nian you yu, having excess year after year), oranges meaning 大吉大利 (da ji da li great luck and profit), and 蘿蔔糕 (luo bo gao, turnip cake) or 菜頭糕 (cai tou gao) in Taiwanese, which stands for 彩頭 (cai tou, good omen).

Before bed, one of my cousin's friends came over with some 檳榔 (bin lang, betelnut) which is something that is really only found in Taiwan. Some foreigners come to Taiwan and ask why everyone is spitting up blood. And the truth is, they're not spitting up blood, they're chewing betelnut, which is a little bit like chewing tobacco. Although the stuff is pretty symbolic of low class, I still really wanted to try some, and finally got the chance! After chewing for a little while, your tongue and the rest of your mouth get tingly and numb and the rest of your body gets burning hot. Will I do it again? Probably not, because, well frankly, it's pretty disgusting!




Be sure to stay tuned for the upcoming installments of this wild adventure!