3.26.2012

Trader Joes--a hotbed of Korean adoption action

Trader Joe's seems to be a hotbed of Korean adoption action for us lately.

Maybe it's the kimchi fried rice in the freezer section? (BTW--the kimchi fried rice is excellent and very spicy. We love it fried up with scrambled eggs.) Or could it be the fresh kimchi in the refrigerated section? (We have this in our fridge now but haven't taste tested it.) And LM and I LOVE the roasted seaweed.

It's fun to see so many Korean foods making their way into mainstream stores.

So, back to the Korean adoption part....

A few weekends ago we were shopping with Little Man in tow, when a woman ran up and said "my daughter was adopted from China and my son is from South Korea. Is your son from one of those places?" Awesome! We chatted quickly and found that their son is about a month older than ours and he came home a week before us! And, we both used the exact same two agencies. Weird.

So, in the midst of the produce area we exchanged numbers. We managed to catch up for dessert a few days later and I can't tell you how much fun it was. We'll be getting the boys and the rest of the family members together again soon. Yay!

Flash forward to last week's shopping trip. Again, in the produce area (?!) a lovely woman stopped to chat with me. She has a daughter in tow, a few months younger than Little Man. She asked if my husband was Asian and then gently asked if Owen was adopted. When I said yes, he was born in South Korea, she shared that she too was adopted from South Korea and she and her husband were working on an adoption as well. They had passed their home study and were waiting for a referral when she got pregnant, so their adoption is currently on hold. They are waiting to begin the process again.

So we exchanged info as well.

Again, I am reminded how adoption has opened up our world in so many wonderful ways! Can't wait to see what happens this week at Trader Joe's.

3 comments:

  1. That's fantastic! Seattle is full of Asian/Caucasian couples/families and most people keep to themselves about race and adoption - so I haven't spontaneously met any other adoptive families like mine. It's nice to be left alone and not called out for being different, but it would also be pretty cool to make that connection. Trader Joes is a madhouse, but THEY HAVE KIMCHI FRIED RICE???!! I may have to brave the crowds and check it out.

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  2. Sarah, that's a really nice thing about Seattle (Asian/Caucasian couples). Here in the midwest, we stand out a bit more. When I'm alone with our son, I generally don't get as many questions as when the three of us are all together and it's more obvious that we are an adoptive family. Evidently the Trader Joe's madhouse feature is common everywhere...I try to shop around noon on Mondays (my day off) so it's not so crazy! But the fried rice is worth braving the crowds. :)

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  3. Oh wow
    Small world and you never know the connections God will make in your life!
    I'm always the personality to talk to strangers in stores - ;)

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