China Care is looking for volunteers who are interested in traveling to China and working with special-needs orphans. If you want to know how the system works and what these kids are really like, this seems like it would be one of the best ways to do that.

China Care also runs foster care services and supports Social Welfare Institutions in China by providing "renovations, foster care funding, infant formula, staff training, donated items and other... more

Here's the second half of an interview with James K., following from the first half over here, in this post.

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Are there lots of Chinese or Asian kids where you live? Do your kids attract a lot of attention for being "different"? There are a number of adopted girls in our town, though they're still a tiny minority. So far we haven't really gotten the idiot questions we expected from the masses on our adoption. Mainly, we just get, "oh, your girl is so pretty!" mainly because she is, in fact, absolutely gorgeous (and that's... more

Rather than continually boring you with stories of my superior family and our superior children, I thought it might be interesting to try interviewing other people who've adopted (or been adopted) from China to get a few different perspectives. James K. lives in Medina, Ohio, and can be read on the web here and seen here.

---- How many children do you have? Two stepchildren, ages 15 (F) and 10 (M), and my daughter, Laurana, who'll be 3 in November.

What made you decide to adopt from China?... more

The Wall Street Journal just ran a piece on International adoption in the workplace that hopefully will have the baleful eye of a many a CEO upon it.

Well does this humble typist remember the anxiety of the wait. The first time, it just went on and on because we really had no idea how and when that "pack your bags and GO!" call would come in. The second time was no better, because we had too many ideas. The time stretched and compressed like a zydeco accordion.

Thankfully,... more

Rather than continually boring you with stories of my superior family and our superior children, I thought it might be interesting to try interviewing other people who've adopted (or been adopted) from China to get a few different perspectives. Carol S. is a realtor from Atlanta, Georgia.

---- How many children do you have?

I've got two daughters, S., who's 6, and L., who's 2, who're both from Guangdong province.

What made you decide to adopt from China?

I think it was growing up in the 1970s when the big threat was always overpopulation that put the idea in my head that I wanted to adopt when I grew up.

Like a... more

People talk a lot about the conspicuousness of families formed by transracial adoption. There's no way around it - people always notice you. The white dad with the Asian kids. Sidelong glances at the playground. Furrowed brows at the cash register. It's something one has to get used to in this situation, parent and (moreso) child. So how about when the curious gaze comes from a camera wielded by someone who knows how to make an image that lasts longer than the barely noticeable sidelong glance?

The outstanding... more

There are interesting things afoot at one of our favorite charities, Half the Sky. They've gotten the go-ahead from the Chinese government to help improve over 300 children's welfare institutions across the country. The Blue Sky plan is starting with 31 model children's centers, starting with one that's already underway in Wuhan. They want one center in every province... more

One of the things about adoption that's a bit like having kids the biological way is that there's this interminable period of waiting between the point when you know you're supposedly having a child ("Oh, the strip turned blue!" compared to "Oh, we're finally DTC!" ((which is "Dossier To China" for those new to this game)) ) and the point when said child appears on the scene demanding milk and attention. Unlike the biological variety, the paper pregnancy is prone to stretch out so that it measures years rather than months, or can... more

Over there to the right of these words is a picture from NASA called "Eastern China Pollution." Yes, you can't actually see the Great Wall from space but you can see the air pollution over it.

So the question for traveling families and other visitors becomes, "Do I have to pack breathing equipment?"

Officials... more

Going to Chengdu this month? Say "Hi" to Neil Gaiman at the 2007 International SF/Fantasy Conference.

Chengdu is a familiar city to those of us in the international adoption community, since it's home to lots of kids at... more