Last Full Day

We woke up around 10..11?...so we didn't get much sleep, considering how late we'd been out. After a small breakfast (about half a red bean bun each) Steph's two older cousins arrived. We had some time to kill while waiting for the adults before going out for lunch, so we lazed around in the movie theater room.

We were obviously quite exhausted.

the next thing we did was go visit my deceased grandpa at his um.. shrine, i guess you could call it. the place is really high on a mountaintop, so we drove up and when we got out, the sun was literally beating down on us. we walked in and the interior is decorated with lots of gold and pictures of different deities etc. it looked pretty intricate. so then we rode the elevator up to the floor where my grandpa is buried. first we had to wash different fruits as an offering to the gods, then we burned incense sticks and prayed to the gods (it was slightly awkward because i am agnostic). people are all cremated for the most part, because of lack of space, and so the place was filled with a bunch of compartments to house the remains. stickers on the compartments represented if the person was male/female, dead/alive, or no one had yet purchased the box. picking the box is a tricky thing because you have to follow fung shui rules: the ones in the best, most harmonious spots cost the most, etc.

I obviously did not participate in this. Steph, her two cousins, and her uncles did, and I watched. It was really interesting.

okay. that's all for that. we left and went to eat lunch at a superfancy italian restaurant owned by a japanese guy. but the food was delicious.

Steph's dentist cousin took us, and ordered everything for us. It didn't taste exactly like Italian back in the States...but it was still really good.

Afterwards we said goodbye to her cousins and her dad's side of the family (SO SAD. WE MISS THEM. A LOT.) and then went back to her grandparents' apartment. Where we proceeded to put off packing.

we put off packing for a very long time.. until it was time to eat dinner. so we ate a GINORMOUS dinner with my mutti's side of the family. it was all very good but i was so very full.

Last delicious meal in Taiwan. :-(

Then...it was time to pack. Frantically. Unbelievable how much stuff we accumulated...Steph's aunt brought us this huge extendable suitcase so that we'd be able to fit everything in, and our four bags were stuffed to the max.

i got a huge workout hauling the bags to figure out how heavy they were. i am now buff.

Then we went to bed....