Monday, June 25, 2007

Graduation Parties and Korean Adoptees

A couple of week-ends ago, we went to a graduation party for my husband’s cousin. I’m generally uncomfortable at these events because I feel like I’m wearing a huge sign that says, “Minority Alert.” My husband’s family is very White (though so is mine). Around his immediate family, I’m comfortable because they are used to me. It’s at these big events where I don’t know most of the people that I feel uncomfortable. I always feel like people are staring at me and wondering why I’m there. I’m pretty sure that most of it is in my head, but regardless it makes me feel like all eyes are on me.

Regardless of my own continued insecurities, I actually had an interesting encounter at this party. A couple arrived (who liked like all the other people that were already there)were White, but behind them were four very Asian teenagers. One of them was wearing a shirt with a Korean flag across the front.

It turns out I did know half of the group. When I first met my husband, I knew that the neighbors of my husband’s aunt and uncle had two Korean adoptees. I had seen them once when they were very small. I did know that the father had passed away and that the family had moved. The mother eventually remarried a man who also had two Korean adoptees. What are the odds of that?

Anyhow, they had just taken a trip to Korea. The parents told me all about the experience. They visited Korea Social Services (which is where my son came through), Korean birth mothers and the children’s foster parents. They also were able to visit all of the general tourist sites and the border between North Korea and South Korea. We will definitely make this trip when my son is old enough to understand the significance of the trip.

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