For 11-year-old Nicole Stevens, the Olympics in Beijing are more than a showcase of the world’s best athletes. They’re a portal to her birth country and a chance to learn more about modern-day China.
While politics and smog are hot topics ahead of the Summer Games, parents who adopted children from China are turning the Olympics into a celebration — with parades, tree plantings and pot luck Chinese dinners around big flat screen televisions.
Since 1991, about 68,000 children from China have been adopted by U.S. families, according to the State Department’s count of required visas. Many families of the mostly girl adoptees already were taking great pride in their histories through Chinese language classes and the celebration of Chinese festivals.
The Games, they say, are a natural extension.
“The Olympics are serving as just another springboard for her to see first hand her native country,” said Katie Golembeski of New Milford, Conn., who has an 11-year-old daughter from China. Golembeski took her vacation to coincide with the Olympics so they could share the experience.
Betsy Vonk of Lawrenceville, Ga., and her two daughters, ages 12 and 9, took her daughters back to China two years ago and is hoping they see things on television that they saw when they were there.
“I think it’s a really great opportunity for our children to see China is a very positive light and feel good about that connection and their heritage,” she said.
Other parents said they’re keeping the Olympics low key.
Virginia Cornue of Montclair, N.J., said as the mother of a 13-year-old, she tries to go light on “the cultural identity stuff.” Fitting in with peers is a tricky thing, she said.
“Our cultural connection will be simple, low key and naturally part of our everyday life — pride making, but not too much rah rah rah,” she said.
While seeing their country is pretty cool, many of the kids are more excited about certain sports, such as gymnastics, diving and soccer, finding kinship with athletes like Corrie Lothrop, who was adopted from China and is an alternate for the U.S. women’s gymnastics team.
“I asked my kids not too long ago who they were going to be rooting for,” Vonk said. “One of them said I’m rooting for the United States and China. Another one said, ‘Both of course.”’
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