SuChin Pak was on an episode of the Oprah show awhile back that was titled “Children Ashamed of the Way They Look.” The episode was about how people from different racial groups do not see themselves as beautiful because they do not look like the blonde haired, blue eyed “All-American.” Pak is an MTV host and correspondent who is Korean.

She told Oprah about the huge importance that the eye crease (a fold of eyelid skin that makes the eye look larger) plays... more

Who among us isn't a sucker for anything related to Viet Nam? Before I traveled to adopt Ella, I was hungry for anything that would help me feel a little bit closer to my little girl on the other side of the world. Now that we’re home and I’m almost always feeling nostalgic for Viet Nam, I love looking at books and items that take me back. I’m also always on the lookout for things to share with Ella to help her learn about and feel a connection to her birth country and to understand more about adoption.

The... more

Jacquelyn Tran has recently had two entrepreneurial honors bestowed upon her: the Enst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award and Inc Magazine named her one of the ‘Hottest Entrepreneurs Under 30.” These accolades are in addition to being named one of 2006’s most successful businesspeople under 30 by Inc and OC Metro magazines.

30 year old Tran is the president of Perfume Bay, which is an extremely successful internet based perfume business. She grew up in a family involved... more

I hope there are some readers in the Philly area because this new exhibit about Viet Nam looks very interesting! The Please Touch Museum is opening a new exhibit titled “Dragons and Fairies: Exploring Viet Nam Through Folktales” on June 23rd. It’s a traveling exhibit that will be at the museum until September 9th.

There are a few parts of the exhibit that could possibly cause your adopted child to feel uncomfortable (building a family alter and making a family tree),... more

Viet Nam’s traditional dress outfit; the Ao Dai, has an impressive and long history behind it. The long, flowing, collared top with slitted sides is worn over long, flowy pants. Decadent, colorful ao dais are most often worn to formal events, holidays and weddings, but plain white ones can be seen worn as school uniforms in some parts of the country.

Ao Dai means long dress and is pronounced ao (as in “ow, I stubbed my toe”) yai in the South and ao zai in the North. The Ao Dai most likely received its influence... more

Inspired by a reader’s comments and Faith’s post over at the Hoping to Adopt blog, I decided to dedicate a post to covering things to buy now, things to buy in Viet Nam, and things to buy after you get home.

Things to Buy Before You Travel

A few outfits for your new child(ren). If you can, wait until close to your travel date and ask your agency to get up to date height and weight... more

I’m still trying to wrap my head around how I feel about the holiday that is Birth Mother’s Day. The Saturday before Mother’s Day is set aside to celebrate birth moms each year. When I first head of Birth Mother’s Day I thought it was a great idea…now I’m not so sure. I have done some digging and found birth moms who whole heartedly support and some who vehemently resent the idea of Birth Mother’s Day. The general public may not have ever heard of this day, but it seems to becoming more common and well known within the adoptive community.

I... more

I have noticed that many adoptive parents (notably of internationally adopted kids) have issues of guilt when it comes to their child’s birth culture. Well, perhaps guilt isn’t the best word choice, but there is definitely a lot of thinking going on about removing a child from their birth culture and not being able to completely and authentically replicate it. I too have had these thoughts and my feelings change depending on my mood, but I have mostly reserved myself to doing the best I can to instill a... more

We went to our very first Families With Children From Viet Nam (FCVN) get together this past weekend and had such a nice time! It was such a relaxed, happy group of people that I was quick to forget that I was meeting these families for the first time.

There were about eight families there who are all at different stages of the adoption process. Some are still in the paperwork stage, some have recently returned home, others adopted before the shutdown; so it was really great to see all these different families come together... more

I came across an article recently that stated that the Board of Supervisors in Orange County, California is considering starting a Vietnamese language center in their county. There are other centers like this; that teach language and culture, throughout southern California, but none that I know of in my area of the East Coast.

Spreading cultural awareness and allowing people to immerse themselves in their birth cultures is a wonderful thing, and I’m jealous of the people who get to take advantage of them. My first thought after reading the article was that I wished we had something like this for Ella to experience.... more