Huge Family

Dialogue 1 S(Sophia) N(Noah)

S: Does your family have a record of your ancestors?

N: Sure. My mom has been working on our family tree for years. She's always updating it.

S: Do you have a copy of your family tree in your house? I'd love to see it.

N: I can show it to you now, if you like. I think it goes back about 8 generations so far.

S: That's amazing. Do you have a large extended family?

N: I've got 30 cousins on my mom's side and 10 cousins on my dad's side.

S: Are you very close to your first-cousins?

N: The ones that are my age are close relatives. Now that I'm older, I don't spend as much time with them as I used to, so I don't know my youngers cousins as well as the older ones.

S: I see. Who's the head of your household?

N: It's definitely my mother. And, her mother is definitely the matriarch of the bigger family.

S: That's interesting. What does your grandmother think of your step-mother.

N: At first, she was quite critical of her, but now that they've been married for a few years, she's starting to accept the fact that my father divorced my mother.

S: That's pretty much how you feel about your step-mother. Like grandmother, like grandson!

Dialogue 2

N: Do you think Chinese families have changed much in the last 50 years?

S: I think families everywhere have changed a lot in the last 5 decades.

N: What do you think is the biggest change?

S: Well, in the past, three or four generations would all live together under the same roof. Nowadays, living in the same city as one's relatives is becoming rare.

N: That's true. You know, some husbands and wives don't even live in the same city any more.

S: Would you ever consider having your parents live with you when they get older?

N: I guess I'm a bit old-fashioned. I'd rather have my parents live with me than live in a retirement home.

S: That's very respectable, but I could never live with my parents. I usually only see them at our Christmas celebration-and that's enough!

N: How about your other siblings? Do they spend a lot of time with your parents?

S: Two of my sisters still live at home, even though they have already graduated from university and have good jobs. They enjoy spending their free time with my parents. I guess in that respect, I'm the black sheep of the family.

N: I see. Do you parents ever ask you to come home to visit them more often?

S: They're always asking me to come home, but I think our relationship is better if we keep a distance from each other. Whenever we see each other, all we do is fight.

N: Well, you know what they say. You can choose your friends, but not your family.