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I've got 8 great grandparents (as, I believe, do most of you, haha!), all from Eastern Europe. I want to establish contact with their communities (Obeliai, Iasi, etc). I want to send them postcards, and have them send me recipes; and vice-versa. Care packages. Pen-pals. Humanitarian aid. It'll be my own, private, 8-pronged Sister Cities program. I believe I owe these places a profound debt, and in this way - by establishing contact with the homes of my forebears - I can help bring things full circle. Oh, the things our families have been up to . . .
I figure I should start with town halls and libraries, and find translators, on BOTH ends.
All of this can be applied to any of our family trees (provided we have the information), if we so choose to reach out, in gratitude and love and curiosity, to our ancestral homes. The "modern" life has led to the breakdown of the immediacy of family life . . . So here's an opportunity for each of us, to CONNECT. Please share your experiences and discoveries. As more and more of us make contact, it'll be easier and easier for others down the road.