Archive for October, 2014

  • Jasmine’s Blog – Adoption Day

    Date: 2014.10.04 | Category: Adoption, Jasmine's Blog

    The following post was written by Jasmine in Chinese.  I used Google Translate to translate it.   I have left it as it was translated as much as possible.  I have clarified certain sentences and have italicized them and used paragraphs to set my words apart from Jasmine’s words.  Jasmine has decided to write a blog to let others know what it is like to be adopted and come to America to start a new life.

    Gotcha Day

    收养日

    有一天我去贵阳我去见我的新妈妈新爸爸。

    是美国的爸爸妈妈收养了我,我也很高兴我也很害怕因为我从来没有见过美国人我很害怕我不会说英语,但是我也非常的害怕因为我怕我不会走路爸爸妈妈会不要我?我知道不可以自己去上厕所有人对我说如果我去了美国以后还是不能走路的话也许我会再次回到孤儿院让我很害怕真的真的很害怕。

    但是我见到爸爸妈妈姐姐奶奶她们对我笑我也笑妈妈爸爸亲亲我,爸爸妈妈送我一个礼物这个礼物是项链上面写了是家庭,

    我好高兴有爸爸妈妈爷爷奶奶哥哥姐姐妹妹,

    我和爸爸妈妈拍照。

    然后回到酒店然后爸爸妈妈问我想吃什么我说我想吃肯德基

    爸爸妈妈就去卖了然后姐姐给我擦指甲油,指甲油有三种颜色然后我就选择粉色我喜欢粉色然后姐姐就帮我擦了!

    然后爸爸妈妈回来了卖回来了肯德基我喜欢吃肯德基。

    妈妈和姐姐想给我洗澡但是我不知道妈妈和姐姐在说什么

    她们就翻译我就明白了妈妈帮助我洗澡的时候我非常的害怕因为怕我下降我就哭了我真很害怕。姐姐抱着我我就不害怕了觉得自己真的好幸福好!

    我害怕我不会说英语但是我会说的是不,

    但是妈妈爸爸对我真的真的真的好好好!

    我觉得自己是个幸福的孩子。妈妈她说我很美她说的是中文

    她还会我爱你她还会说我是你的妈妈还说他是你的爸爸。

    我很幸福!

    但是我还担心妈妈和爸爸会不要我这事情让很害怕我不想让这种事情再次发生。

    我只希望爸爸妈妈对我好就好了不会不要我我就心满一足了。

    我就会很幸福了!:)

    Gotcha Day 1

    Adoption Day

    One day I went to Guiyang I went to see my new mom new dad.

    American parents adopted me, and I’m glad I’m scared because I had never seen Americans I’m afraid I can not speak English, but I am also very scared because I’m afraid I will not walk Mom and Dad Do not I? (She is afraid if she doesn’t walk we will not want her.) I know not myself go to the bathroom (I can’t even get to the bathroom myself.) Someone said to me that if I went to the United States later still can not walk, then maybe I will once again return to the orphanage so I am very scared really, really scared.

    But my mom and dad to see their sister, grandmother smiled at me and I kiss my mom and dad laugh, Mom and Dad gave me this gift is a gift of necklace inscribed with the words family,

    Necklace

    I’m so glad to have mom and dad brother (big) sister (little) sister, grandparents,

    My mom and dad take pictures.

    Then back to the hotel and then mom and dad asked me want to eat what I say I want to eat KFC  (I remember being surprised that she asked for KFC and a coke.  She had seen commercials on t.v. in the orphanage.)

    Mom and Dad go to buy KFC then my sister gave me nail polish, nail polish comes in three colors and then I would choose pink I love pink and my sister to help me rub!

    Then Mom and Dad came back Buy (from KFC) back I like to eat KFC KFC.

    Mother and sister wanted to give me a bath, but I do not know what to say mom and sister

    They would translate my mom helped me to understand a bath when I was very scared because I was afraid I would fall, I started to cry and I am really scared. Sister holding me I do not feel afraid of is really good happy good!   (We had to place her on a stool in a shower because they didn’t have a bath tub. She had no clue what was going on. She was allowed one bath a week at the orphanage where they gave her a bucket and sat her on the floor so the shower felt really, really good.)

    I’m afraid I can not speak English, but I Speak it is not,   (She was afraid her English was not very good.)

    But Mom and Dad told me really really really good good!

    I feel I am a happy child. Mom said I am beautiful. She said that she is Chinese (I told her those four BOLD phrases in Chinese.)

    She also said she would, I love you, I’m your mom said he is your father.

    I am very happy!

    But I also worry that my mom and dad will not let this matter was afraid I do not want this to happen again.   (She was afraid we would decide we didn’t want her and would send her back to the orphanage.)

    (We asked her time and time again if she had any questions. We wanted her to be able to ask the translator/guide anything that she had questions about before we left China. Every day she said she didn’t have any questions. We kept saying there has to be something you are curious about in America. But over and over again she said no. On the very last day she said she had a question. She spoke her words to the translator and tears started running down the translator’s face. Jasmine’s only question, after being with us for almost three weeks in China, was “Will we give her away when we get to America?” She was worried we wouldn’t let her be part of the family.)

    I just hope my mom and dad would not do me good like I heart filled an enough. (She hoped we would think she was good and her heart would be happy enough.)

    I will be very happy! 🙂

    Gotcha Day 2

    After I posted this blog, Yolanda from Love Without Boundaries sent me a corrected version of this blog post.  I am posting it because it shows just how hard it is to translate from Chinese to English, as much is lost in the translation.  This version breaks my heart just a little bit more.  Jasmine was such a brave girl.

    Here is the properly translated version:

    “Adoption Day

    One day I went to Guiyang to meet my new Mama and Baba.

    The Baba and Mama who adopted me are American. I was happy and I was
    scared because I’d never seen an American. I was very scared of not
    knowing how to speak English, but I was also very scared that Baba and
    Mama wouldn’t want me because I don’t know how to walk? I know I can’t
    use the restroom by myself, someone told me that if I still couldn’t
    walk after going to America, I might have to go back to the orphanage.
    I was very scared, really so very scared.

    But I met baba, mama, big sister and grandma, they smiled at me and I
    smiled too. Baba and mama kissed me and gave me a present – a necklace
    with “Family” written on it.

    I was so happy to have baba, mama, grandpa, grandma, big brother, big
    sister and little sister.

    I took photos with baba and mama.

    Then we went back to the hotel, baba and mama asked me what I wanted
    to eat and I said I wanted to eat KFC.

    Baba and mama went and bought it and then big sister painted my nails.
    There were three colours of nail polish, I picked pink because I like
    pink, then big sister helped my put it on!

    Then baba and mama came back with the KFC they bought, I like eating KFC.

    Mama and big sister wanted to give me a shower but I didn’t know what
    they were saying. So they translated and then I understood. When mama
    was helping me shower I was very scared because I was afraid of
    falling, so I cried. I was so scared. Then big sister held me and I
    wasn’t scared anymore. I felt really very blessed!

    I was afraid I didn’t know how to speak English but I knew how to say
    “no”. But mama and baba are really so very good to me!

    I think I am a blessed kid. Mama told me I was very beautiful, she
    said it in Chinese. She also knew how to say “I love you”, “I’m your
    mama” and “he’s your baba”.

    I’m so happy!

    But I’m still worried mama and baba will not want me, this really
    scares me and I don’t want this kind of thing to happen again.

    I only want baba and mama to be good to me, and won’t not want me
    anymore. Then I’ll be perfectly satisfied.

    Then I’ll be very happy!”