Adopted Chinese Children in America

After we watched the video in class about the adoption of Chinese girls, I wanted to see what happens to them after they come to America. My mom knows two families who have adopted girls. The Kopinskis (Mark and Debbie) have a sixteen-year-old daughter, Celena, and the Walkers, whose daughter Yvonne (nicknamed Tang) is in first grade. The Kopinskis live in New York, and the Walkers live here in Park Ridge. Both families try to make sure that their daughters know about their heritage, and the Walkers are taking Chinese language classes with Yvonne. I was reading an article from the International Herald Tribune that interviewed several Chinese girls who were adopted. One, Molly Feazel, wants to quit her Chinese dance class, because it makes her feel very different from her other friends. Another girl goes by her Chinese name, Qiu Meng, and works to help make sure that newly-adopted girls feel welcome when they arrive in New York. Ever since the loosening of Chinese adoption laws in 1991, adoption has risen. In 1991, Americans adopted 61 children, and the next year 206 children were adopted. In 2005, more than 7,900 children were adopted from China. As the children get older, they begin to explore their identites and are having different opinions about their differences. Molly does not see herself as different at all, while Qiu Meng says that everyone is unique. Both their parents are exposing them to their culture, just as the Walkers are doing. In fact, Qui Meng went to a summer camp for kids adopted from around the world with Celena Kopinski. They are beginning a process of self-definitio, but the exposure to Chinese culture will help them discover who they are. As Americans, we should try to understand the struggles they face, and be informed about their culture to help make this transition easier for them.

http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/03/23/news/adopt.php