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Travel Days 3-4: Dancing With Fireflies

Saturday morning, we checked out of La Clé Hotel and headed to Hsinchu (新竹) for the most epic family reunion with my mom’s three sisters, their kids (my cousins), and my cousins’ kids.



We stayed at a huge retreat house that fit all 20 of us, deep in the jungle and up in the mountains, and every room had a private bath and view that was just spectacular.



Being the eldest of the cousins, it was inspiring to see the grown up version of my younger cousin coordinate the entire weekend, from booking our retreat cabin, to scheduling activities, to making sure our group pictures were taken. 😍



It was the first time we got together like this as a group of 20 people, and since I haven’t seen my family in Taiwan in over a decade, this was so very special. ❤️


There were so many fun memories made this weekend, and the most magnificent thing happened when we wandered the property after dark…



We saw hundreds and hundreds of fireflies!!! ✨


Can you imagine the delight and awe of seeing this for the first time in your life!? I’m still resonating with pure joy and wonder of seeing such a sight. Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think I would see an abundance of fireflies like this. 🤩


I was told by my uncle that he hadn’t seen fireflies since he was a young child, and none of my cousins had ever seen so many before all at once. It was as if the fireflies came out to dance and play with us in celebration of our reunion.



The next day, we made sure to squeeze in some more quality time by exploring Nanzhuang (南庄老街), and decided to make our family reunion an annual tradition.



Before we parted ways, I had to get my cousins recreate a 25-year-old photo with me, one that I’ve been keeping all these years to remember the good times we had growing up.



It’s been a healing and cathartic weekend because I realize there isn’t anyone else in the world who will embrace you so lovingly and unconditionally even after you’ve been away for so long.


Family is forever, and I can rest easy knowing no matter where I end up in the world, I’ll always have my village.


I can always come “home”. 💖

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