ummer vacation was drawing to an end, as was my stay in east. I had already spent 2 weeks exploring the vastness of China, and now my 2 weeks in Taiwan was almost over. For my last night in Taiwan, my sister and I decided to stay at dad’s place because near the apartment there was an “AirBus” stop. It would be much more convenient to take that the next morning to arrive at the airport.
We settled in, and decided to check out a movie after dinner. After checking the newspaper for movies and viewing times, we had a delicious home cooked meal. However the movie was going start very soon, and if you know my sister she gets very nervous when it comes to being on time. My dad on the other hand, I’m not saying that he isn’t punctual, he’s just very laid back about things, was slowly enjoying his meal. Yes, the dinner was delicious, but interspersed were “hurry up!” and “we’re going to miss the movie!” In the end it turned out that my dad was correct. We made it with ample time, for the walk to the movie theater was only two minutes. What now!
“Wind Talkers” in my opinion wasn’t a bad movie however I doubt that one American soldier can kill five Japanese soldiers with six bullets, all this while lying on his back retreating from their attack. But then again, wasn’t “Wind Talkers” directed by John Woo? Actually which movie we saw didn’t matter at all, because it was the time that we got to spend together. It had been months since I had last seen my dad. Ever since he got the job which forced him to live in China and at times in Taiwan, our time together has become more and more precious.
After seeing the movie, we slowly made our way to the 7-eleven down the street, all the while talking about the past. My dad, who loves ice cream, led us to the freezer section where we began making our choices. There were many kinds—some I had never imagined: sweet potato, yam, etc. Other flavors required some help, I needed my dad to tell me what flavor it was because I couldn’t read some of the words on the wrapper. My dad was about to pick one, when he discovered his old childhood favorite: an ice bar made with glutinous rice. I was just about to pick a different one myself when suddenly this “glutinous rice” curiosity came over me.
We walked to the island between two busy roads, which was a little park, all the while talking about the past. As we began to enjoy our desserts my dad began to recall his old elementary school days; ice cream back then was only fifty cents Taiwan yuan. Now, there aren’t even cents in Taiwan currency. The bars we were eating were approximately 40 times more expensive ( 70 cents U.S. ). After our desserts, I remember thinking about when this would happen again--all three of us eating ice cream bars after enjoying a movie together. I guess those glutinous rice bars were reminiscent of my dad’s past, just as that night reminded me of all of the times we used to spend together.
