Life through the eyes of emery

The banana generation

I just came back from a trip to my hometown with my dad. Actually went for the annual 'ceng beng' festival or 'all souls day'.. basically visiting ancestors' tombs and such.

My dad was telling me how my great-grandfather sailed from China in a little wooden 'sampan' (boat) and later had to work in hard labour for several years just to pay off the fare. Many people in those days were stricken with malaria and other diseases which the then medical science could not explain. He was also kidnapped once by some secret society and had to sell of some land to pay the ransom.

My grandfather whom I was close to when I was younger, too, worked hard in the oil palm estates to bring in income. He taught me many things at a young age, mainly core values to get through life such as being disciplined, hardworking and determined. He was an amazing man, only had 6 years of primary education and taught himself how to read and write Chinese characters. I remember the villagers would often request for his fine calligraphy to be written on red cloths for special occasions. And this was a man who taught himself how to read and write!

My father too had a rough beginning, having to move out at a tender age of 13 to pursue secondary education, sharing a little room with 2 other people with bare necessities. He had also experienced staying overnight in a lorry before with the cold gusty wind seeping through the canvas. He later obtained scholarships for his further education. And I was just pondering that I'm the 4th generation here and how significantly life has changed! If it wasn't for the previous 3 generations' hard toil and labour, I probably wouldn't be reaping the benefits today. My life is soo comfortable that it's hard to believe that things could change so significantly from generation to generation.

I named this blog the 'banana' generation because most of my peers in this generation are so westernized that we are 'yellow on the outside, white in the inside', i.e. can't speak Chinese or don't relate to Chinese culture. It's sad I feel to forget our roots and heritage but it's just so hard to retain them these days due to our environment and having English education. I seriously will try to appreciate some Chinese culture and perhaps practise my rusty Mandarin. A friend of mine is heading to China today for a few months to learn Mandarin. That's cool. If we are not going to love our culture or at least try to preserve it, it'd definitely be lost and that is a sad, sad thing.

posted by emeryz @ 4:21 AM