measi's Diaryland Diary ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Friday Five :) A pretty cool set of questions that fit my idiom, so I'll put my answers on my main page today. Thanks again to everyone who has been contributing to the 1000 Journals Anniversary Project. As of 10:30 this morning, I have approximately 90 pages (out of 192) filled. :) Keep 'em coming-- anyone's welcome! And onto the Friday Five... 1. What is your lineage? Where are your ancestors from? Since I'm adopted, I'm answering all of these questions from what I consider my heritage. Although for shits and giggles, my genetic heritage is Norwegian from my mother's side, and a mix of all of the British Isles: Scottish, Irish, and English, from my father. My adoptive parents (what I consider my lineage/heritage, since it's the only one I've ever known) is Polish/Ukranian on my mother's side, and English (hence the last name of Kent)/German/Austrian on my father's. I've grown up with both, but with more of an emphasis on the Polish. 2. Of those countries, which would you most like to visit? Well, honestly, all of them. But out of them all, probably Germany. Not only is it important on my dad's side, but is where my mother was born (in a displaced persons' camp right after WWII) and where my maternal grandparents spent most of the war-- in a work camp. As sad as the facts would be and how solemn the lessons I would learn, they need to be learned and passed on. 3. Which would you least like to visit? Why?The Ukraine. If I remember my grandparents' town names that they give me, they're currently in the area affected by the Chernobyl blast. 4. Do you do anything during the year to celebrate or recognize your heritage?Christmas Eve is an extremely special time at my grandparent's. We celebrate it in Polish style, with oplatki, songs, and traditional foods. I wrote in-depth about it back in December. Weddings and Christenings are also very much a Polish thing, including people being swooped up in a chair and "tossed." Scares the crap out of me with my fear of heights and falling. My other grandmother's German heritage has blended with the area of Pennsylvania where she lives, and it's now much more Pennsylvania Dutch than pure German. So when I'm there, I get a good dose of shoo-fly pie, birch beer, and multitudes of German-named dumplings and munchies that I can't spell or pronounce correctly. 5. Who were the first ancestors to move to your present country (parents, grandparents, etc)?On my father's side, the English section goes all the way back to the 1630's-- Gloucester, Mass. when Thomas Kent (ironically the name my dad was given) landed from England. The Austrian/German isn't quite as far back, but I'm honestly not sure-- it's somewhere in the 1800's, I think. My maternal grandparents, my mom, and my uncle came to the USA in 1950 when my mom was just about to turn 5. 12:38 p.m. - 2 August 2002 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
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