One World: Chinese Adoptee Blog
creative writing
Writing Marathon in Vermont
Dear Bloggers and Readers,
Just want to apologize for missing my regular Sat. post. I am completely overwhelmed by trying to meet a September 6th deadline and haven’t ventured off the hill in days.
Vermont continues to fuel the creative energy, whether under cloudless skies, starlit nights, or downpours such as we experienced yesterday. Being removed from people, with no TV or internet access is liberating and forces one to moderate one’s inner rhythm. It also allows for time to drink in the silence, listen for different bird calls, and appreciate the changes in the light from dawn to sundown. Solitude is a great gift and teacher.
Haven’t spotted the three black bear which are supposedly roaming around within less than a mile from my house. Am very careful to dispose of all compost well into the woods, but am hoping to see a bear come feed from my apple trees. Rumor has it that there is a bruiser of a male, plus a mother and cub. Most exciting. So far, have focused mainly on humming birds, dragon flies, newts and bats. Am waging an all out war against mice, cute as they may be… Still hoping to see a moose: I keep finding signs of their presence both from pathways they have created through the fields and large mounds of scat!
Sending everyone warm thoughts (as I regularly fill my hot water bottle due to sudden cold front). Will be back in touch sometime.
You are always in my heart.
Mei-Mei
Thank You! (From Jeni)
I just want to thank Mei-Mei and Jennifer for giving me such a warm welcome to this blog. (I would have posted under “comments” but that isn’t working, so I’m just writing a quick post)
I am so captivated by all your writings, everyone. Mei-Mei, I find your accounts of your life journey fascinating…and look forward to reading your memoir. (About your last post…what an idyllic setting in which to write) I was just looking at Natalie Goldberg’s Old Friend from Far Away (of course not so far away for the younger writers on this blog!) and William Zinsser’s Writing about Your Life. It occurs to me that an interesting way to do a memoir would be to write sections as you go through life…then go back and write new versions as you look back from the perspective of an older (wiser?) mind.
The pieces that many of you are contributing to this blog…Jennifer, Juleigh, Sabrina, Julia, Jazz, Meia Yao, Min Liang, and Amy Horowitz (to name but a few) have all been so intriguing. I nestle into a comfy overstuffed chair, open my laptop lose myself in the stories about Jennifer’s childhood and travels to scores of countries, about Juleigh’s swimming and many projects, about Sabrina’s life in Beijing, about Julia’s work with children with cleft palate in orphanages in China, about Jazz’ musicals, about Amy Horowitz’ research with adult adoptees….and those are just some recent entries. All your photos help bring vibrancy to your writings. (Not sure who wrote it, but I loved the very astute commentary on the Last Airbender. You made some very important points)
I know that my role on this blog should primarily be to listen and learn. Very compelling work. I look forward to more.
Monday Musings – Tiger Countdown…
I have been an orphan, an immigrant, an American citizen, an illegal alien, a travel writer, and (continue to be) a fantastic klutz.
[Photo Above: Jen in NYC’s Grand Central Station, last fall]
for the YEAR of the TIGER?
P.S. Dear Reunion Organizers & Friends of “The First Chinese Adult Adoptee Worldwide Reunion 2010, Hong Kong”: We’ve scheduled a CAL G2 Board
Conference Call on February 26th to discuss and brainstorm ideas for the reunion…More Soon.
Post #11 Dedicated with Love & Gratitude
to Samantha Ho, Pam Barnsley, Juleigh (HAPPY BIRTHDAY!), Lisa See and Dr. Diana Marre
~Love From Jennifer~
Native Province: Taipei & Jiangsu (mainland China) Hometown: Laguna Beach (OC), California Arrived in the USA: Dec 1979 / Jan 1980 Education: NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, Harvard & UC Berkeley Generation: G2, “A Global Generation” Why This Blog: “Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.” – Helen Keller
Monday Musings – Holiday Story for the New Year
Dear Readers of All Ages, Please pull up a chair.
Welcome to my home.
Welcome to my hearth.
This holiday story (which I scribbled one afternoon for fun), inspired by the real life Chinese adoptee, my “Two Popo” Auntie Daisy Chin…is just for you, with love and best wishes for the New Year.
In a skyscraper showering light,
And glass doors spinning bright,
Lived a little girl from China with 2 pigtails,
Who had a habit of looking for snails,
Twirled spaghetti in Little Italy,
Scale China’s Great Wall with ease,
“May your stars always shine bright,
P.S. “Popo” = maternal grandmother in Chinese (you met my “Yen Yen,” paternal grandmother Bettie Steuck in my last post). Since Daisy was the baby sister of my (adoptive) Popo Lucy, we affectionately called Daisy “Two Popo” (as in our “second grandmother”).
Native Province: Taipei & Jiangsu (mainland China) Hometown: Laguna Beach (OC), California Arrived in the USA: Dec 1979 / Jan 1980 Education: NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, Harvard & UC Berkeley Generation: G2, “A Global Generation” Why This Blog: “Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.” – Helen Keller
…in loving memory of my fun, wild, and adventurous Two Popo, Daisy Chin, and her older siblings Bill Jing, Lucy Jue (my grandmother), Alice & Blanche who, despite having tragically lost their parents as young children, went on to do amazing things. Thank you for instilling in me a sense of pride, both in our adoption heritage and in our Chinese heritage. I miss you all so much.
Monday Musings — "Chance Encounters (Part Deux)"
Adoptive Province: California (Orange County), USA
Generation: G2, as in ‘Global Generation’
And to my mom, the Goddess who never knew she was…
(Mom, you were mistaken – You did make a difference, you did matter. I love you. I’m so proud that you were my mom.)
“The Smell of Magic, Magic Mondays“
by Jennifer, an ADOPTEE a G2
8 Chance Encounters That Changed My Life:
1. At age 2…seeing the beautiful poet & artist Janet Jue, a Goddess from Los Angeles, sitting in (of all places) my birthfamily’s living room in China/Taiwan. Just moments before meeting Janet, birthmother was about to bestow her blessing on an Australian couple to take me to Australia. Little did I know that the Goddess from California was going to become my mom!
2. At age 4…bumping into and being swung round and round in circles by a laughing little boy who had just landed at Los Angeles International Airport from Seoul, South Korea. This toddler became my charismatic baby brother, Chris.
3. At age 8…spotting Santa in my chimney with cousin Colette way past our bedtime on Christmas Eve.
4. At age 20…discovering, for the first time in my life, an adoptee in class. She was adopted from Korea, and was also an undergrad at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts (a place with very few Asians and Asian American students at the time). She approached me because she was going through a phase when she was exploring her “Asian” identity. I had already explored that terrain and yearned to be seen as “Jennifer,” which, in my mind, was so much more than just my “Asian face” and ancestry. We later became fast friends, spending hours chatting into the wee hours about our lives, our adoption experiences, the complexity of our various identities, our dreams of a future when Asian adoptees could be seen and represented on the big screen as real people, as we saw ourselves (instead of being defined by how others saw us — Madame Butterfly, Miss Saigon….gaaaaaaggg!!).
5. At age 24…sitting, by chance, beside a young Chinese adoptee and her mom on the NYC MTA subway. I explained I was adopted, too. “She’s beautiful,” I stood to exit the subway car at 59th Street. Her mom beamed back a smile, “So are you.” Merging into the midtown Manhattan crowd above ground, I felt like an angel had just spread its wings and kissed me.
6. At age 28…meeting Maeve, age 4, a Chinese adoptee in Ireland. While sharing ice creams and crossing a street in southern Ireland, Maeve slipped her small hand in mine and wouldn’t let go. We’ve been sisters of the heart ever since.
7. At ages 28-29…first time ‘meeting’ fellow peer-aged ADULT Chinese adoptees!!! They were NOT easy to find, and in fact, I wasn’t even sure if they existed!!
(Through books, friends and a worldwide search, I “met” Dr. Amanda Baden, Dr. Mei-Mei Ellerman, Devorah Schwartzbaum Goldstein, Miss Chris Atkins. We realized there was no group for Chinese adoptees of all ages, created by Chinese adoptees…so we launched Chinese Adoptee Links International.)
8. Today…Meeting YOU through this group blog.
Today is full of magic. It’s magical because we met. May your week be filled with love, lavished with magical moments that nourish your spirit and nurture your soul. (Special thanks to author Susana Saladini for inspiring the title, “The Smell of Magic, Magic Mondays.”)
____________________
Jennifer Bao Yu “Precious Jade” Jue-Steuck
Taipei, Taiwan & Jiangsu, China (birthmother’s native province)
ARRIVED IN THE USA:
Dec 1979/Jan 1980
GREW UP IN:
Laguna Beach (Orange County, California), Branch Pond Lake (near Acadia National Park, Maine), Paris (5ème, 7ème, 16ème arrondissements), Cambridge (Massachusetts), NYC (8 years in Greenwich Village & Columbus Circle)
LOVES:
Making new friends on airplanes, dancing, writing, musicals, travel, riding trains, majestic old train stations, trees, animals, perfume, the color purple, fresh fruit & cheese platters, dim sum, dumplings, warm cookies, ice cream, noodles (of any kind!), architecture, ‘expotitions,’ sudden epiphanies, letters, libraries, the sound of waves, pilates, yoga, afternoon naps at the beach, lying upside down listening to opera music, star gazing
DEFINING MOMENT:
When my (adoptive) mom, my best friend, was diagnosed with stage 3C ovarian cancer. Watching your mom die and knowing that you can’t do anything to save her changes your perspective forever. (I was 19. Mom lost her cancer battle at age 58.)
CURRENT PROJECTS:
Inspiration Ice Cream: 178 Tips for Blooming Where You’re Planted (wellness title)
Leaving Grand Central (MG novel)
Adoption Pride (non-fiction)
EDUCATION:
University of California at Berkeley, NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts & Harvard
WHY THIS BLOG WAS BORN:
“Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.” – Helen Keller
“I dreamed of a place where different generations of Chinese adoptees and friends could come together to have a conversation, to share knowledge, to empower and inspire one another with our stories through a group blog for CAL (Chinese Adoptee Links) International. When Erin told me about her own blog idea, we combined our blog concepts into one to create “ONE WORLD” (title inspired by the song “One World” our talented team blogger, Jazz, composed for this site). My wish for you, dear reader, is that this blog blesses you with new thoughts (perhaps here you’ll find just the words you needed to lean on), connects you to others (including role models, of all ages), and inspires you to bloom your best (!) wherever you are planted, no matter what your background is or how you came to be part of our family, the human family. Thank you for your contributions to our global ‘ONE WORLD’ community.” ~ Love from Jennifer
One World: Chinese Adoptee Blog 