Third Encounter Project

This past weekend, I was privileged enough to attend my friend Melissa’s house for dinner. This was a very special evening because it was the celebration of her younger sister’s adoption day. Melissa’s sister, Claire, was adopted seven years ago from Guan Zhou, China on February 28^th. This past Friday, Melissa and I traveled up to her hometown of Crown Point, Indiana for this event. Every year her family puts on a big party for this celebration and there’s always a large gathering at their house. Melissa’s mom makes a ton of Chinese food for all their guests to enjoy and this weekend was no exception. The food was wonderful and tasted very authentic; except for the Americanized fortune cookie that was indeed a mandatory item. Throughout the evening, there was Chinese music playing all over the house that really set the mood. Melissa and the rest of her family spent the night telling stories of Claire the past seven years and even the story of her adoption. I heard Melissa say once, “People ask me what it’s like to have an adopted sister, I ask them what it’s like to have a biological one. I can’t imagine my life without Claire, she was meant to be a part of this family. God knew it was meant to be.” This statement touched my heart and I felt so blessed to have been invited to this honorary event. This family loved Claire so much and didn’t view her as an outsider, but as always part of the family even while she was in China.

I learned quite a few things that night about the Chinese culture, especially a lot of facts about their adoption procedures. In the country of china, there is a law that states that each family can only have on child in order to minimize their population increase. As a result, many families are forced to have several children because each time they have a daughter they have to give her up until they have a son because that is what is valued in their society. This means that orphanages across the country are filled with baby girls awaiting adoption. The country will soon find itself in a population crisis when the number of available Chinese men greatly outnumbers the available women. The Machay family definitely did their part when taking Claire into their home and family. This was a splendid celebration and learning experience that I will never forget.

This post is in response to my Third Encounter Project: Ritual, Festival, and Celebration.