Am I Chinese???

Well, James firmly believes that he is Chinese. He says that we are what are family is. His brother is Chinese American, therefore, in the infinite wisdom of a nine year old, he is Chinese as well. Now, at first glance I wondered if my eldest had lost his marbles. Upon further reflection I learned that James is one smart cookie!

We began our initial journey to China in early 2003. We started our paperchase to bring home....well, Riley. (Okay... those of you who know us know Riley was a HUGE surprise.) During our paperchase, the wait and still to this day we have made it a big priority in our family to learn about China. We have learned about holidays, traditions, geography, history, culture and more. We have bought books, movies, artwork, clothing and more that all reflect and teach us about China. We have spent countless hours making sure China is part of our every day lives. We talk about China almost daily. We look over our hundreds of photographs and recount amazing memories of our journey to China.

Does this mean we are Chinese??? Now, I know we are not Chinese in the normal sense of the word... with all of it's usual conotations... but... if we have embraced so much of China.. then can't it be a little possible?

As I said previously, I originally thought poor James was going to be off to the funny farm any day. Now I think he was right on the money. I think each of us, in our little family, is just a little "Chinese". We eat Chinese food... even can use chopsticks. We celebrate Chinese New Year and the Moon Festival. We feed the dragon on New Years, sweep out bad chi and even use a few Chinese words in our everyday conversations. We love the country our son... and soon our daughter too, were born in. We can't wait to go back to see it again. We have books in English and Chinese in our home. We have chops, pearls, CD's and DVD's. We have pottery and Buddha. Elements of China are found throughout our home and lives.


Now, we are not Chinese in an ethic or patriotic way... but maybe in a way that makes China forever in our hearts. We are what are family is... hmmm... I like that.