
Today was a special day for me. I woke up and spent some time with my cousin’s children. We watched Saturday morning Japanese cartoons and The 36th Chamber of Shaolin (made popular by Wu-Tang), which is probably the best kung-fu movie ever. Ever.

We ate lunch with grandma and grandpa and relaxed into the afternoon. Then people began to show up.
First, my dad’s oldest brother arrived. Then, my dad’s sister arrived with her husband, daughter, and her daughter’s children. Then, my cousin arrived with her husband and daughters. Then, my dad’s sister arrived with her two children. Cousin after cousin after cousin walked through the door. Pretty soon, the house was filled with my family members, at least 25 people from 4 different generations. I was overwhelmed at the number of family members that showed up. And this is only a fraction of the entire family!

We continued to eat, drink, and talk into the night. Like most of my “talking” in Taiwan, it involved a lot of tracking the speaker, trying to figure out certain words that I know, and nodding. Dad will turn to me often and say, “We’re talking about . . .”

This large family gathering made one thing clear to me: family transcends language. While I didn’t have the words to say the things I was thinking, the feeling of family made me feel at home.