Kavad: Mother Tongues
Li-Ma Cheng/ Jennifer S. Cheng
WHAT HAS IT BEEN LIKE FOR YOU TO PARTICIPATE IN MOTHER TONGUES?
Li-Ma Cheng
The interview enabled me to think of my own mother: through different generations, love is the same. We love our children. And somehow, I will carry the same habits from her — like my need to keep the refrigerator from being empty. It made me realize that I was lucky because I was encircled by love, and that your generation is even luckier with the choices you have.
Jennifer S. Cheng
The oral history project gave me a space to elucidate certain facts about my mother's childhood and her immigration to America as an adult; more than that, it made me consider the question of voice, hers and mine. My mother doesn’t feel the need to document things the way that I do. There are thoughts and feelings for which she may not give language, so how do I negotiate her inclinations and mine? I interviewed my mother on Mother's Day and realized we share similar feelings toward our mothers: though we will never know their internal experiences, deep down there is an intrinsic appreciation and love for their way of being. We both sense a depth of feeling that is inarticulable.