Chinese Adoption & Heritage
Finding practical ways to make a difference for Chinese adoptees.
Exploring my Chinese heritage and seeing what I can do for other adoptees along the way.
On my own terms.
Being Chinese has always been part of who I am.
My adoption was never a secret. I grew up around other Chinese adoptees, studied Mandarin in school, celebrated
Chinese holidays, and had the culture woven into my life in plenty of other ways.
But there’s a difference between growing up with a heritage and choosing, as an adult, how you want to carry it forward.
Right now, that means returning to Mandarin, following questions I didn’t have when I was younger, and uncovering new parts of something that has been mine all along.
And, perhaps predictably, it didn’t take long before I started noticing a few places where I could meddle.
From one experience to 160,000 possibilities.
When I returned to Mandarin, I started thinking about what it meant to learn a language that, under different circumstances, might have been my first.
And I knew I was far from the only one. Roughly 160,000 children — mostly girls — were adopted internationally from China during the one-child policy era.
For most of us, growing up elsewhere meant inheriting a different relationship with the language and culture we were born into.
So I wrote to a Chinese-language education company. I told them my story, explained why Mandarin can mean something different for adoptees,
and asked whether they had ever considered ways to help those who wanted to learn.
Their answer went much further than my question.
They made a permanent commitment to provide complimentary access to their Mandarin courses for all Chinese adoptees.
What began as a question about my own path back to Mandarin had become an open door for anyone who might want to walk through it.
And the conversation didn't end there. We’re already looking ahead to how we might work together as their adoptee initiative grows.
It's an exciting beginning.
One open door is a start.
I’m still figuring out what my role in this space will become. But the language-access project gave me a glimpse of what
can happen when adoptees, educators, organizations, and others who already hold useful resources find better ways to connect.
There are a few places I want to keep exploring.
Language
Mandarin is one path back into Chinese heritage, and one I know personally. I want to keep looking for ways to make language learning more accessible to adoptees who choose to pursue it.
Culture & heritage
Reconnection can take countless forms beyond language. I’d like to make it easier to find credible resources, communities, experiences, and opportunities without suggesting any one “right” way to be a Chinese adoptee.
Family search
For adoptees who choose to search for biological family, knowing where to begin can be difficult. I want to explore how trustworthy information, existing organizations, and clearer pathways could make that first step easier.
I don't know exactly what all of this will become yet. But that's rather the point!