We watched this last night. It was about an 8-year old girl adopted from China. Here's a link to read more about this program:
http://www.pbs.org/pov/woainimommy/ It brought back lots of memories of our time spent in China adopting our daughter: The White Swan hotel, the medical exam, Tai Chi in the park, nervous & excited feelings as we prepared to meet our daughter. It also stirred feelings and emotions in me that I did not expect. It caused me to think about things that I haven't been willing to face until now. A few things that were discussed in this program that really struck me were:
1) the possibility that one day my daughter will look at our family portraits & struggle with the fact that she does not look like me or her father or siblings.
2) that my daughter might feel completely American and not Chinese at all. This is because the little girl featured in this documentary, when asked if she felt Chinese or American, simply said, "American." I want my daughter to still feel that she is Chinese. I don't want her to lose that sense of who she is. It's complicated, much more than I ever thought it was.
3) similar to point #2...the film maker stated that she was struck by how quickly "Fang Sui Yong" became "Faith Sadowsky." In other words, how quickly she transformed from Chinese into American. I want my daughter to be both, to feel both. Is that possible? I don't know. Only time will tell. This is new territory for me....just another part of the journey that is international adoption.
