Family Ties

This week has been hot, hot, hot. I felt really terrible for my aunt (my mom’s 11th sister) and her husband (a Norwegian marine biologist) when they stopped over in Torino on their way to Normandy to attend a wedding. Both are from Norway and found the heat quite miserable. I must warn all visitors, stay away from Torino in July. The last time I saw them together was in 1980, they made a stop over on Guam on a trip to Indonesia. My aunt and uncle spent some time in Switzerland, I found out I have cousins there too; our family is spread out all over the world.

It was a short trip, only two nights and three days. Deme and I entertained them the best we could under the humid conditions. During the day I took them shopping for gifts (in two air conditioned malls), to the famous Crochetta market near my house and to the center of town for a gelato. We talked about family, about living in Europe vs. Guam and vs. the U.S. and a bit about our past.

My 11th aunt looks very much like my mother, who is number 13. They have the same nose and the same eyes, even their voice is similar. The give the same motherly advice, are both great cooks, both very economical, efficient and basically mirror images of each other. When I joked that my aunt must have been sent here by my mother to check-up on Deme and I, she got a bit offended and insisted that this was not so. Even if it was, being a Chinese daughter would have neither surprised nor bothered me. In fact I must admit I rather expected it. (My mom is not going to like me saying this.) Because Deme and I were married rather hurriedly, my aunt is the only one from my family with the exception of my sister Kentra, from Seattle to have met him. I find it perfectly natural and appropriate for my mother to be curious about him and our marriage. Also since he is 10 years older than I am, I fear they think an older man has whisked me away to this country and now has me under lock and key. This of course is not true and he is a great husband. My mom and dad will meet him soon enough as we are planning to take our first plane trip from Italy, directly to Guam sometime I the near future.

Now that I am in my 30’s everyone says I look like my mother. See for yourself.