Wanderlust (I)

We will pay a visit to our ancestral homeland this week, my husband, our sons & I. This is part of our preparation for our eventual move there…a reconnaissance, if you will. This will be the very first time that I will step foot into the Middle Kingdom. I have never felt any pull to this country before. Any interest I've ever had to visit comes from a sense of wanting to experience different cultures & lifestyles, rather than from a need to “find my roots”.

Years ago, our forefathers left this continent for foreign shores, either under threat of persecution, or to seek their fortunes. Some planned to return after they had made their fortune, while others planned to grow roots in their new home countries.

Those who did not return spawned generations who developed their own culture, some very different from that of their ancestors. There are those who say that this is a bad thing. I disagree, as I believe that culture is a dynamic organism, which evolves & changes with the times. It is part of progression. This is not to say that we should forget the achievements of all those who have gone before us. But we shouldn’t dwell on the past & hold on to old practices & beliefs just because they were what our ancestors did.

I know this will be an eye-opening experience for us. I think it will show how different, and yet how similar, we all are, as human beings. I said the same thing about what I learned while living in the USA. Some will think that I am being deliberately paradoxical, but I’m not. Honestly.