Who we are

Jilly

Jilly

Active member
I mean, who we really are. Many of us have parents, grandparents, ancestors who came from other places. Other than the one we live in or have made our home.

I was listening to a comedy show last night, Russell Peters was on. For those of you who don't know who he is, he is an Indo-Canadian comedian and is really, really funny. Anyway, something he said made me think. He said that apart from the color of his skin and the fact that his parents are Indian, there is nothing Indian about him at all.

I can so relate to that. Often people ask me about India, and in all honesty, I know next to nothing about it. Infact I have found that others, who have no connection to India at all, often know more than me. I am as Canadian and as Western as anyone who is white.

So, anyway, my question is this, do you live in a place/country/area that your ancestors did not orignate from and what kind of experiences have you had because of that? Also do you look different from most people around you and do people expect you to behave or be a certain way because of that?

p.s. I attend to travel around India in the near future to try and learn more about it. :)
 
Jilly said:
I mean, who we really are. Many of us have parents, grandparents, ancestors who came from other places. Other than the one we live in or have made our home.

I was listening to a comedy show last night, Russell Peters was on. For those of you who don't know who he is, he is an Indo-Canadian comedian and is really, really funny. Anyway, something he said made me think. He said that apart from the color of his skin and the fact that his parents are Indian, there is nothing Indian about him at all.

I can so relate to that. Often people ask me about India, and in all honesty, I know next to nothing about it. Infact I have found that others, who have no connection to India at all, often know more than me. I am as Canadian and as Western as anyone who is white.

So, anyway, my question is this, do you live in a place/country/area that your ancestors did not orignate from and what kind of experiences have you had because of that? Also do you look different from most people around you and do people expect you to behave or be a certain way because of that?

p.s. I attend to travel around India in the near future to try and learn more about it. :)
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That's a really interesting question, Jilly! It doesn't really pertain to me, since I'm about as white bread as they come and am living in Central Illinois. :mrgreen: But I'd love to hear from others here on the subject, too. Btw, Russell Peters is hilarious!!!

Traveling through India is going to be so exciting! I hope you'll get lots of pictures to share with us. :wink: After I saw your pic on your profile, I tried to figure out what your background might be. I never thought of India. I just knew you were beautiful and exotic-looking. :)

Jill
 
Thanks Jilly, it's kind of you to say so :)

It is an interesting subject though isn't it? I was actually born in (Northern) India, but left when I was five years old, so can't remember much of it. Yes, I definitely want to go back and see what it's like for myself. I think it would take at least 2 or 3 months in order to see it probably. It's just finding the right time to do it....
 
Hmmm i cant really imagine being connected to another place, my ancestors are all from western Europe. I have a family tree from my fathers side and mothers side going back to the 1400's, and they come from France on my fathers side, and Germany on my mothers side. But beeing Flemish since 1800, and offcourse Belgian after the 1830 revolution ;)

I am as european as you can get :p

So i never really understood the people that were born here but longed for another country they dont even know nothing about, but were their parents are from.
 
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Mike, I am surprised. I remember you mentioning that you have black hair. I thought you must be Spanish or from Eastern Europe.

Other places interest me, not only because of where ancestors come from, but just because it's always good to learn how other people live, their customs etc. I find it fascinating.

You have been able to trace you family tree really far back. I can only go back as far as my grandparents.
 
Jilly said:
Mike, I am surprised. I remember you mentioning that you have black hair. I thought you must be Spanish or from Eastern Europe.

Other places interest me, not only because of where ancestors come from, but just because it's always good to learn how other people live, their customs etc. I find it fascinating.

You have been able to trace you family tree really far back. I can only go back as far as my grandparents.
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Yeah turns out a lot of people in France have black hair. And for my family tree i am very lucky to have it in such detail. Now offcourse if i look good enough their might be some relative that did marry a Spaniard or eastern european person, its all "close" toghter here so anything is possible (going to check it out one of these days) ;) but those relatives wouldnt make the difference. ;)

As for being interested in other countries and cultures, i got that to, but i think its a different kind of being interested :)
 
True, a lot of French people do have darker hair and complexions. Even here in Quebec :smile:
 
Well....hummm....I'm an American born in raised in sweet'ole Texas :mrgreen: with a mix of Mexican and Japanese :mrgreen: what a mix I tell'ya, lol...ehhehehehehehehhee....
 
i am pretty sure i am me
although if you name a country in europe you will probably find i have ancestors from there lol
i am Aussie and proud of it!!!
and i have some convict (as in the first fleet if you don't know look it up Australian history lol) in me !!!
 
Sky, that would be great.

Cavtiva, that's interesting. Don't we all have some infamous people in our past. I know I do.
 
swordfish, I will keep that in mind. I might have to take you up on it :)

A list of 'must see' places would be great.
 
Jilly said:
swordfish, I will keep that in mind. I might have to take you up on it :)

A list of 'must see' places would be great.
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Here is something for a Starter .

Day One you Land of International Airport in New Delhi . Start with the North towards the Himalayas ;)

1. Take the Toy Train and go to Shimla . we are now Officially in Himalayas .

toy-train-shimla.jpg



2. From Shimla Take a Cab or Bus to Manali ,

manali2007qs5.jpg


3 From Manali hire a SUV to go to Laddakh , ( you migt be very sick by now as you are at the altitude of 16000–18050 ft ) and you are in the state of Jammu and Kashmir now

32613927_fdaacf2f43.jpg


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4 From there you can go to Kashmir Valley .. and Stay in a Lake house in Dal Lake ( You are in a Very Very Dangerous Place Yup Kashmir you are at the heart of it now, Keep your head down at all times )

dal-lake-from-the-houseboat.jpg




So here is what you have traveled almost 2000 KM and covered 2% of India . You can now move of to the Hot Dry Deserts in the West or Dense Rainforset in the East or beaches of the South . Not to leave behind the Middle India where you have Taj Mahal and Sex temples of Khajuraho ( yup you heard me right i said the _S_ word ) :)

maptra.gif
 
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Thanks for those suggestions, Swordfish. :)

The North is the area I come from, and I remember my mom used to talk about Shimla and what a beautiful area it was.

So the trains go right into the Himalayas? Jammu is actually not very far from where I come from. It's strange to think about snow in India, but it does in the mountains. Well, that's given me some ideas...
 
Jilly said:
Thanks for those suggestions, Swordfish. :)

The North is the area I come from, and I remember my mom used to talk about Shimla and what a beautiful area it was.

So the trains go right into the Himalayas? Jammu is actually not very far from where I come from. It's strange to think about snow in India, but it does in the mountains. Well, that's given me some ideas...
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Hi,

The Kalka Shimla Toy Train Takes you to Shimla . The Toy Train is a UNESCO’s world heritage , It was built by the British Government in the year 1903. It passes through 102 tunnels and 87 bridges. Nice Trip :m1:
 
What an interesting thread!
Actually I'm quite familiar with Russell Peters' standup. My favorite must be "you gotta beat your kids."
I know what you mean by all of that... "No, where are you REALLY from??"
Funny thing is, I learned to be Korean much much later in my life and even then can only pass for a Korean military person and not as a civilian (I appear to be out of place immediately).
I'm a patchwork of different cultures and "nationalities," of which American is the biggest slice but my documentation is all South Korean which puts me in a very strange situation!
I speak bits and pieces of all kinds of languages not necessarily through much effort but because that was just my reality.
 
The Kalka Shimla Toy Train Takes you to Shimla . The Toy Train is a UNESCO’s world heritage , It was built by the British Government in the year 1903. It passes through 102 tunnels and 87 bridges. Nice Trip :m1:

Wow, I would really like to do that train journey, imagine the photo opportunities :) I'm taking notes, this I have to see.

13th, I agree, Russell Peters is one great comedian. His 'beat your kids' routine just has to be seen, makes me laugh, no matter how many times I see it! Ofcourse it's all tongue in cheek, Indians don't really beat their kids like that! It's just another one of those stereotypical things that has just stuck for some reason, but it is funny. :p

I can understand about the 'not really fitting into' catagory thing, 13th. My own kids have five different nationalites in them, that I know of. It's an interesting mix of Indian/Asian, American/Canadian, Native and European, (French and Italian). It makes life interesting :smile:
 
the_13th_redneck said:
What an interesting thread!
Actually I'm quite familiar with Russell Peters' standup. My favorite must be "you gotta beat your kids."
I know what you mean by all of that... "No, where are you REALLY from??"
Funny thing is, I learned to be Korean much much later in my life and even then can only pass for a Korean military person and not as a civilian (I appear to be out of place immediately).
I'm a patchwork of different cultures and "nationalities," of which American is the biggest slice but my documentation is all South Korean which puts me in a very strange situation!
I speak bits and pieces of all kinds of languages not necessarily through much effort but because that was just my reality.
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You can even speak dutch, it really surprised me. you have a talent there 13th ;)
 
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