*The following is a guest blog post by the founder of AJ Panda, Chris Deck. For more about their story of adoption, visit ajpanda.com/aboutus*
Last week I visited the Chinese Lantern Festival at the Missouri Botanical Gardens and was reminded of the splendor and beauty of Chinese Culture. It also reminded me of how long it’s been since I’ve provided an updated and shared how things are going with the inspirations of this site… AnMei and JiaLi.
Generally speaking, things couldn’t be going better. These precious little girls bring joy to our lives every single day. I know all parents think the world of their children, and I am certainly no exception… they are smart, funny, adventurous… really beautiful in every way.
They are well aware of their birth country, and we try to be open and mindful about celebrating Chinese culture within our family. I wouldn’t say we’ve reached our full potential, but we try. The girls love to get dressed up on their “fancy Chinese dresses” when we go to special events around town. We’ve explored Chinese tutors that have come to the house and local Chinese summer camps. It’s funny… the girls are quick to correct me when I make pronunciations errors with the few Chinese expressions I know. (The really funny thing is that, because of the “tones” that are so meaningful in Mandarin, I’m completely oblivious to their corrections because my ear doesn’t pick up the nuance.)
Anyway, the girls continue to inspire me and the site. They like to explore the “inventory” and look for the essential things they need for their room. They’re curious to hear about what people are buying and where they live. And they are quick to identify the things we need to improve (sorry we’re lacking suitable Chinese dresses on the site!). I haven’t put them to work yet 😉 but they’re eager and willing.
Above: AnMei and JiaLi observing the Chinese ship made completely out of recycled bottles and other materials a the Botanical Garden’s lantern festival.
And about that Lantern Festival… it was wonderful. Although a bit crowded, the gardens were strewn with a range of impressive lantern displays that captured various themes of the rich heritage from Chinese folklore. We arrived a little before dusk and toured all the displays in their unlit state and then re-toured the park again when they were in their lit splendor. Very cool. My favorite display was the Pandas. The girls were trying to figure out which would be the “A” panda and which would be the “J” panda.
Above: JiaLi and AnMei with their matching panda counterparts.
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