When I ask most of my friends how far back they can date their ancestry, they usually can’t make it past great grandparents and if you were to ask me ten years ago, I wouldn’t have been able to either. My great grandmother would visit every year from The Netherlands and my grandmother’s brother often from Switzerland. I knew that my mother was from The Netherlands as well, but other than that, I didn’t know much more. That is, until I traveled to Western Europe. I discovered that I had a very large family and even a family castle, Werdmuller Von Elgg, that dates my ancestry back centuries!
As soon as I walked out of the airport in Switzerland and looked around a strange yet familiar feeling came over me. I had never been to Europe before and with amazement I looked at my mother and said, “Everyone here looks like they have and agenda, why did you ever leave?”. I felt instantly more comfortable there, than I ever had in the United States and now I understand why; even though I wasn’t raised there, every single generation before me was.
What I found most interesting is the common set of perceptions that I shared with my European family. For example, right off the bat I identified with the European inherit interest in the quality of life, at all levels of society. There is a predominant humanist belief that people are to be served by progress, and not the reverse (Moran, Moran, & Harris, 2011). Even from a young age I can recall my fiends calling me a “hippie” because I didn’t share the same views. For example, I would have much rather been helping my grandmother on a Friday night rather than going to a movie, I never watched television, and was always a bit reluctant toward progress of technology. I also identify with several of the characteristics outline by Moran, Moran, & Harris (2011) such as a belief that individuals should be at the center of a life, a sense of social responsibility, a mistrust of authority (this rang high truth in the military!), and a desire for security and continuity.
I do believe that people are creatures of habit, but I also think that our culture is engrained in us despite what our environment is trying to teach us to do and how to think. It is a bit eerie to learn that you may have the exact same habits, mannerisms, and hobbies of a cousin half way around the world in which you’ve never known nor met. Even more startling, you may find that your entire family prefers mayonnaise on french fries (which they actually serve in the Netherlands) and you aren’t a weirdo. My advice is that if you haven’t had the pleasure to travel half a world away to meet your ancestors, is that you do so. Who knows, you might even have a family castle too!
References
Moran, R. T., Harris, P. R., & Moran, S. V. (2011). Managing cultural differences: Global leadership strategies for cross-cultural business success (8th ed.). Oxford: Routledge.
Christopher Lee Van Wagner says
I found this post very interesting, in fact, just last night I was online researching my family history. I found that I am also of either Dutch or German/Hessian roots on my dad’s side and Irish on my mom’s side. I have always felt more of a connection to the Irish side of my family than the Dutch or German. I think this also comes from family time and being close to nature; admittedly though I have strayed and find myself succumbing to modern technological advances more and more. To this point I do yearn for simpler life in the country more and more.
I am envious that you had the opportunity to unite with your family abroad and hope you are able to continue to see them and get to know them even more.
Michael Mccormick says
Good post, I enjoyed it. My wife and I had our first daughter in Germany and I can not wait to take her back to her first house and town of Queidersbach to see where she actually came from. I hope it gives her the same feeling that it gave you. The time we were in Europe we had a lot of the same ideas you had with the humanistic approach to the way things are there. Even the time off for maturity leave is what it should be, in Germany they are given 6 months of leave and there job will still be there for them when they are ready. The ideas they hold for life was what we loved about living in our little town. The choice not to live on the Air Force base was the best decision we made.
Sergio Humberto Esquivel says
Great post! I find it interesting that you were able to relate so well with essentially the culture norms. You mention that every generation except for yours was raised in Europe. I think that this may be the reason you relate so well to your distant family. Although you were not in Europe the cultural norms and values were still instilled into you by your family in the U.S. I do believe that after a few generations this will change. The reason I believe this because of what I’ve seen in my culture and family. As generations of hispanics continue on more and more children do not know how to speak the language or know the why behind our cultural celebrations.