The Namesake -- INTRO

When, where, and why did your family (or you) come to the United States? What is some family lore that you know about this experience? Mention any connections, if any, to a country of origin and any traditions that your family has maintained across generations.

My family came to the United States because of my father and his brothers' business and their works. To my knowledge, it was the 1980s when my father and his brothers first came to the United States, and they are the first people who leave the land of China and come to a foreign country among the entire ancestry tree. Even though they received knowledge and learned English in the United States, the process of living in the United States was a daunting task. According to my father, when they first left China and took the plane, it took them 25 hours until arrived in the United States. Due to the snow and terrible weather, the plane could not fly; therefore, my father and his brothers slept in the airport for a night (because they didn't have enough money). On the next day, the boarding customer said that they didn't have enough seats for all of them. As a result, they took another longer flys from Hongkong China to Frankfurt Germany, and finally, reach America. Still, when they came to the United States, they did not forget any traditions and maintained across generations. Like there is a tradition that they did for me when I was 1 year old. This tradition is called “Zhuazhou 抓周" also known as "Pick Anniversary". This tradition is very similar to the First Rice Ceremony in India and Doljabi in Korea. It was on my first year anniversary when my father put several objects on the table around me and then let me choose what object I like which stands for the path/career/life that I will take. This is like a prediction for the future.