Saturday, May 07, 2011

Never Say Never

I've often said I would never be eager to go visit China. Despite my parents and my in-laws going there on several trips and having shown us photos and seeing photos of breathtaking views, my interest remained lukewarm. Why would I want to go where you have to be wary of what you buy, what you eat and worse, carry an umbrella whenever you need to use a toilet, that is, if I'll be lucky to have a toilet rather than just a hole in the ground with a heaping load of crap beneath me?

With that, yes, I am now booked to go China in June. And yes, I am eager to go. Simply because it will be the largest gathering of my husband's family at their ancestral home. A couple of years ago, my in-laws went together with newfound relatives in Indonesia and donated some money to build some er... building in that area. Now that the structures are up, there will be a huge opening ceremony and of course, all the donors and members of the clan are invited. So all my Masjid Tanah relatives plus the ones from Indonesia whom I have yet to meet and relatives from goodness knows where will be there.

I have been very keen on tracing my family tree and have started up a family tree online. With the help of relatives who are connected, we have managed to extend the tree horizontally. It's so fascinating to see people from all over the world related to one another, people whom I will most likely never meet in person, but just to know we are all related fascinates me.

So, this trip is one where I can see the vertical genealogy of the family I married into. My name is apparently in the family book there in China. So excited!

Which also means, my trip to US/Canada... :P... ah... never say never.

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