[mary594]

I don't know if I am just a magnet to people or probably more likely Juliet is but I am always amazed at the amount of attention she gets and the wacked out things people day.

Yesterday we were at Costco standing in line for a prescription, the guy behind me say " your daughter is so happy" I replied yes she is, then he said he was aware of these things because he was a "special ed teacher" So now I am pondering this sentence wondering if he thinks Juliet is a special needs child. I guess he must have thought about what he said because then he said, there is nothing wrong with your daughter she seems very smart, plus you can tell looking at her eyes that she is fine. he continues on telling me that you can tell if children have problems by looking at their eyes. Again he said nothing wrong with her. Ok now this is were are should have shut my mouth and not say anything else, but of course I didn't. I made mention that I wished her speech was better. He then said "Well children usually talk later when english in not their first language" Ok, now I didn't say she was adopted. but I just excepted it and said well English is her first language because we got her home at 4 months old. Then he continues on about her, finally I said to him, where exactly do you think she is from. He said Korea of course!!! I said really most people think she is Philipino, he said absolutely not, she has a round face everything, how can people get that wrong, she is very obviously Korean. My response was "well guess what you're wrong, She is Guatemalan" Then I continued on that she was Mayan Indian, to which her replied there is no way she is Mayan, I work with Mayan Indians at the school and they are all vey small people and have different looks, she is not Mayan, she is very much Asian looking. To which I said, well you are wrong she is Mayan. Then fortunatley I was next went up got my prescription and as I was leaving Juliet is blowing kisses and waving.

UGH!!!!!!!!! why do I get all the people. Come on all you forum members you must get approached like this. I was telling my mother and she said Gosh it always happens so you. I think I am just a magnet to these people.

Mary

[Mariais5]

Don't worry, you're not alone! I was not prepared for how people would automatically feel drawn to Bryce. I know she's beautiful, but you'd think people had never seen a cute baby before. EVERY time I go to a store people approach me saying ~ She's beautiful. She looks just like a doll. Can I have her? DUH, NO!


Our most off the wall comment just happened last night at a restaurant. We were waiting for our table on the benches by the hostess stand. I was sitting beside my husband, and our 19 yr old son was sitting across from us holding Bryce. A couple of men walk in and notice that I'm playing peek a boo with Bryce. They say how beautiful she is and ask how old she is etc... One says, she has an Asian look to her. I said, no, she's from Guatemala. He says, OH?! She's adopted??! I said Yes. He says, You'd never know. You both have dark hair. He's saying this as he's looking at me and my SON! My husband says, I'm the Dad!! (dh is a strawberry blonde) The man apologizes and gets called to his table. Of course, we think it's hilarious that he thought Eric was my husband. Eric, on the other hand, kept muttering all evening ~ That's not right. That's just not right....

[mary594]

Marcy that is really funny. I can picture how grossed out a 19 year old would get.

Mary

[Maggie Beth]

LOL! Don't you love it when people know more about your own child than you do?

You could have said, "Oh, that country we went to -- it SEEMED like Guatemala, but I'm sure you are right, it must have been Korea!" Sheesh.

It's hard to always keep your sense of humor!

[brink]

I know this has been discussed before. There is definitely Asian influence in Guatemala, so who knows exactly what heritage is in our children's background...as it is with any of us. We may know we are Norwegian or Danish, etc...but who knows what all was mixed in there with some of the ancestory? One of our sons looked very Asian in his referral photo when he was 4yrs old. Our other son and daughter do have more of a Mayan look.

All of these children are so beautiful, I'm not surprised your daughter was noticed. I'm sure most of us have gotten those great comments about our child's good looks. Every one of the kids on these forums is adorable!

In regards to the happiness these kids show...I read an article that stated some statistics about who the happiest people in the world are. Of the people polled, Guatemalans were found to be some of the happiest. Though nearly 90% of Guatemalans live below the poverty level, some 80% say they are happy. If that doesn't show us money doesn't buy happiness, what does? I thought it explained why the kids we've met through Guatemalan adoption are all such happy kids. Your daughter is showing the same characteristics. They are such a blessing to all of us!

[Kesti]

People always think that my youngest is from Korea. Although her birthmom did not state that she has any Asian in her we believe that she does due to her looks. In the book on Guat. that I have posted about prev. it speaks of the number of Chinese who migrated to Guatemala so I suspect she has Chinese in her vs. Korean but due to her round face and huge eyes she does look more Korean than Chinese so yes I get these comments too.

[Kesti]

About people in Guatemala being friendly, happy, etc. I can vouch for that. When we went out and about in Guatemala we received a warm welcome wherever we went and we do not even speak Spanish. There are countries that do not like Americans and do not like it when you do not speak their language but Guatemala is a friendly place in my opinion as far as the regular population is concerned (not speaking of police, politicians, etc.)

Originally Posted by brink

I know this has been discussed before. There is definitely Asian influence in Guatemala, so who knows exactly what heritage is in our children's background...as it is with any of us. We may know we are Norwegian or Danish, etc...but who knows what all was mixed in there with some of the ancestory? One of our sons looked very Asian in his referral photo when he was 4yrs old. Our other son and daughter do have more of a Mayan look.

All of these children are so beautiful, I'm not surprised your daughter was noticed. I'm sure most of us have gotten those great comments about our child's good looks. Every one of the kids on these forums is adorable!

In regards to the happiness these kids show...I read an article that stated some statistics about who the happiest people in the world are. Of the people polled, Guatemalans were found to be some of the happiest. Though nearly 90% of Guatemalans live below the poverty level, some 80% say they are happy. If that doesn't show us money doesn't buy happiness, what does? I thought it explained why the kids we've met through Guatemalan adoption are all such happy kids. Your daughter is showing the same characteristics. They are such a blessing to all of us!

[curlyqgyrl]

Now I've seen little Miss Juilets picture many many times, and that beautiful little girl is definetly MAYAN!! Where is this guy??? Do you want me to call him?

[mary594]

Erin I would love it, although he is a special ed teacher so he knows these things

Mary

[Mary Mulcahy]

Well, there is always one in a group, Juliet is a cutie and I would imagine she would be noticed by everyone. The problem is some folks put foot in mouth and cannot get it out.
Mary, mom to Danny and Ricco

[Kate'sMom2B]

Boy, he just wouldn't give up, would he???!!! That precious little Juliet, she is definitely a head-turner.

I get lots of comments too, usually not about her ethnicity though. They just think she's beautiful and endearing. Of course, strangers never hesitate to stare rudely for long periods, back and forth from me to my husband to my kids.

[my2guats]

I was just saying to me dh that it's so weird that we never get comments about our daughter. Whenever we are out she attracts a ton of attention too. She is always very clear about telling people I'm her mommy so they can never question that. But..just the othet day we delt with three comments all in a row. First my dh and daughter were out together and a woman was commenting on how cute she was. I guess she looked at my dh and then dd and asked "Now your wife is Hispanic, right?" I told him he just should have said yes. Then later that day we are out again and a man comes up to us out of no where and asks if she is adopted. He says the only reason he is asking is because his brother adopted from China too. I looked at him and said that's nice but our daughter was born in Guatemala. Finally, today I went back to visit my old school (I was a teacher) and one of my co-workers says the most stupid thing. Actually she said the most stupid thing right after we brought our daughter home. At 5 months old she wanted to know what language she spoke. How stupid right. Well, then this time she asks again if she is talking yet and does she speak Spanish or English. This is stupid on so many levels because my dd is standing right there speaking pretty clearly, and it's obvious that it's English. I told her that of course she speaks English. Then she says, oh I thought she would speak her natural language. I then said that English is her natural language seeing as she is being raised in an English spekaing country. She then comments that she thinks that so weird, she would have thought that she would speak Spanish too. Doesn't that make you feel so great about our education system. I can't believe that someone that dumb has a teaching degree. I just have to laugh!

[lwils89701]

I adopted two children...a little girl who is 15 months old and a little boy who is 18 months old.

I think they are both gorgeous, but just once I would like to go somewhere and not feel like we were a public exhibit.

People go out of their way to intercept us. Most seem good natured and complimentary and I believe they would be attracted to any baby. Others seem to jump right into inquisition mode....some approach respectfully and others are just plain aggresive and obnoxious.

My son likes to be the center of attention, but it distresses my daughter especially when people touch her....and people can't seem to keep their hands to themselves.

I just try to respond in like terms....respectful to those who are respectful in their approach and abruptly to those who are over aggressive.

Like your experience, I have found people will say things that just leave me shaking my head.

You might try to search for some of the previous threads on this subject....I have found a lot of great advice here on the forum!

[mary594]

I forgot to also post that a couple weeks ago we were at Juliets pediatricians office, (She had pneumonia and ear infection, all thanks to mommy putting her in daycare). Anyways the woman sitting next to me said, well obviously your daughter is half white, what is the other half? I just looked at her in disbelief then I told her Mayan Indian. The look on her face was incredible she did not know what to make of it. Fortunately the nurse came out and called us so I made a dash for it.

Mary

[smmars]

We have had mostly nice comments when we are out with Matty. It is obvious that he is adopted when my other two kiddos are along.

But, the way I feel is that it doesn't matter what others say or think. I smile and keep walking if it is something inappropriate. But, if I am in the mood (and the person is genuinely interested) I will tell them our story.