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Published: March 18th 2012
REAL Chinese Food Anyone? "Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow mindedness." ~ Mark Twain We're
finally taking Maureen home!
Born as the 4th child in her family of 6 kiddies meant that Maureen was often introduced by her father to newcomers as the
Chinese child of the family. A result of some unofficial liaison, perhaps? Happily... we're pretty sure it was just her Dad's light comic touch of saying that every fourth child born at the time in the world was of Chinese origin.
One day from today, Maureen and I will be winging our way in the direction of China for the first time ever.
Our first time in Asia ever. I have a pretty lengthy list of items on my bucket list. But China has never been on it and I didn't have a strong desire to put it there.
Until NOW.
As the time approaches, I find myself more intrigued and excited at the opportunity to see the places and things I’ve heard and read about for years. Chinese and Asian histories were mostly lost in my educational upbringing, especially since I wasn't the greatest student going when it came to history classes. I learned a bit about Marco Polo, and Mao, and that fireworks were invented in China... but the politics, language, history, art, and culture are about as foreign to me as discerning that there is a definite lack of hair on the back of my head! My heart hasn't yearned to have China in my life, and I've not felt a hunger to find out more. Chinese, for me, was only as important as knowing which were the best deep-fried foods at the buffet at the omnipresent local Chinese food restaurant.😱
Why would this be? Could it be that because I don’t see a resemblance to myself in the faces of Chinese people that I don’t feel a connection or interest? I look into the eyes of a Spaniard or a German and there may be a small difference in skin tone or nose structure- but I can see myself in there somewhere and sense a relationship. When I gaze at the face of the average Chinese man, there are larger contrasts that are dominated by the slant and narrow opening of the eyes. The mirror's surface is clouded.
The strange sounds of the Chinese language that show no roots or carryover into my culture may be a part too. I recognize the Latin roots of Spanish, French, or Italian in my English language...Mandarin or Cantonese don’t jump out in conversations or writing I encounter. There is no
“joie de vivre”, no
“coyote” or
“hacienda”. More and more I think this is changing as international heritage blends in our world's cultural whirlwind- I hear the occasional
“feng shui” beginning to make its appearance in everyday language.
A super added bonus to this journey is the chance to bond with (and drive crazy!) my big brother Robert and wife Lois. They visited us in Cusco, Peru two years ago, and decided to invite us to join in another international rendezvous in the
Middle Kingdom. And so a few weeks from now we’ll have added the
Great Wall of China, the
Gorges of the Yangtze River, and the
Terra Cotta Warriors to our list of "Great Global Geographic" viewings. We’ll have walked the continents of North America, South America, Europe, and Asia, leaving just Australia, Antarctica and Africa to be conquered.
So...back to
The Bucket or Life List. Until now I haven’t really thought about wanting to visit all of the continents but I think I’m going to add it to
my “Life List”. I used to have visiting all of the Canadian provinces and territories on my list and I’ve checked that off. I haven’t added it yet, but I've just decided to add in a tour of the USA to hit all 50 states, I think that would be
uber-cool.
'Tis well known that the more we learn about anything, the more we realize that we don’t know. I think that I’m just finding out that the more places we visit and gain a small understanding about, the more we want to visit even
more places and come to know the culture and people that live there too. So, look out China…you’ve had a long, wild, and fractious history,
and now you’ll become a part of mine! And... welcome home Maureen...NIHAO!
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Robin Wyndham
non-member comment
Gung Hay Fat Choy!
That's the only Chinese phrase I know but I think it is relevant... Have a great trip and I look forward to reading about it. ps - am I right that your parents never told you that you were adopted???