So, y'all remember that thing about China's greening with the solar-powered city and the beating UN greenhouse gas limits and all? Sounded all hopeful and all? Well, there's still a ways to go.

China's government saw fit... more

There've been a few reports lately on a problem about which, well, everyone, really, but especially those of us involved in this international adoption business should be concerned. I was reading that aforementioned Aaron Cohen article, did a little random searching and came up with a handful of stories about human trafficking in China.

Not babies, like the problems in Hunan (and, erm, ... more

You like singing, don't you? I do. It's part of why children are fun. You get to sing without feeling all self-conscious about it.

Here's a song you know, although you might not recognize it at first - this is how you sing it in Mandarin. With your kids, if they'll settle down long enough to do it!

...One by one, glittering bright, Yi shan yi shan, liang jing jing,

'EE shan EE shan, lee-ang jing jing (the "jing" is said almost like "cheeung"... more

Things I've been reading worth passing along:

* How to foster attachment.

This is a page of great suggestions, one of many pages on a site filled with great suggestions. I'm not so sure about the business with singing goofy songs, but I have recollections of playing the Cheerio-passing Cereal Kisses game and it working on her.

Reader, she married me, and then... more

Brief note on something cool I just heard that'll help you call home from China easier and cheaper than Skype or Pandaphone.

Check this out: T-mobile's new cellphone plan gives you free calls from any wireless hotspot (they're also giving away wireless routers, so you can call for free from your home). But the hotspot thing is of interest to world travelers, since it uses the internet from wherever you happen to be in the world. If you have a cell phone in Belgrade, Maine, and stroll into a web cafe in Bahrain, Benares or (most relevantly) Beijing, the call will still be free.

I haven't tried it, so... more

Question 1. - Why is the least ethnically diverse city in Canada (and possibly North America) home to the greatest number of Chinese adoptions?

Because it is, you know. Quebec City. Where they speak French. And, per capita, adopt more Chinese kids than anywhere else... more

So, here we go with the next drive-by reading of the I Ching, with a lesson filled with sunshine and promises. Everything about this hexagram seems optimistic, although according to Wikipedia, variations on its name include "aquas," which makes no sense at all (shades of blue?).

What's the character mean? The character for jin shows two swooping birds descending over the sun, and literally means to advance or go forward (onward and upward!). Master Huang here veers away from the dictionary and says... more

Just briefly: I was browsing over at the China Adoption forums and I found a discussion (more of an announcement, really, but this things can turn on a dime) about an interview with Jeff Gammage, author of China Ghosts, a memoir about his adopting his daughter from China.

It's now... more

In the world of politics, some things are often lost in translation. You may have heard about this. Because Boston (and, presumably, other cities around the country) has some precincts with a sizable population of Chinese-speakers (and Chinese-readers), federal officials want the election folks to create a ballot with the candidates' names translated into Chinese.

But since Chinese writing isn't phonetic - the "alphabet" is based on words that mean things, rather than letters that make sounds - some of the translations of names... more

Book Review: D is for Dragon Dance, by Ying Chang Compestine and Yongsheng Xuan.

Like C is for China (as reviewed previously on here), this book is a Chinese-themed abecedarium, but... more