_{Monday, 11:12am
Taipei, Taiwan}

Hello friends from Taipei, Taiwan! 🇹🇼 

Here’s a quick recap of my last 2 weeks:

• 4 days in Orlando, Florida

  • MC’d my brother’s marriage tea ceremony (敬茶) - a traditional Chinese ceremony for married couples to serve tea to their parents

  • Visited Disney World

• 7 days back in the Bay Area

  • Met up with friends!

  • Hiked Mt. Tam and Lake Chabot

  • Circled the entire Bay at least twice, made 5 trips to SF

• 4 days in Taiwan

  • Attended a funeral

  • Saw a ton of extended family—including all the cousins on my mom’s side for the first time in several years

From life to death

It was interesting to transition from a celebration of new beginnings (my brother’s marriage ceremony) to a funeral.

On the one hand, a marriage ceremony is a look towards who you will become. It’s a symbolic commitment to grow with your partner along the unpredictable road ahead. That going forward, you have someone to experience life with, through all the joys and sorrows.

On the other hand, a funeral is a reflection of who you were. This is abundantly clear when you see the people who come to your funeral, and the words that are said about you after death. It was a powerful reminder that the way I treat other people will be how I’m remembered.

My brother (who’s just about 30) had even crazier transitions than I did—he went from a baby shower, to his own marriage ceremony, to multiple weddings, and to the funeral all in the span of 2 weeks. I always saw being 30 as an aspirational life stage, but seeing the chaos of going from event to event, I’m not sure if I’m quite ready for it 😅 .

What is home, anyways?

In Taipei, between seeing family, I visited several of my go-to stands at my favorite night market. They were just as good as I remembered. However, some of the places I used to frequent have subtly changed or shut down entirely. I guess it’s a reminder that the only constant in life is change.

I tend to get quite attached to locations. The longer I stay at a place, the more it starts feeling like home. Even more so if I start making friends and establishing a routine. When I arrive at airports that I’ve visited frequently (shoutout to YVR, SFO, TPE), I often feel like I’m “returning” rather than “visiting” a place.

If I continue traveling, I wonder if eventually everywhere will start feeling like home? Or perhaps one day, once people I know are gone, and as landmarks start to change, a place that used to feel like home will lose its sense of familiarity, to the point where I’ll no longer recognize it at all.

On that note, I’ve got to hop on my next flight—onwards to Mongolia!

Until next time!
Tim