A Family Landscape

Welcome to Taiwan

Drew: "So do you feel like you know me better now that you've seen Taiwan?"

Sarah: "Hmm... I don't think 'better' is the right word... I have a fuller picture of who you are."


At the end of February, Drew, Jordan and I took a trip to visit his family in Taiwan. It was Drew's first visit since marriage and fatherhood. Seeing the country and experiencing two weeks of Taichung City captured my heart for his family and his origins. There was something very magical about seeing Drew amongst his aunts, uncles and cousins. He fit right in. I saw where Drew got his eyes, his forehead, his nose, his mouth, his face shape and even his hairline!!! I could finally tell what features came from which side of his family, his mom's or his dad's, and I could imagine by looking at Drew's uncles what he may look like in the future.



There's a scene in one of our favourite films, "Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind" when Kate Winslet's character hides herself in Jim Carrey's earlier memories and as a result comes to know him more intimately as she shares these moments with him. This is how I felt as we walked down the streets of Taiwan, eating street food from his childhood, drinking his favourite hot soy milk in the mornings and papaya milk in the afternoons. His favourite all-in-one sticky rice breakfast, and his love for Taiwanese style crepes with egg. The smell of Taiwan. The humidity. I discovered some of the intangible impressions made on a person by the city of their birth and of their family.


Most importantly I finally figured out Drew's palate. Early in our marriage I would try to recreate some of his favourite dishes. However after a year I gave up, realizing that it was easier for me to learn to cook Korean food because I knew what it was supposed to taste like. All I knew about Taiwanese food was what Drew tried to explain, and much of my experiments relied on cookbooks and recipes online, but being in Taiwan, I finally understood what balance of flavours Drew's palate was seeking. I learned that food and its comforts are more than satisfaction of an empty stomach, but rather, taste and memory go hand in hand. Not only of vivid distinct memories, but moreso abstractions: the sense of fondness, of security, of contentment, of family, and of identity.


Drew however discovered that his palate had also changed since meeting me. With each meal we enjoyed the same things, we craved the same things, or wanted to try the same things. We realized how similar our palates had become. Reminding usthat Drew and I are creating our own landscape with Jordan.



Jordan was a trooper on the flight, with all the traveling and the jetlag. She fit right in as she joined the masses on the street: window shopping, eating fresh orange tomatoes, soy boiled eggs, and of course the very Taiwanese beef noodle soup. She would entertain strangers like she was on Broadway, singing, dancing and smiling her toothy smile.