Karla: I like the idea of diversity, and not just teaching
it, but also living it. A few weekends ago, I was
fortunate enough to travel to China Town in
Oakland, CA, USA with my children and one of
their friends. We met with my Mom and her Sister
for lunch and shopping.
In our day to day lives, we live a very
middle-class life, but for this day, we were all
Chinese. Those of us who remembered how to use
chop sticks taught those who had never held them.
My kindergarden boy watched as the Lion Dancers
dipped and swayed to the ancient rythms of the
drums. The neighbor girl tasted foods she'd
never heard and seen before. We smelled the
smoke from fire crackers. We went shopping at
the little "junk" stores and the Mom & Pop
groceries. Now, on the shelf, next to porcelain
dolls of European decent, sit little carved
dragons and a colbalt blue ginger jar. In one
afternoon, these children's world were stretched.
Yes, they could have watched the San Francisco
parade on TV, but they would have missed so much.
There are books to read, too, and while I love
books and words, you had to Be There to smell the
ginger.
So, I guess the point of my meanderings is that,
even if dramatic steps such as adoption or
"fostering" of children may seem overwhelming,
a stroll into the barrio, an e-pal from another
country on the net, stamps from an uncle in the
military over-seas - these may be small steps,
but in small steps, too, are goals accomplished.
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