As stated in my previous post, I’ll share the one week vacation with my family finally, completely, reunited after four years and a few months. Although I’ve come to visit the main house every holiday for the past three years, my oldest brother (the one whom I live with at the side house) would stay. So it would usually be an almost complete reunion back at home. This time, he came to visit alongside his girlfriend and my friend.
My other brother (let’s call him Jack) and I went to pick them up on Saturday the 14th at 1AM. My eldest brother had his luggage checked and unfortunately, some of his stuff were taken away. It was all food, but it was food we can’t commonly find in this country or doesn’t taste as good. My brother doesn’t just stand by and watch his gifts getting confiscated, so knowing him he tried his best to convince the checker that those foods weren’t anything suspicious. He managed to retrieve a few of them, but oh well.. he wasn’t that satisfied. Because of this, my brother and his girlfriend took a while to pass through the exit doors. I went to sleep at 2:30AM after letting my unofficial “sister-in-law” ride the hoverboard.
In the morning, I went to work but spent most of the time playing pokemon ha.. and had a simple tuna onigiri (rice ball) for lunch. Then in the afternoon I went out with my friend for the last time. Much later, I was picked up to go have dinner with my family at Hard Rock. We had way too much I felt bad for having leftovers.
On Sunday after church, we went to have cooked duck at the place I mentioned in another post. Later that afternoon us four young adults played a lot with the Nintendo Wii, mainly the sporty games or those that require you to move a lot. We were pretty much tired, but we had fun. For dinner we had ravioli with scarparo sauce prepared by the girls, while both my brothers continued playing competitively. Our day ended with us playing even more.
On Monday I went to work in the morning while my parents, separately, went to get their health checked. My father and my eldest brother went to get my father a generaI check, while my mother and Jack went to see her results she had tested when she was ill. For lunch we went to a Korean restaurant with my cousin from my mom’s side and her family. I had 물냉면 (ice water noodles). In the evening, we went bowling. As we were 6 persons, we divided into teams of three. My team was alongside my father and Jack, the other team was my mother, my eldest brother and his girlfriend. Having my father in my team, it was obvious that we won! Although I must confess my eldest brother is just as good as a player. Jack is a funny yet amazing bowling player. Not because he is my brother but because he uses weird techniques like “super effect”, in which he swirls the ball instead of rolling it straight like how it is supposed to be. I'm aware players do spins effects, but his spins are too over the edge.
On Tuesday morning I stayed home with the rest of the female members (aka mom and unofficial-sis-in-law) before reuniting with the rest of the family. For lunch we went to this bakery/restaurant, where you get a full combo of salad, soup, main dish and dessert just for lunch! I finally received my package of necklaces that I had ordered two months ago over the net. In the afternoon, my brother decided to get rid off of the stuff that was no longer in use, or just trash in general. Goodbye to my guitars and the violin that no one ever played.
For dinner, I went to this BBQ house with an even fuller family: my aunt/uncle from my dad’s side, and cousins both from my dad’s and mom’s side and their children. That was 15 people in total (16 if you count the fetus ‘-‘;). And afterwards everyone except for my aunt and uncle went to the shopping mall to have some ice cream. Thanks to my nephews, my parents didn’t feel that awkward.
On Wednesday my brother and his girlfriend went to the family shop for the entire day. My father and Jack went back to the hospital for another check, this time an eye check, while mom and I stayed home. Then they came back and us four had lunch together. In the afternoon Jack and mom went to the shop while my father mandatorily rested as his pupils were dilated. For dinner we had 염소탕 (goat stew/soup) at another Korean restaurant. It had been so long (around 10 years, if not more) since we last had it and it was good. We talked about the old times when we used to have it at a family friend’s restaurant and also talked about that family and how good friends we were with them.
On Thursday we decided to not open the shop. In the morning we had a photo session to commemorate our reunion with me finally being an “adult”. The last time we took a family photo was when I was in my senior year of middle school, when my eldest brother already lived abroad and my second brother, Jack, was about to leave as well. We chose a total of 7 photos (6 small and 1 huge). For lunch we went to the shopping mall. I skipped but instead had a snow cone.
Right after that we went to a bio ecologic reserve. It’s known for its thousands of butterflies flying around (well, that was years back) and its natural-looking pools. While I wasn’t able to enjoy the pools, I enjoyed the rare leisure on a weekday. In that same place, you can visit a huge aviary where many birds are well kept. It isn’t like the zoo, where one sees the animals from the outside. You get in there with the birds roaming free. You can touch them if you have the courage to do so, but no one takes responsibility if you get attacked by them. The aviary is, according to their site, 35m (~115 feet) tall and occupies an area of 2800 square metres (~3349 square yards). It has a lookout at the top with a really nice view and at the very bottom of the aviary, the weather feels just as how it would be in the Amazonas: very humid and tropical.
We left the reserve at around 5:30PM. Us young adults headed straight back to the same shopping mall while my parents went home to rest. I bought a necklace and my “sis-in-law” bought a handbag and a tee. Later for dinner we went to a Japanese restaurant. Most of us were too tired to even be hungry. Us siblings ordered a set of sushi, my dad had udon noodles, and both my mom and “sis-in-law” had sets of onigiri.
My other brother (let’s call him Jack) and I went to pick them up on Saturday the 14th at 1AM. My eldest brother had his luggage checked and unfortunately, some of his stuff were taken away. It was all food, but it was food we can’t commonly find in this country or doesn’t taste as good. My brother doesn’t just stand by and watch his gifts getting confiscated, so knowing him he tried his best to convince the checker that those foods weren’t anything suspicious. He managed to retrieve a few of them, but oh well.. he wasn’t that satisfied. Because of this, my brother and his girlfriend took a while to pass through the exit doors. I went to sleep at 2:30AM after letting my unofficial “sister-in-law” ride the hoverboard.
In the morning, I went to work but spent most of the time playing pokemon ha.. and had a simple tuna onigiri (rice ball) for lunch. Then in the afternoon I went out with my friend for the last time. Much later, I was picked up to go have dinner with my family at Hard Rock. We had way too much I felt bad for having leftovers.
On Sunday after church, we went to have cooked duck at the place I mentioned in another post. Later that afternoon us four young adults played a lot with the Nintendo Wii, mainly the sporty games or those that require you to move a lot. We were pretty much tired, but we had fun. For dinner we had ravioli with scarparo sauce prepared by the girls, while both my brothers continued playing competitively. Our day ended with us playing even more.
On Monday I went to work in the morning while my parents, separately, went to get their health checked. My father and my eldest brother went to get my father a generaI check, while my mother and Jack went to see her results she had tested when she was ill. For lunch we went to a Korean restaurant with my cousin from my mom’s side and her family. I had 물냉면 (ice water noodles). In the evening, we went bowling. As we were 6 persons, we divided into teams of three. My team was alongside my father and Jack, the other team was my mother, my eldest brother and his girlfriend. Having my father in my team, it was obvious that we won! Although I must confess my eldest brother is just as good as a player. Jack is a funny yet amazing bowling player. Not because he is my brother but because he uses weird techniques like “super effect”, in which he swirls the ball instead of rolling it straight like how it is supposed to be. I'm aware players do spins effects, but his spins are too over the edge.
On Tuesday morning I stayed home with the rest of the female members (aka mom and unofficial-sis-in-law) before reuniting with the rest of the family. For lunch we went to this bakery/restaurant, where you get a full combo of salad, soup, main dish and dessert just for lunch! I finally received my package of necklaces that I had ordered two months ago over the net. In the afternoon, my brother decided to get rid off of the stuff that was no longer in use, or just trash in general. Goodbye to my guitars and the violin that no one ever played.
 |
| Bass and Guitar babies |
For dinner, I went to this BBQ house with an even fuller family: my aunt/uncle from my dad’s side, and cousins both from my dad’s and mom’s side and their children. That was 15 people in total (16 if you count the fetus ‘-‘;). And afterwards everyone except for my aunt and uncle went to the shopping mall to have some ice cream. Thanks to my nephews, my parents didn’t feel that awkward.
On Wednesday my brother and his girlfriend went to the family shop for the entire day. My father and Jack went back to the hospital for another check, this time an eye check, while mom and I stayed home. Then they came back and us four had lunch together. In the afternoon Jack and mom went to the shop while my father mandatorily rested as his pupils were dilated. For dinner we had 염소탕 (goat stew/soup) at another Korean restaurant. It had been so long (around 10 years, if not more) since we last had it and it was good. We talked about the old times when we used to have it at a family friend’s restaurant and also talked about that family and how good friends we were with them.
On Thursday we decided to not open the shop. In the morning we had a photo session to commemorate our reunion with me finally being an “adult”. The last time we took a family photo was when I was in my senior year of middle school, when my eldest brother already lived abroad and my second brother, Jack, was about to leave as well. We chose a total of 7 photos (6 small and 1 huge). For lunch we went to the shopping mall. I skipped but instead had a snow cone.
 |
| Cool, pretty and sweet |
Right after that we went to a bio ecologic reserve. It’s known for its thousands of butterflies flying around (well, that was years back) and its natural-looking pools. While I wasn’t able to enjoy the pools, I enjoyed the rare leisure on a weekday. In that same place, you can visit a huge aviary where many birds are well kept. It isn’t like the zoo, where one sees the animals from the outside. You get in there with the birds roaming free. You can touch them if you have the courage to do so, but no one takes responsibility if you get attacked by them. The aviary is, according to their site, 35m (~115 feet) tall and occupies an area of 2800 square metres (~3349 square yards). It has a lookout at the top with a really nice view and at the very bottom of the aviary, the weather feels just as how it would be in the Amazonas: very humid and tropical.
 |
| Pretty parrots that were way too close |
 |
| The view at the lookout |
 |
| One of the pools, ft. my parents |
 |
| Deliciousness! |
On Friday I went to work again. Jack had to go to the dentist, my mom had to stay home because she wasn’t feeling good again, my dad had stuff to do, and my brother and his girlfriend went yet again to another shopping mall. For lunch we had an appointment with the pastor and his wife. We went to a Chinese restaurant that I used to love as a kid. (I still do like some of their dishes!). The meal was so good that I was feeling for a nap, but it didn’t happen because I had to go back to work.
So in the afternoon I was in the shop, just working and random stuff. Then my brother Jack and my “sis-in-law” came with my dad and my older brother, but the latter duo went out again to go pick up dad’s results from the doctor. Once they came back once more, the first duo and I went out to get some flavoured shaved ice. I had both milk and cinnamon flavour. I know cinnamon sounds weird, but I swear it isn’t bad! ;; After that we just strolled around the city centre. “Sis-in-law” bought a pair of shoes that I want to own myself, but oh well. I’ll just buy a pair but with a different set of colours. Anyway, for dinner we went to a hotel and boy, my family abused the buffet. We basically took over the salad stall, plus.. Jack and “sis-in-law” devoured the pasta. It’s okay though, all the money was worth it.
Lastly, Saturday was the day the couple left. Their flight was set for 2PM, so they had to be at the airport at 11:30ish. Nothing much could be done. My brother spent the morning saying his goodbyes to the people he knows. The farewell wasn’t touchy or anything that sentimental. That’s because we know that we won’t be apart for many many years. I’ll see him again when I go back to the side house, and with my family.. either he visits again or the rest of my family visits us. It isn’t anything dramatical. Jack and I gave them a lift to the airport. The last thing the couple did was eat at cinnabon and then had a 2-minute seat massage. I had a one-minute one and wow, it felt good!
That’s all for this post. Although most of what I wrote about was food this, food that; and the week was rather fancy, my family had a good time! Everyone enjoyed it, I’m pretty sure. And I keep loving family no matter what. Family is love, family is life.
Remember: family is not about how big or how “complete” it is. It is about how much you love and care about that person or group of person. Family doesn’t necessarily mean dad, mom, and son/daughter. Family is about the ones that keep you filled with love and joy. Love your family, stay in touch with them.
Lastly, Saturday was the day the couple left. Their flight was set for 2PM, so they had to be at the airport at 11:30ish. Nothing much could be done. My brother spent the morning saying his goodbyes to the people he knows. The farewell wasn’t touchy or anything that sentimental. That’s because we know that we won’t be apart for many many years. I’ll see him again when I go back to the side house, and with my family.. either he visits again or the rest of my family visits us. It isn’t anything dramatical. Jack and I gave them a lift to the airport. The last thing the couple did was eat at cinnabon and then had a 2-minute seat massage. I had a one-minute one and wow, it felt good!
That’s all for this post. Although most of what I wrote about was food this, food that; and the week was rather fancy, my family had a good time! Everyone enjoyed it, I’m pretty sure. And I keep loving family no matter what. Family is love, family is life.
Remember: family is not about how big or how “complete” it is. It is about how much you love and care about that person or group of person. Family doesn’t necessarily mean dad, mom, and son/daughter. Family is about the ones that keep you filled with love and joy. Love your family, stay in touch with them.
