Neither of my parents are heavy drinkers. I didn't realize I had drinkers in my family until I visited my relatives in Taiwan. We traveled by train to an amazing town called Lukang. It actually had a huge park that enticed American tourist. I mean any place that has a water light show that plays to the tune of Louis Armstrong's "What A Wonderful World" is American friendly. I saw a tow-headed college student bouncing around the park, to which I said to him "What's up, dude?" He almost double over in shock. No one in Taiwan speaks in surfer lingo.
My Mom's little brother lives there and we were paying him a visit. Taiwan is a strange country. You see so much lush beauty in the midst of industrial wasteland. The train across the mountain also has an amazing view of the ocean. Visitors traveling get an amazing view of plantations. They also have huge Buddhist temples embedded into the mountain side. Old with the new. The last leg of the trip, you see mini-waterfalls. It's like a dream now. So much tranquility.
I digress...my parents and I ended up at my uncle's restaurant during the mid afternoon. It'd been grey. Early in the morning my Mom kinda' bamboozled my father and I into going to visit. As my time in Taiwan was very short, I was suppose to hang out with my nephew in the city (Taipei). She told me it'd be a really quick trip and we'd have time to get back (which was never the case, but whatever, my Mom likes to hang out with her family whom she sees very rarely).
His place use to be a restaurant, but it's not anymore. All the restaurant stuff is still there. The gas stoves. The dishwasher. The tables and chairs. But it sits empty. Even the decor still has all the style of "restaurant." He sized me up. Like most of my Mom's side they talk really fast. So it takes me a while to decipher what he is saying. It comes down to the fact that he had caught a cold and he was wondering if we'd like something to drink.
Something to drink in Taiwanese is different than something to drink in America.
Let me clarify...last time I was in Taiwan, I was 13. Not necessarily the drinking age. Now I'm 36 and have a lot of alcohol history. I'm thinking there 'aint nothin' in the library of Asian spirits that could surprise me. I should've learned this lesson years ago. That when you set up these types of boundaries, someone is bound to break it.
I had a small teacup set out in front of me. I shook my head at my Mom. How quaint. This just wasn't going to cut it. My uncle disappears into a cupboard. I mean, he opens up a door under a staircase and disappears into a dark room. No lights. It looks like the dark just envelopes him. He comes back carrying...a 5 gallon jug. The type that filtered water comes in. He struggles, but he's pretty strong, so he manhandles this thing. Filled halfway up the jug is some of the darkest liquid you can imagine. It looked like oil. Like if oil was dipped in shoe polish. Light does not escape whatever liquid he sets on the table. My parents eyes widened. I was under the impression this was a traditional Taiwanese thing. Not so.
Giddy, my uncle lifts the heavy end and dribbles the liquid into the small teacup. This thing pours like molasses. I didn't notice it before, but it has a thick tree root at the bottom of the jug. Now, I'm thinking how he got that thing in there. Did it grow under this mud? Not sure. Very scared.
He motions for me to drink. I look at the liquid in the cup. It has dirt and debris at the bottom. I tell him this. He instructs me to drink around it. How do you drink around silt?
I take a sip.
Now, I've had moonshine before, and I thought my lungs had ruptured, but this "drink" tasted like licorice and instantly paralyzed my left side. I'm sure I suffered five simultaneous strokes. And my body was trying to process why I would be attempting suicide so early in my life. It was...well...at this point I can't really remember anything. Only that my Mom was mouthing the question "How is it?" Since I was hungover and tired the day before, this kinda...sobered me up. My Mom decided to take a sip. This is a woman who drinks beer with a few cubes of ice. Yet...yet...the drink doesn't effect her at all. She smacks her lips and mutters something about it tasting pretty good. At this point, I drowsily look at her. I half expect her to faceplant into the table. Nothing. I just realize I get it from her side of the family.
This is how the Taiwanese infuse their alcohol.
13 days. It's full of good memories.
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