In the Public Eye

The attention we get here by having Gwen in our family is amazing. People are not the least bit discreet about their surprise at seeing an Asian child in a Caucasian family. They point, they stare, they look from Gwen to me and back again, they discuss (in Chinese of course, so really I don't know what they are saying, but the looks on their faces tell it all), and today one took a picture of us before I realized what was happening, as we stood in the mall trying to get our bearings. It's really quite remarkable. I try not to be offended... after all, wouldn't you look twice if you saw an Asian or an Arab family with a little blonde daughter?

Madelyn and Seth both had strangers in the mall come up to them today when we were shopping and touch their hair. This seems a little strange to me, because it's not like we're the only European faces in Shanghai... there are many others. But on the whole, if you look around like I did in the mall today, it's pretty much a sea of black hair and almond eyes. Perhaps most of the population doesn't have any contact with sandy blonde hair up close. We do kind of stand out.

Gwen is oblivious to all this at this point in her life. In fact, the last couple of days when she has seen an Asian baby or toddler, she has said, "That looks like Kate." Kate is one of her China sisters. This cracks me up! Of course she and Kate share their Asian features... but Gwen hasn't yet realized that these other Asian children perhaps look a little like her.