Chinese New Year |
| When is Chinese New Year 2009? Chinese New Year falls on Monday, January 26th 2009. |
| The Chinese New Year that is celebrated for about fifteen days is one moment in the year when the whole nation feels united as they can imagine each other's enjoyment. The Chinese New Year gets determined by the chinese new year calendar and therefore it is sometimes called the Lunar New Year. In 2009, the Chinese Lunar Year Festival would start from 26 th of January. As every one is aware of its significance, the working people in china can take weeks of holidays so that they can join the company of their near and dear ones and a feast with their family members on the chinese new year eve or Lunar New Year's Eve. Although with the changing times and increasing mobility of the people the celebration of Chinese New Year Festival has undergone some changes, everybody still very fervently follow all the customs that their elders have taught them. If you would like some creative ideas for you and your child for New Year then follow this LINK! The following are excerpts from this site! There are many traditions and symbols associated with Chinese New Year. Here are a handful of the most popular practices. Clean house and new clothes All cleaning must be finished before New Year's Day so there is no chance of accidentally throwing out the good fortune of the new year. "Before New Year's Day you want to buy new clothes or cut your hair" in order to have a fresh start, says Ng. Wearing black is not allowed due to its association with death, however, wearing red is encouraged as the color is associated with warding off bad spirits. Decorate the house Eat with your family "Typically families do eight or nine dishes because they are lucky numbers," says Grace Young, author of The Wisdom of the Chinese Kitchen. "The Chinese word for eight is baat [in Cantonese], which rhymes with faat, the word for prosperity." The word for nine means "long-lasting." "A lot of the foods are very symbolic," explains Ng. Some popular foods include: dumplings ("because they look like golden nuggets" says Ng), oranges ("because they are perfectly round, symbolizing completeness and wholeness"), and long noodles ("served to symbolize long life"). Sticky rice cakes and sweets are also served and are tied to a story about the Kitchen God-- a Santa Claus-like figure who reports to the Jade Emperor in heaven on whether families have been good or bad through the course of the year. According to legend, when families serve the Kitchen God sticky, delicious foods, his mouth gets stuck together and therefore he cannot report any bad things about the family to the Jade Emperor. Want to whip up some dishes for your Chinese New Year celebration? Check out our story "Chinese New Year Dishes" as well as our best-loved Chinese recipes on Kaboose. Here are some more customs associated with Chinese New Year. Give good luck gifts Make lanterns Families will light lanterns, which symbolize the brightness of spring, and hang them on walls around the house, or on poles to be carried in lantern parades. You can create kid-friendly paper lantern crafts with your children in order to honor this tradition.
Honor the animal Make cute crafts of this year's Zodiac animal, the OX. Some people believe that those born during the year of a particular animal will end up with the character traits of that animal. For example, if you were born during the year of the rat, you will grow up to be imaginative and cunning. Here are a few ways you family can celebrate Chinese New Year in your very own home or town. Make Chinese New Year crafts Read Chinese New Year books Preschoolers (ages 3-4)
Grade Schoolers (Ages 5-7 = K-2nd Grade)
Tweens (Ages 8-12 = 3rd-6th Grade)
Check out a local Chinese New Year parade In addition to floats, fireworks, performances, and marching bands, parades often feature people performing "dragon" or "lion dances" --a ritual in which a group of dancers gets under an elaborately decorated dragon or lion costume with a long silky train, and visits the homes and businesses to scare away bad luck. It is common practice for the home or business owners to "feed" red envelopes to the animal to promote good luck for the coming year, says Daria Ng, Assistant Curator of Education for MOCA. American cities with large Chinese populations such as San Francisco, CA and New York City, NY hold annual Chinese New Year parades and events. (Visit ChineseParade.com for more information about the San Francisco parade and ExploreChinatown.com for more info about the NYC event.) Check out your local community calendar to find events in your area. |
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Chinese New Year is coming!
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
The slow boat to Taiwan....
There are some new and not so new faces on the Taiwan adoption Agency boards. But not all are worthy of your patronage. There are some agencies moving much slower than others, with due reason. So please beware when looking for an agency to find your child from Taiwan through. Most agencies serving families for Taiwan adoptions are still not accepting applications for their "Healthy Child" program. So ask plenty of questions when you are discussing with an agency their rules and guidelines. Don't forget to read our section here on how to question prospective adoption agencies. This section will explain to you where the regulations regarding Taiwan adoptions quoted to you may or may not come from, How to be cautious when looking for an agency to work with for your precious journey, and what to beware of. While questioning an agency you may refer to this section for the Country rules as per USCIS and also for Orphanage rules. Since the explosion of interest in Taiwan adoptions, the agencies have taken it upon themselves more so, to make more and bigger regulations for their Prospective Adoptive Families. You may ask any questions you have about specific agencies at the Adoption_Agency_Research board on yahoo. On the Adoption Agency Research board, you may talk freely "out loud" about agencies without fear of repercussion. You may also join one of many more yahoo groups that are country specific but most will not allow you to discuss agencies "out loud". I would strongly suggest that you talk to as many clients as you can of each agency you are considering. Don't be afraid to ask the hard questions. Make sure you do ask the hard questions.
A lot of agencies are still taking applications for Special needs children. The special needs in Taiwan vary from mild to severe as most countries do. Don't be afraid to ask about special needs children, sibling groups, or older children. You would be amazed how many families start as "Healthy and young as possible" and end with "The perfect Special needs or older child for our family".
If you are already through the Agency search and ready to travel to Taiwan to meet your child that you have learned and loved through pictures, you may wish to read our travel document that is specific to Taiwan. This travel document is very helpful for other countries also. It will tell you how to pack, What you will need and won't need to bring, and tips on various things in Taiwan.
To learn more about Chinese New Year, there is a thread here with some neat Taiwan videos and traditions for Chinese New Year!!
If you have questions or need a little guidance you may contact me at Taiwankiddo2@yahoo.com
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Commiting to the commited!
Adoption is a far more serious topic than most will allow it to become. I mean for instance. There is a whole lot of
committing that goes on during an adoption. The parents commit to love a child they never met but somehow they
magically find a place that is perfect for the child in their heart. The child has to commit to the parents and the
siblings to be their long lost love and they have to commit to an entirely new and completely unrecognizable way of life in most cases. And in some journeys, some adoptive parents feel "commitable" (as in a special coat with very long sleeves made for consistant hugging of one's self on a daily basis)". BUT only after they have
survived the adoption journey to their sweet one do they even recognize they were that close to a new home inindated with "Teddy Rosevelt" wanna bes. I know, I jest but really darling, you have to keep your sense of
humor during adoption or you surely will wilt into a quivering ball of goo that goes by the name of "once was" and somewhere has a list of phone numbers for your imaginary "friends" which you lovingly refer to as Guido and Knuckles.
Each and every day during an adoptive journey, a family commits to their far away child again and again. Kind of
like blind faith, you leap in one day holding a dream and then soon after, find yourself madly flailing your arms and legs, water over your head and asking yourself "wasn't I holding something a second ago?
They commit to the process. To the belief that the process will bring them the referral of the child that
their heart aches for, the process that will finally get them to their child safely and allow them to hold them in
their physical arms and not just in their heart. The family commits to trying to understand their child through
small update pictures which tell only 1/100th of the story of this child and who they are and who they will be.They litterally build this child in their hearts and minds from sometimes repeat update measurements and blurry up the nose shots.
They commit to the emotions of adoption; love, fear, loneliness, sadness, happiness, euphoria, depression, anger, anxiousness, guilt, and feeling forgotten. It seems that somehow you commit to losing your mind too. You can't remember where you last parked the car. You thought you paid that bill when you should have (obviously not since you now sit in the dark singing Cumbya my Lord next to a make shift fireplace which is really a candle). You start calling your kids that are home with you the soon to be adopted child's name because your thoughts can often be found thinking somewhere else and on something else.
You commit to a roller coaster ride that you have no clue when or where it will stop. There are many ups and downs in the adoption journey and unfortunately honey, the stop watch was lost along the way somewhere (look there and you shall find the break too)! So the statement "you're in for the long hall" has taken on an entirely new and oh so personal meaning!! Though you are completely dizzy and sick to your stomach most of the ride, you still manage to stay in your seat the whole time clinging to the hope that is strapping you in.
If you are in an adoption journey such as ours, you may even have to commit some of those involved in your adoption journey such as agency personel, foster parents, family and friends because the pressures have finally gotten them stuck in a corner somewhere singing "Enry the Eigth I am I am" in a "repeat" fashion for the 100th round.
As you can see, adoption is a committment. And one that is not always pretty nor elegant. None the less, these brave families, "adoptive families" called to build their families via "adoptions" unfashionable and oftenly untimely ways, somehow make it through to the other side, not unscathed but definitely wiser through the teaching of "adoption"!
Finally, you may even learn new tricks beyond committment such as the following:
1) Time is something that only YOU and other adoptive mom's adhere to anymore because NOTHING seems to be doable in a Timely manner in an adoption journey.
2) Up is down and down is up and YOU are to pretend it is always up when in certain company.
3) Those once "taboo" questions that no one dared ask... are no longer taboo questions for your family.
4) Everything that once made sense somehow doesn't anymore.
5) That the term "no pain no gain" was evidentally coined by an adoptive family long ago that went through similar trials.
6) That the rules and regulations of adoption are really more like suggestive caveman writings on a wall that you must somehow learn to decifer and quickly, or you don't find the national treasure.
7) That you really can find a sisterhood that was once untapped by you as a resource for comfort because somehow, those other women that use all the cool abbreviations understand you!!
Hopefully, this odd but oh so true, preach it again sister post has you howling by now. If you are an adoptive parent you now see really what you are made of and are saying "Wow, been there done that."
If you are NOT an adoptive parent, you are probably in awe of what you just read and trying to make sense of it all. Don't bother unless you plan to adopt, and then I promise you will receive a one on one lesson just as most of us have.
Either way, put your jaw back up where it belongs and move onto another post. My fingers are tired and I have a whole nother day to face in THIS adoption journey and a roller coaster brake to find! "Someone PLEASE let me off this thing?"....lol!!!
Sunday, August 17, 2008
Taiwan Independent adoption.. WHERE TO START!
Well, the saga in Taiwan with conventional adoption through mainstream orphanages (St. Lucy's, Chung Yi, and Cathwell) via State side Agencies is not stifled but has slowed down a bit to a crawl. With China's announcement about a year or so ago saying that regulations would change in their adoption system, was all but a happy announcement for a many of the already waiting families. The announcement brought tougher regimen to the State side agency and also tougher and Higher standards for our American families to try to meet.
Meanwhile, Rewind a month before China's new found stance. The main stream orphanages in Taiwan and the State side agencies were enjoying fairly short waiting family lists and helping families come together with ease. Almost as if Taiwan was the best Kept Secret in the adoption world. Now, we fast forward to right after the announcement by China. Where Taiwan's waiting family list in almost EVERY agency exploded, quadrupling their waiting family numbers, at least. The families leaving China's wait lists because of dejection or inability to meet the new requirements flocked to Taiwan's agencies looking for a hand up. As the months went by and the news coming from the Taiwan "been there done that" veterans spread like wild fire, the once serene and fairly small adoption community was no more and the short wait that once was is now to the Two year mark and climbing. Taiwan seems to now have become the NEW CHINA for a lot of families seeking to adopt. With the new saga and costs for Taiwan going up in most agencies, I started to research an avenue that I once turned my nose up at because of fear and lack of information. Now being wise to how the rising waiting family lists would more than likely look in about 6 months from the onset of the "adoption saga" I started considering this little thing called "Independent adoption" that I once thought was dead. Well, a little CPR and I and Independent adoption were fast friends. As I searched I found that there are several side streets to this avenue that were waiting to be tapped and explored. Wowed by my new found knowledge I started this site.
Recently I have found more company in the independent world than of recent days. What once use to be almost a silent adoption society waiting in the balances of life, is now a roaring community where more and more are flocking to. The new comers are all attracted by a shorter wait time, courted by a lot lower cost than agency, and intrigued by having more control over their adoption. Although Independent makes a definite impression on its onlookers it also gives way to a new brand of fears and a wider reality of how the system works. It does take more work on YOUR part. It does take more responsibility on the part of the adoptive parent, BUT this is not said to deter you. This is said to represent a very real and possible avenue for an independent adoption. The risks in Independent however in someways are very much comparable to agency adoption.
Independent adoption is actually a really old dog compared to the fresh new agency adoption. Matter of fact back in the day, Independent was used by even the beloved and well known St. Lucy Center (up until about 5-7 years ago when SLC decided to use agencies only to place their children). Independent adoption in Taiwan is not much unlike our domestic adoption in the states. The rules are easier to identify however.
Taiwan Independent adoption can be navigated in many ways, with the most ways being roads for born again believers or Christians. Here are some of the ways that Born again Believers can go about finding a child in Taiwan:
1) You can contact one of a few orphanages or organizations that are NOT mainstream orphanages in Taiwan
Meaning "non agency contracted".
a.) Christian Mountain Children's home
b.) Christian Salvation services (CSS)
c.) Home of God's love
d.) Morning Light Ministries
The next two are AIDS homes that sometimes have a child around 12 months of age or so that can be placed for adoption. If you contact these organizations be aware that the children are tested for AIDS for months and given a syrum. This does not guarantee that the children will remain AIDS free but you are welcome to research or contact these organizations for more information on their practices and testing schedules. IF YOU DO contact them and find a child, I strongly suggest you use your own Lawyer (a list is available in the USCIS website) and allow them to do your adoption no matter what is offered. It is just simpler in the long run and better for everyone involved. Also, we have seen families call or email one day and be told "No we have no children" and then get an email the very same day that they have located a child in one of their shelters. So call back or email at least once a week if you are serious to find a child. We have also seen families get replies back asking them if they are prepared to take AIDS baby. Please ask the organization to elaborate and discuss further as Chinese does not always translate verbatim. So please do not be afraid to ask questions.
e.) Garden of Mercy
f.) Harmony Home
If you are religious at all, you can contact a church or several churches in your sect or general belief structure and ask for help. You may want to contact a lawyer and line them up for when you find a child and then move onto the next step of contacting a church in your sect over in
Taiwan. This particular resource may also come in handy for finding a temporary foster family for your child or children to stay with while going through the courts. You may also contact specific church related hospitals in Taiwan and ask if they have knowledge of a child being abandoned or needing a family. You will find those links here: Church and Religious hospital info
If you are not religious or find no help in these places you can also look on your own or make Mandrain speaking connections and ask them to call the hospitals and the women's clinics in Taiwan. Or you may email them yourself or have your connection email for you. And ask your lawyer in Taiwan to keep their eyes and ears open for you. A lot of doing your own Independent adoption is nothing more than research and not being afraid to ask and jump in.
Look for our next post to continue this one : "The things You MUST know"
Friday, August 8, 2008
In violation of your civil rights.......
On the home study front: Our home study agency is doing what many try
but I wanted to make you aware of your rights. Some agencies are
putting on their "physical forms" now that you have to have
Tuberculosis, AIDS, and Hep tests done in order to adopt. Since this
is an expensive venture that most insurance companies won't pay for
unless they "lie" on the paperwork as to why the physical is performed
and the tests required, the YOU my friend will foot the bill. AND with
these tests it can add up quickly upwards from $300 per spouse. I
looked at cheap testing where you can drive to a private lab facility
and if it is the HEP test I think it is then, it is $230 alone! Well,
I wanted to tell you gals that I have done some research on this
subject and first of all, it is ILLEGAL and a violation of your civil
rights to ask you for an AIDS test most definitely. This information
doesn't even have to be released to family of an individual without
written consent of the individual in question. I would beseech anyone
that is concerned about cost or just doesn't wish to be bothered with
this to find your state adoption laws and statutes and search them for
requirements on this matter. (Most will find this a mute topic and
that only a physical reflecting your good or relatively good health is
required since asking for these tests in part or in totality are a
violation of civil rights). You need to know what is required by your
country you are adopting from. Taiwan DOES NOT require physical forms
(only in certain situations) much rather these tests! (I think you
will find most countries do not care about specific tests, just your
overall health).
Lastly, you need to know why your agency is requesting this of you. If
your state doesn't require it, and the country doesn't require it.
Then who wants it and why?
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
NOTARY INFO, DO NOT GIVE IN TO UNEDUCATED NOTARIES!
You've heard the saga. Some poor adoptive family turned onto the street cold, frustrated and with NAKED DOCUMENTS because the documents were in Chinese, Russian or other. They were told "No mam, we have to be able to read the document." And though most know this ISN'T TRUE, they walk away discriminated against and in disbelief as to the atrocious act they just witnessed against themselves, their adoption and their adoptive child. Well, you can STOP this from happening in the future. Be PRO-active and complain. Find the chink in their armor that has the CORRECT answers and WIN THIS FIGHT! Why am I being so dramatic? Because what they are doing is WRONG and possibly even illegal. THEY are NOT suppose to be allowed to demand of a notaries job what they are but yet they do. Well, I called one of the banks that gave us the crud line "we can't read the document and we HAVE to be able to read it" yeah right. So, I called the SEC of STATE and the National Notary association and asked them IF Notaries are suppose to read the documents and they said NO!
That if they "try" to give you legal advice, you can sue them! They also said that many notaries are not complying with the "rules set forth" for notaries and that they too are upset and tired of the bullarky! I then called the bank and talked to them and they said that their staff should have known that there is an english piece of paper that you can attach to the document that states what they are and such that they CAN INDEED notarize the document. It isn't about reading the document after all, it is about reading THEIR Box that they do THEIR Work in!!!!!!
Another bank that did the same NO NO, found out after talking to someone with more knowledge of the company that the documents can be scanned in and then translated so they have the go ahead in order to notarize the materials. SO, this is all to say.. DON"T TAKE NO FOR AN ANSWER! THIS IS ALL UNEDUCATED BULLARKY THAT NEEDS TO BE FOUGHT!
http://www.nationalnotary.org/
It is going to take you to the Colorado site BUT it is still used in other states! Also, call your SEC of STATE and the BANK you were turned down at, mention these options I Have mentioned here and that you are well aware of what a notary is for and you demand that they not discriminate against you! We really need to buck up and stop this madness before notarization is a dead art and our documents are forever naked! Do Not allow discrimination to enter your adoption via a "person unwilling to do their job as it should be done".
Friday, July 11, 2008
Welcome to the Adoption world.. why am I here?
It's all about adoption. Are you right for adoption? How do you adopt? There are so many avenues for adoption. These avenues can be so confusing and scary for the travelers in this journey. Agencies claiming that their regulations are the country or orphanage regulations, insterstate compacts, and different rules from state to state can make a newby in the adoption world say "Oh My". There is no need for this daunting feeling that aches in the pit of your stomach, but don't worry, it is natural for a new Adoptive parent to feel bewildered and stressed before they even sign with an adoption agency or pick their avenue to travel for their adoption journey. I am hoping that you will find my writing as a beacon of hope in this sea of information. I am not at all claiming to know everything about adoption, but I am willing to offer to you what I do know. So, sit down, take a deep breath and read. Soak it up, then when you are ready, step away from your computer and start your adoption journey.
Are you in your adoption journey but feel as though others are not understanding you? Do you feel pressured by outsiders to act a certain way? Are you frustrated with your agency or adoption professional?
This is all pretty normal in the adoption community. Just like any relationship that means anything. It takes work and understanding on both sides and I know how it feels when you are doing all the understanding and those around you are refusing to understand you. The sometimes daily screaming in your mind tends to become deafening during a long adoption journey. I am going to try to still that voice in your head that is screaming for acknoweldgement. I want to offer you hope and understanding about adoption but not so much understanding you can't function as an adoptive parent. Yes, it is possible to read so much you numb your own built in skills and make bringing your new family member home anything but a delight. So take heed and understand the first rule of adoption. The person that wrote that book is more than likely a self proclaimed professional and has not adopted ALL the children in the world, so they too will have a limited understanding of your child. Does this mean to not read these books or even what I am typing to you? No, not at all. Just make sure to keep your head in check and let your opinions have room to breathe so that when that wonderful day arrives and you are picking your child up, you are not holding a bag of tricks meant for someone elses child. Trust me, you DO have instincts and they are worth while. Just because your child is adopted does not make them a special secret diseased being. Just a little different. Adopting a child is a balance. A wonderful and beautiful balance and I hope to help you see that as time goes on. So, now that we have the first ground rule laid, and you understand that I am just a person like you, sharing what I have learned and found to work, we can now move forward and start learning. Stick around. I like you.
