A Summary of My Family So Far: Part 2
Okie dokies! Now a little bit of history on my mum’s side of the family 
My mum-side grandparents are great. Grandpa is the old fashioned British-mannerism type of Chinese. Unlike my dad’s side, my mum’s side of the family is of the English-educated type of Chinese-Malaysians from Alor Setar, Kedah. My grandfather is a Hokkien, and my grandma’s a Teowchew. They eventually moved to Bukit Mertajam, Penang. Their families are quite interesting.
My grandfather’s parents can be considered the upper-middle class of Chinese-Malaysians of the 1950’s. His dad was the headmaster of an English school. During those times, that means that his parent’s social circle includes other professionals such as doctors, lawyers, and prominent community leaders. It also means that he earns a lot, and commands a great deal of respect. Unfortunately for my granddad, his father passed away young. This was a terrible event then, as his dad was the only breadwinner in the family. It’s safe to say that my granddad was on his way towards quite a privilleged life, but his father’s death changed all that. He had to work early, and he became a Telekom technician after high school. Life’s unpredictable.
My grandma’s family is even more unique. Her mum’s a Peranakan. For those of you who don’t know what that is, Peranakans are the earliest Chinese to come to Malaysia. They were the entourage of the Chinese Princess Hang Li Po, which married the Sultan of Malacca. Most Peranakan these days can be found in Malacca, Penang and Singapore. They’re quite an affluence bunch during the 20’s and 30’s. They’re also unique because they took a lot of the Malay culture and incorporated them into their Chinese culture, resulting in a delightful mix of cultures, cuisine, fashion and mannerisms. They have cool dishes and wear sarongs, for one thing 
Anyway, so my grandma wears a sarong and makes the most delicious sambal udangs, sambal ikans, sambal sotongs, chicken curries, green chicken curries, weird petai things, and a whole lot of kuihs. Many aren’t traditional Chinese dishes, which I think explains my fondness for Malay dishes
And so my mum was born. She got a Christian-Convent education (even though we were all Buddhists), and finally also went to teacher’s colleage, where she meet my dad. She speaks only English and Hokkien, and no Mandarin. And unfortunately, I took on that trait as well (even though I do know how to speak Mandarin, but not write or read it) 
So that’s that! My half-arsed family tree summary thingy!
