sidekick sonia

Mountains, hills, they're all called "san". ~ L.M. Dong
(my dad)

Family History Lesson No. 1

The marriage of my parents was a semi-arranged affair. His real mom and dad having passed away when he was quite young, my dad travelled to Canada with his adopted mother c.1967, the last year the Leafs won the cup. After completing his high school credits and finishing up his tech diploma at George Brown College, he wanted to settle down, so my grandma checked around with all the other ladies in Chinatown to find out if they had any relatives with whom she could set dad up with.

The result was that my dad was introduced to my mom through my great-grandmother (my mom's grandmother), whom my grandma had met way back when they both lived in China. At the time, my mother was still living in Hong Kong, having raised my aunt and uncle to adulthood by herself since the age of 14 (mom's mother had passed away that year, and her dad had gone to Brazil and wasn't ever able to come back...a story for another day).

Mom and dad exchanged pictures and letters in the usual way, gauging their interest for each other. My mom was able to come to Canada in 1974. They had a pretty winter wedding, and they've been together ever since.

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Family History Lesson No. 2

Sitting down to dinner yesterday, us kids decided to inquire into our family history a bit more. Already knowing that dad likes to, let's just say, "elaborate" while telling his stories, we were firmly duped.

Kids: So, dad, how far away was mom's family's village from your family's village?
Dad: Oh, it was far, very far away. Over a mountain it was.
Kids: We know how you and mom met, but how did grandma (dad's side) come to know great-grandmother (mom's side)?
Dad: Your grandma used to live in the village next to your mom's family.
Kids: Does that mean she travelled over the mountain to find grandpa?
Dad: No.
Kids: So how did they meet?
Dad: Grandpa came over the mountain to see her. He travelled so very far. Then he brought her back over the mountain.
Kids: Wow, that must've taken a long time. Did they ride on horses or mules, or have a carriage to sit in?
Dad: Of course not! We walked everywhere in those days!
Kids: So how many days/weeks did it take to travel over the mountain?
Dad: Oh, about 2 and a half hours.
Kids: Per day?
Dad: No, in total.
Kids: What? That's not very far at all. That's not a mountain, that's a hill!
Dad: Mountains, hills, same thing.
Kids: No, it's not the same at all! You made it sound like it was an epic journey for grandpa to bring his bride home!
Dad: It's more interesting that way. Mountains, hills, same thing. It's all the same in Chinese. Mountains, hills, they're all called "san".

posted by Sonia @ 1:02 p.m.