Something sweet -
Sep. 21st, 2006 12:29 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kyburgYou want a really sweet story?
..that’s exactly what happened to Sarah Culberson. In 2004, 28-year old Culberson, a biracial woman who had been adopted by a white family in West Virginia as a baby—hired a private investigator to find her biological father. (Her mother, she had been informed a few years earlier, had died of breast cancer.) The investigator called back within three hours; the information he yielded was a shocker: her father was a member of the ruling family of the Mende tribe in the Southern Province of Sierra Leone. She was, by birthright, a princess. “I just about fell off my seat,” says Culberson, an aspiring actress who had trained in San Francisco. “I mean, a princess. To be totally honest, it was really cool.”
If a bit frightening. Culberson was able to contact her father’s brother, who promised to pass on her contact information to her dad. Two weeks went by, time Culberson spent wondering if she’d be welcome in her father’s life—or his world. When he called, the first words he spoke to her were comforting: “He told me, ‘Please forgive me. I didn’t know how to find you,’” she says. “And then he said, ‘When can I meet you? I want you to come.’” In December, Culberson flew to his village, Bumpe. She brought along a filmmaker friend to record the reunion.
Culberson received a royal welcome. As she drove into the city, hundreds of villagers swarmed the car to welcome her. The women of the village, dressed identically in long, green dresses, sang and danced. And then she met her father, who—to her delight—had eyes similar to her own. “To look like some one is amazing,” says Culberson. “Most people take it for granted, but I grew up in a family where my sisters had blonde hair with green eyes. I stood out. For the first time to look like someone… it was the most beautiful gift in the whole world.”
And I am sure her parents are absolutely delighted for her. I'd love to hear from them - I know I would be!
The "I didn't know how to find you" bit? Absolutely. Having tred through the morass of what legalities are apparent in an adoption, I can vouch for him.
It surprised me a bit to discover that part of the appeal of an international adoption from China, is the total lack of any identifying information on the birth parents. What I am able to gather at the time of her adoption? I can claim with reasonable authority that that's all there is. And it's pitiful little, to be blunt. Most of the time, the birthdate is estimated. These are babies found abandoned - you might know where, but by whom? *shakes head*
And yes, there are reasons why I want Asian over Hispanic day care providers...please, someplace where she won't stand out. It may never even be noticed, but it would be fine with me, as the adult, to be the only cracker in the box. Yanno?
I love happy endings - but in this case, I'd also have to say - so far, so good. Not every story has this kind of resolution - they tend to be as individual as fingerprints.
..that’s exactly what happened to Sarah Culberson. In 2004, 28-year old Culberson, a biracial woman who had been adopted by a white family in West Virginia as a baby—hired a private investigator to find her biological father. (Her mother, she had been informed a few years earlier, had died of breast cancer.) The investigator called back within three hours; the information he yielded was a shocker: her father was a member of the ruling family of the Mende tribe in the Southern Province of Sierra Leone. She was, by birthright, a princess. “I just about fell off my seat,” says Culberson, an aspiring actress who had trained in San Francisco. “I mean, a princess. To be totally honest, it was really cool.”
If a bit frightening. Culberson was able to contact her father’s brother, who promised to pass on her contact information to her dad. Two weeks went by, time Culberson spent wondering if she’d be welcome in her father’s life—or his world. When he called, the first words he spoke to her were comforting: “He told me, ‘Please forgive me. I didn’t know how to find you,’” she says. “And then he said, ‘When can I meet you? I want you to come.’” In December, Culberson flew to his village, Bumpe. She brought along a filmmaker friend to record the reunion.
Culberson received a royal welcome. As she drove into the city, hundreds of villagers swarmed the car to welcome her. The women of the village, dressed identically in long, green dresses, sang and danced. And then she met her father, who—to her delight—had eyes similar to her own. “To look like some one is amazing,” says Culberson. “Most people take it for granted, but I grew up in a family where my sisters had blonde hair with green eyes. I stood out. For the first time to look like someone… it was the most beautiful gift in the whole world.”
And I am sure her parents are absolutely delighted for her. I'd love to hear from them - I know I would be!
The "I didn't know how to find you" bit? Absolutely. Having tred through the morass of what legalities are apparent in an adoption, I can vouch for him.
It surprised me a bit to discover that part of the appeal of an international adoption from China, is the total lack of any identifying information on the birth parents. What I am able to gather at the time of her adoption? I can claim with reasonable authority that that's all there is. And it's pitiful little, to be blunt. Most of the time, the birthdate is estimated. These are babies found abandoned - you might know where, but by whom? *shakes head*
And yes, there are reasons why I want Asian over Hispanic day care providers...please, someplace where she won't stand out. It may never even be noticed, but it would be fine with me, as the adult, to be the only cracker in the box. Yanno?
I love happy endings - but in this case, I'd also have to say - so far, so good. Not every story has this kind of resolution - they tend to be as individual as fingerprints.
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no subject
Date: 2006-09-21 08:09 pm (UTC)Is a happy story.
You would be gratified to know that there is a sign on the daycare center in Pike Place that indicates that children of all backgrounds, with all sorts of combinations of mommies and daddies, are cheerfully accepted and encouraged to be there. If there's one thing that Seattle gets militant about, it's not just tolerance, but acceptance of everyone.
no subject
Date: 2006-09-21 08:10 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-09-21 10:34 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-09-21 10:48 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-09-21 11:16 pm (UTC)Tuck it away someplace - I might just call it in at some point. I've read tons of stories already - as different as stars in the sky.
no subject
Date: 2006-09-22 05:13 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-09-22 02:46 pm (UTC)Your Mere is lucky in the extreme to 1) have a sib, and 2) have found that sib so young. It really does help to have parents who are supportive of this kind of relationship - it shows that yes, you love your kid - but more than that, you respect her. Kudos to you!
no subject
Date: 2006-09-23 01:24 am (UTC)