always

So I spent my Christmas week in Taiwan. We skipped TaiPei this time, and took a train straight to TaiChung after landing in TaoYuan Airport. We spent 2 nights in TaiChung city, and traveled to NanTou, up the mountains. Another 2 nights, one in Sun Moon Lake and another one in HeHuanShan. Then we moved East, through countless mountains (and a 13km tunnel), towards HuaLian, and spent a night by the Pacific ocean, and then another night in YiLan, in a hotel with a natural hot spring tub in our room. The trip ended with a night in XiMenDing, TaiPei city. 

Honestly, the schedule didn't cover much, because after I came back, I did a little bit of comparing with schedules of other tours (we didn't follow a tour, just relied on our driver), and realised that there were so much more we didn't get to see. But nonetheless, it was one of the best trips ever. We didn't really shop, just the final night in TaiPei, and we didn't really had very superb Taiwanese cuisine, because we mainly had all our meals in tiny local shops that were highly specialised in very limited items. But the fact that the five of us were stuck together, literally 24/7, it was amazing. It made me realise how much time I've spent away from them, the things I've been missing, the inside jokes that I failed to understand.

We squeezed into 4+1 rooms, instead of dividing into 2 and 2+1 rooms. It was quite chaotic, considering that there was only one bathroom, and you can't really move around in the middle of the night without announcing to the entire family that you're not asleep. But it was very sweet, having everyone with everyone. Having meals together, going to bed together, traveling through mountains and ranges together. It was more like an intensive bonding programme than a trip. It was a wonderful opportunity to learn about every single member of the family, and a little bit more about myself too.

Living together, you take each other for granted, because, well, you see them every day. Living away, you miss them, but (just admit it) for the most selfish reasons. You miss the love, the attention and all the convenience that comes with it. You miss mom settling everything for you, you miss you siblings always being your company, always at your disposal. You miss dad buying you everything upon request. Living away, then being on a trip with them, it's different. You learn how to enjoy having them, and know what it is like for them to be with you. And you learn to love them a little bit more, not because you miss them, but knowing that they miss you too. There's a difference. 

I always thought that going on a trip with friends would be far more exciting, and happening. It's still true in a way, because my family ends the day by 11pm during the trip, and my parents are so much more careful and paranoid than all my friends might be. But there's also a lot that you can only enjoy with the people you grow up with, the people who will always love you the most. 

And maybe, just maybe, they're the reason why I don't want to grow up.