Friday, February 23, 2007
February GWCA Secret Buddy Gift
Thanks to our GWCA secret buddy for another great gift this month. We received a ladybug jewelry case (which matches E.C.'s big sisters), ladybug rattle, two outfits and a latern making kit for Chloe.
Thanks so much!!
| posted by Shannon at 12:37 PM
Sunday, February 18, 2007
Happy Chinese New Year! Xin Nian Kuai Le!
Happy Chinese New Year! We did not celebrate on New Year's Eve, which is tradition, but will celebrate today. Chloe and I went to a local Chinese supermarket and purchased some dumplings for dinner tonight.
With the start of a new year on the Chinese calendar I wonder whether Emma Claire will be born in the year of the pig, which could be likely.
The pig is one of 12 animals (or mythical animals in the case of the dragon) on the 12-year cycle of the Chinese zodiac, which follows the lunar calendar. According to Chinese astrology, people born in pig years are polite, honest, hardworking and loyal. They are also lucky, which is why many Chinese like to have babies in a pig year.
| posted by Shannon at 2:54 PM
Friday, February 02, 2007
Disturbing Comments
I like to read blogs and hosting sites of people who are adopting from China. I think they are fun to read and I like to see how people cope with "the wait". I also enjoy reading the sites and postings of families who are in China to receive their children. They are usually so uplifting. I say USUALLY. Over the past couple of weeks I have come across some postings that are really disturbing because of the tone of the postings and some critical comments on China and its culture. What I find so upsetting is that the postings smack of "Ugly American" syndrome. While the bloggers are entitled to their opinions that more Chinese should speak English, there is better food in the U.S., the Chinese try to nickel and dime parents in China who are adopting and that some everyday Chinese cultural things are "annoying", they also need to remember that it was the Chinese country and culture that gave them the gift of a child and that this child will grow up in their household hearing and reading their blogs & negative opinions on China.
I am not expecting rosy and glowing accounts of China from every adoptive family that visits, but I do expect a little respect for another culture and it's customs, especially since you have a child who was born in that country. I can't believe having such a negative attitude of China and its culture really benefits a child you adopted from China.
It reminds me of the staggering statistic that 70% of U.S. citizens do not possess a passport. It makes it apparent how insular the United States is as a country and people. Our lack of travel and experience of other cultures makes us blindly believe that we are superior & makes us ignorant and judgmental of other societies in their lack of "Americanism". We live in age of the globalization of society. You can find run of the mill Starbucks next door to a famed Viennese coffee house, a McDonald's in Red Square, a KFC in Guangdong, and every shopping center in America with the exact same 100 stores inside. Sorry, if you have to endure a little cultural difference. I find it refreshing.
I am thankful that I have had the opportunity to get out and travel and see the world and its varied cultures. I am grateful I've expanded my horizons so that I can appreciate differences instead of being intolerant of them. I am also thankful that I will be able to pass this characteristic on to my children so that when they are older and we take them to visit China, their birth-country, they won't seek out their first meal in China at a McDonald's and say something so stupid as "why don't more people speak English?" because they know they will have come to China to learn about it's culture and customs and to be an observer and perhaps learn something (and they will probably know too that more people in the world speak Mandarin than English).
Sure, I can understand that some adoptive parents go to China not because they want to travel there, but because they want to adopt a child from China. But how can you take in a child from a country and not want to visit that country and a least have a small understanding of the culture? You do your child harm in being so ignorant & intolerant yourself.
I want Chloe and Emma Claire to be proud of their U.S. and Chinese heritage because I think it is inevitable to say that they will wonder about their Chinese heritage and face certain challenges because of it. I don't want my children to believe their Chinese heritage is the jade bracelet and silk dress I brought them back from Guangzhou. And I certainly don't want their only contact with other Chinese to be on a visit to the Chinese restaurant. Doing so ill equips my children in dealing with ignorance, racism and cultural differences. I want my children to be armed with some knowledge and some intelligent things to say when confronted with such issues.
What will they believe their heritage to be? Well, that will be their discovery, it has to be. I can't impart it on them, because it's not my heritage. However, it can be influenced. If my attitudes and opinions of their Chinese culture were that it was backwards and inferior to the U.S., what would they think it to be and what would their attitude be on being of Chinese descent? It would crush their self-identity and worth. While people are entitled to their opinions, as ignorant as ill-informed as they are, it just saddens me to think they will be imparted on their child.
As for me and my house, we will impart an appreciation for differences because a greater understanding leads to greater acceptance.
| posted by Shannon at 12:29 PM
Referrals
Referrals have arrived for families logged in through October 13, 2005. We are making progress and hopefully by the end of March we will not have a year of dossiers ahead of us.
| posted by Shannon at 8:48 AM
