Born on the streets of rural China
I was born on the streets of rural China to peasant parents during the Cultural Revolution. China was poor and backwards at the time. Infrastructure was bare, and healthcare facilities sparse.
My mother had to walk with her bicycle, assisted by a fellow townsman, from our village to the hospital when it was time to give birth to me — automobiles and ambulances were lacking back then. But given the poor road conditions, and apparently my impatience to leave the womb, I entered the world on the roadside midway to the destination.
When it came time to decide on a name for me, my parents sought the advice of a sage — a common practice in Chinese culture. He was not aware of the circumstances of my birth, yet he chose an auspicious name for me, “Kai” (佳 which means “outstanding”), that just happens to be a homophone for the word “street” (街) in Cantonese.
On a trip to my ancestral village in 2019, I bumped into the man who helped walk my mom that fateful day that I was birthed. I regret not having inquired with him to find the exact location where I was born, and not taking a photo with him.
My family has remarked (half jokingly) that my peripatetic nature is a consequence of my having been born on the streets. It definitely coincides with my affinity as a child for TV series such as “The Incredible Hulk” and “The Littlest Hobo”, where the adventures of the protagonists would take them from one town to another.
