The Good Chinatown

I remember when I first read The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck in my high school English class. I drew many similarities between the book’s heroine, O-Lan, and my great-grandmother. My grandfather often told me stories about our family’s struggles and survival back in the old country. Ah-bok, great-grandma, was always my favorite character in his tales.

When we’d paid her weekend visits in her old Chinatown apartment, I’d stare at her in awe, and pictured her in the anecdotes my grandfather told.  I felt proud to be related to someone who I saw as a character right out of a book, and to know that she lived here in this very community, remaining humble and kind even through all the life trials she endured.

There are many people still living in Chinatown like my late great-grandma. Elderly or young, each of these people are characters in their own books. Like my grandfather was for his mother, I’ll now have a chance at becoming a storyteller for the community of Chinatown.

Short URL: http://blogs.aaja.org/ourchinatown/?p=353

Posted by Michelle Jiang on Feb 13 2011. Filed under LIVING, SLIDER. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry