My China Heritage Adventure 2015

Transcription

1 Dear 2015 Heritage Trip Families, Returning to the birthplace of our children, China, is a wonderful opportunity! In many cases, this is the first time we have been back, as a family, to experience the culture, arts, traditions, and daily life of people so similar to our children. Together as a family, we can honor the Asian heritage of our adopted children in the land in which they were born. China, who allowed us to adopt our beautiful children in the first place, has become instrumental in making this trip possible. What more could we ask for? As a parent of three children adopted from China and two children by birth, I was so excited for the chance to be a part of this adventure. My three daughters were very excited at the possibilities. They talked about it for months seeing the Great Wall, eating authentic foods, holding baby pandas, and going on a river cruise! What they didn t talk much about was their feelings about coming back to a place that may have held some more difficult memories, conscious or unconscious. While I tried to open up discussions about visiting birth places, abandonment sites, orphanages, and foster parents, they seemed to avoid expressing themselves or say things that led me to believe that they did not quite have a full understanding about this part of the trip. My China Heritage Adventure 2015 I wanted to figure out some way to help my daughters talk about not only the fun, cultural part of the trip, but also their feelings and thoughts about the harder things. For this reason, I created this little book. It was my attempt to open up communication with my daughters. While they had a fun guide to record their thoughts and feelings about China as a beautiful country, they could also integrate their feelings about visiting their birth place. We are sharing a copy of the book to you as our gift, from a fellow CCAI adoptive family. We hope you enjoy it, and your family can use it as a tool for some great, heartfelt discussions. P.S. The 2011 Heritage Trip far exceeded our expectations! I know it will surpass yours, as well. Nancy Fontaine, Ph.D. and Jenna Cavano (age 10) from Pingnan, Guangxi; Wren Cavano (age 9) from Chengdu, Sichuan; and Carolina Cavano (age 8) from Liuzhou, Guangxi

2 A picture of me in China. My Name: My Chinese Name: A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. Confucius 27 2

3 Returning Home When I get back home, I am going to tell my friends that being in China was. Some things I really missed about my home are If I ever return to China, I would like to The names and addresses of the special friends I made: Leaving Home I left the United States on, I traveled with my family members who included. I arrived in China on. The plane ride was. I felt about the trip. I think the things I will see in China are. I am most excited about. 26 3

4 2014 THE YEAR OF TH E HORSE Pictures of and Thoughts about My China Heritage Adventure I was born in, the Year of the. 4 Draw a picture of the animal in the 25

5 Pictures of and Thoughts about My China Heritage Adventure My First Day in China The name of our group is. Our leader s name is. I became friends with. We went to see I thought the sites were. That night we _. After seeing the sites, I felt. 24 5

6 China Interesting Things I Saw and Did What I liked most What I didn t like very much 22 17

7 What I Learned and Liked About Guilin and Yangshuo Guilin is a beautiful city in Guangxi Province. The town center is surrounded by two rivers and four lakes and studded with sheer sided karst mountains. A picture of one river, the Li River, is printed on the back of Chinese 20-yuan bill. A riverboat cruises down to Yangshuo, small county downstream from Guilin. A karst mountain is made up of. A site I saw in Guilin is. A site I saw along the Li River is. A site I saw in Yangshuo is. The best part of Guilin, the Li River, and Yangshuo is. karst limestone landscape, characterized by caves, fissures, and underground streams. China I Discovered These Things About My Chinese Heritage 16 23

8 Pandas The pandas were. Pandas eat. Some pandas are not black and white, they are. Baby pandas are. A picture of a panda I saw 14 13

9 What I Learned and Liked about Chengdu Some things I learned about Chengdu are. tea China is known for its tea. Southwest China is where tea was first found. At first, tea was used as medicine. During the Chun Qiu Period (770 BC BC), Chinese people chewed tea leaves and enjoyed the taste of tea juice itself. 12 There are 8 main kinds of Chinese tea: green, oolong, black, red, white, yellow, flower, and compressed. Some teas have unique names like Dragon Well, Spring Snail, Iron Goddess, Fur Peak, Silver Needle, Monkey King, Cloud and Fog, and Sweet Dew Sichuan Gan Lu. What kind of tea do you like? 15

10 Here is some Chinese brush writing that I learned to do. 8 11

11 What I Learned and Liked about Xi'an The Wild Goose Pagoda has levels. Here is a paper cutting or picture that I made. The Tang Dynasty Show was a great event. I ate about dumplings! My favorite ones were. The Terra Cotta Warriors were.. They were ordered to be built by. What I liked in Xi'an.. What I didn t like very much in Xi An. 10 9

12 My Visit to Where I Lived When My Family Adopted Me 家 庭 内 Family My family and I went to, where I lived and to, where I was found. We traveled there by. I thought it was going to be. I felt. I saw and met. The best thing about the visit was. I didn t like. My favorite things I saw and did in Beijing were. My least favorite things I saw and did were. 20 7

13 What I Learned and Liked about Beijing 北 京 My Visit to Where I Lived When My Family Adopted Me Beijing has people. When I climbed the Great Wall I. At the Summer Palace I saw. At the Forbidden City I saw. In 2008, the were held in Beijing. This site is built in the shape of a. My favorite part of the acrobat show was. is buried in Tiananman Square. Here is a picture of me in the city I was found. 6 21

14 China Favorites My favorite Chinese foods I had were. My favorite places to visit were. My favorite people I met were. My favorite day was when I. Facts About China China is the third largest country in the world. Beijing is the capital of China. China has 23 provinces (like our states), 5 municipalities, and 5 autonomous regions. China is home to 56 different nationalities. Most people are of the Han culture.. Mandarin Chinese is the main language spoken, but all of the nationalities has their own language. Another language spoken in such provinces as Guangxi is Cantonese Chinese.. There are over 1,500 rivers in China. The Chinese alphabet has 60,000 characters. English has 26. China is home to the ginkgo, which is most likely the oldest species of tree in the world. China has 1.3 billion people.. My favorite funny moment was. My favorite city was. My favorite Chinese word was.