[ripples]

Hi Sheba,
Good for you for continuing your efforts to connect your daughter to her birth country's culture. I anticipate that it'll really be time and effort well spent - even if your daughter rebells like I did.

As much as I rebelled against my parents' interest in Chinese culture (i.e. protesting that I felt they were trying to pressure me into being 'Chinese'), still, in the long run, their interest and knowledge really helped me integrate both my Chinese and Caucasian identities. My knowledge of Chinese culture and the language also helped lessen the emotional trauma and confusion I experienced when I returned to Taiwan later in life.

And knowing that my parents knew a lot (even more than me, since they're China scholars) about my birth culture helped me feel that they could understand more about me, my birth roots as well as the personal impact of my trip to Taiwan. I think I'd feel somewhat 'cut off' from my parents if they had no interest or knowledge of my birth culture.

I have heard from some other transracial adoptees that their disconnect from their birth culture contributed to their feelings that somehow their birth culture was 'bad' and 'scary'.

I forgot to mention that another book that was widely circulated at the International Adoptive Families of Queensland (Australia) annual gathering was the book, "The Colour of Difference". It includes perspectives from 27 transracial adoptees in Australia. Here's an excerpt from the intro by the publishers of the book:

"The writing of The Colour of Difference has been about discovery and openness and not about blame. The adoptees who gave their stories to us so generously and honestly, with all their various experiences of adoption, wanted the book to be a positive and true reflection of their lives in Australia. Some of them, as you will read, had experienced unkindness or abuse in their adoptive families. The majority had been treated with love and real efforts had been made to incorporate them and their culture into the adoptive family. The participants, as a group, said that they were 'just trying to be honest' in writing their stories, not trying to blame their adoptive families, who were generally perceived to be 'doing their best'. ...
The participants of this book are keenly aware of how their lives might have been. They bear the burden of gratefulness, often to parents who would be appalled to think that their children feel such an emotion."

All the best to you and your daughter!

Regards,
Ripples