happy otousan day

Firstly, Happy Pa's Day to every fathers in the world. I guess some favor Ma's Day to Pa's Day, but both are equally important.

I'm going to jump a generation up, to talk about my grandpa. I'm not really familiar with the roots of my grandpas, both my father's side and my mother's side. Grandpa from mum's side passed away when I was very young, and I really have a very fade memory of him. Grandpa from father's side is still around, but recently I got news that he's not feeling very well. He is 86.

Again, I don't really know the roots of my grandpas. Just one fact that they traveled far from "Middle Kingdom"  (aka China, as like many other grandpas did) and decided to settle down in a totally different environment to them, here in the small island called Penang (the correct word is called "immigration". other grandpas and grandmas scattered around the world, and there you go, Chinese everywhere).

I don't think back then they have technologies like us today where they can Google where Penang is, or buy tickets online. And I'm actually wandering if they really know where they were heading, or they just jump into one big ship and just follow the flow.

I have totally no idea why they decided to leave the birth town, definitely not to get education like this generation. I guess the main reason is to get a better life than they had. China is wide, so much wider than Penang, and definitely have better opportunities than Penang/Malaysia. Somehow I guess there are other aspects such as politics and economy.

And there you go, three generations down, the third generation of Chinese Malaysian.

And history repeats. Here I am today in the Land of the Rising Sun, a place where I didn't really know much about when I landed here 9 years ago, about the same age my grandparents landed in a different world. I'm not so sure that politics and economy were the main reason when I left my birth town. Well, looking at the hoo-haas back at home, everyone will just conclude that those who left were just running away from politics and economy. Maybe true, maybe not.

But no, I don't see the reasons were politics and economy. Simply just because I wanted to experience a new environment. And no I (still) don't have the right answer, whether if my choice would be staying longer, or not.

I am thankful today, both to my pa and my grandpa, who made me who I am today. Not very Chinese myself but they sure did gave the chance for me to find other alternatives and gave me a wider prospective, mainly through education from the west and east, but not the traditional "Middle Kingdom" style.

p.s. good to hear grandpa is recovering.