Three Years

Three years and nearly 1500 posts later, it's time for me to retire this weblog. It's been fun and informative, and I've very much enjoyed the comments and e-mails from others. Please feel free to contact me for any reason. I wish everyone the best!

Local Story

Interracial twins bring a new dimension to the American family: Jenna and Sam Goering are in the same grade in school, play with the same younger brother and sisters, and live in the same spacious farmhouse-style home in Bourbonnais, Ill. Seven years ago, they entered their parents' lives on the same day.

China Related TV

China Sprout posts a much-appreciated weekly guide for China Related TV listings.

Local Story

Bridge between cultures: At 10, Kelsey FitzGerald gets more excited about the idea of seeing Disney World than traveling to China, the place where she was born. But whenever Kelsey has to dress up, she wants to wear one of her Chinese gowns, especially the long pink one with white blossoms.

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Local Story

The Greatest Mother's Day Gift Of All: When Southold resident Cathy Reilly lost her adopted baby girl Gracie to sudden onset leukemia in 2004, she faced a heartbreaking reality that no mother should ever have to bear.

Local Story

'Little gem' prompts G'cullen couple to fundraise for Chinese orphanage: In a process that took over two and a half year's to complete, Liz and Gerard Hosey say the long wait for their little gem Megan was worth every minute.

Local Story

The Red Thread: Gavin and Britta Barney are not unique in their search to adopt a child from China, but they are unique in their way of going about it. The two have written and published a cookbook to help raise money for some of their adoption expenses.

News

Hu appeals for more care for orphans: President Hu Jintao yesterday spent some time with disabled youngsters and orphans on the eve of Children's Day while Premier Wen Jiabao also spoke with students.

Chinese doctors remove baby's third arm: Doctors on Tuesday successfully removed an extremely rare, well-developed third arm from a 2-month-old Chinese boy, but said they were unsure how well his remaining left arm would respond to physical therapy.

New Book

Transnational Adoption is a unique ethnographic study of China/U.S. adoption, the largest contemporary intercountry adoption program. Sara K. Dorow begins by situating the popularity of the China/U.S. adoption process within a broader history of immigration and adoption. She then follows the path of the adoption process: the institutions and bureaucracies in both China and the United States that prepare children and parents for each other; the stories and practices that legitimate them coming together as transnational families; the strains placed upon our common notions of what motherhood means; and ways in which parents then construct the cultural and racial identities of adopted children.

Based on rich ethnographic evidence, including interviews with and observation of people on both sides of the Pacific--from orphanages, government officials, and adoption agencies to advocacy groups and adoptive families themselves--this is a fascinating look at the latest chapter in Chinese-American migration.

News

Dumplings, sachets hot before festival: Although there are still two days before the Dragon Boat Festival, Shanghai residents have already started preparing for the important day. Reed leaves, glutinous rice and sachets have become popular at markets.

17th Tiananmen anniversary passes in China: Chinese police tore up a protester's poster and detained at least two people on Beijing's Tiananmen Square on Sunday as the country marked 17 years since local troops crushed a pro-democracy demonstration in the public space.

China children outgrow old rules: Beijing officials have been forced to raise the maximum height requirement for children so they can continue to receive free public services.

Local Story

Couple to hold seminar on adoption: Michael and Beth Bridges stood in a hotel lobby in China with their then 5-year-old daughter, nervously awaiting the newest addition to their family.

China Related TV

China Sprout posts a much-appreciated weekly guide for China Related TV listings.

Featured Flickr Photo