Roots here, roots there.

The biggest highlight of the end of 2011 was my trip to the Philippines, where I spent Christmas and New Year. Since I wasn't able to afford the ticket back to Chicago for the holidays, I did the next best thing: spend it with my aunts, uncles, cousins and of course, my cooky but loveable Lola (grandma in Tagalog). As I tend to do, I made some grandiose plans to travel around the Philippines, hopefully to go to a nice beach and just lay there. Alas, the most I traveled in the islands was to Tagaytay, where Taal Volcano is located. Now if you haven't been there, it's the only place in the world where you'll find a little lake on an island (Volcano Island) on a bigger lake (Lake Taal) located on a bigger island (Luzon) on an even bigger body of water (the Pacific Ocean). Photo attached to explain:


The rest of the time I stayed in Manila, spending much quality time with my family. It was nice hearing Tagalog again, since it's the language I grew up hearing and at times speaking growing up. Along with being able to eat the delicious and artery-clogging foods I enjoyed growing up (sinigang, lechon kawali, pancit, et al), it was the closest thing to being at home than I could have ever imagined. The weather was wonderful, a lot sunnier than I expected, and the first time I celebrated Christmas in a place that wasn't freezing, much less have a traditional white Christmas. And come New Year, my cousins and I lit fireworks outside their house, along with the rest of the neighbors. It was a nice change from my yearly routine: boozing it up and getting completely hammered before midnight. I became so attached to the Philippines that I was truly sad when it was time to fly back to Shanghai. I have to admit, hearing people speaking in Mandarin at the airport was a bit of a reverse-culture shock for me, as I heard myself saying "what kind of language is that?"

I must say, in the last few times that I have visited the Philippines I have gained a better appreciation to where my family originated. Compared with the first time I remember visiting, in which I was an immature 14 year old spoiled American brat that complained about everything, the islands are an amazing place and am so proud to have roots there.

Speaking about roots, a month before I went to the Philippines I met with my auntie and a college friend of hers in the southern Chinese city of Xiamen. As I had previously mentioned, this is located where my maternal grandfather was from originally (although the actual place he grew up in is still to be determined). On this trip, aside from Xiamen City and Gulangyu Island, we visited the interior of the surrounding Fujian Province, visiting a traditional tulou community and staying overnight. Declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO, a tulou is a circular, communal building (think of a huge circular condo or apartment building) built by the Hakka people. Made of fortified earth and stone, these buildings were virtually indestructible, and during attacks, these buildings turned into forts and had some ingenious ways of protecting themselves from invaders.




Knowing that I also have ancestral roots in this part of the world and being able to explore this place firsthand has given me more of a personal connection to China than when I first moved here. If anything at all, it's given me the motivation I need to learn Chinese and fully appreciate the culture, both the good and bad.