Heritage Camp
Years ago when my child was six or seven a fellow adoptive parent mentioned their deep connection to Latin American Heritage Camp. I have to admit my first internal response was, 'wow that sounds so contrived'. How on earth could a camp provide our children of international adoption with anything even close to authentic cultural ties to their birth countries and customs? Do folks really think eating foods from Central America, or Africa are going to actually create a link for these kids to their countries?
Well I'm here to tell you eight years later how very very wrong my initial response was. Being a seeker of new experiences I decided to give Latin America Heritage Camp a try (most likely because I adored my friend, and her children were also from Guatemala so I thought being at any camp together with them could be fun). What a rich, deep, life changing four days my child and I experienced. Not only did my child relax in a way I'd never seen before because around us were families that looked just like ours, and children that did not need to explain their family make up, or the inner terrain of what it's like to be a trans-racially adopted person, but it was also just plain FUN!
Heritage Camp provided us with family friends we have stayed connected with for years. The support and friendships that came with being able to share what is amazing about being a family of adoption as well as the very unique struggles that entails is a gift I've experienced in no other place. The children sit in circles according to age and speak about their experiences. Adult adoptees, and counselors who are also adopted and many of whom attended camp years before (LAHC celebrated its 21st year this year), provide mentorship, understanding, and the very important gift of play and fun for our children through games, art, music, dance and sports. The adult workshops throughout the four day weekend are not only informative but so very important. Over the years I have attended workshops with adult adoptee panels, and topics related to birth family searches, race and social justice, education and our children with special needs, the adoptive child's brain and the impact adoption has for our children, and of course cooking, dance, art, and an opportunity to just sit with fellow adoptive parents who long to share with others what it is often so difficult to do with folks who are not adoptive families.
I hope if you are a family of adoption with an internationally adopted, or domestically adopted with ethnic roots from another country you will check out the Heritage Camps. And oh, did I mention - spending four days in the rocky mountains of Colorado at the YMCA horse back riding, tubing down a sleek snowlike hill, zip lining, canoeing, and jogging to the waterfalls is the side benefit of going to Latin American Heritage Camp? My 27 year old bio son decided to join us for the first time three years ago. I think it's safe to say he too considers himself a part of the LAHC family!
This year I brought Sliding Into Home to camp and had the opportunity to sit in circle with adoptive parents to discuss topics like race, trans-racial adoption, raising children of color in non-diverse settings, and how we can better listen to our children and offer a space for them to share the sometimes difficult, painful aspects of being trans-racially adopted without trying to take away their pain. These discussions were rich, and educational. My dream for Sliding Into Home was that it would open dialogue, and let children readers know that they are not alone in their struggles, and that the dark and sometimes frightening emotions that come up for them are normal and ok. That dream is coming true. I am hoping to sit in many, many more circles with adoptive parents, and children, as well as people of color, and families of divorce to share, discuss and learn about life from perspectives other than my own. Please let me know if you would like to sit in circle with me, and have friends and family who might like to do the same!
We are in very tumultuous times right now. I hope that by reaching out with Sliding Into Home, and by opening dialogue we can change the hurt that comes from ignorance, fear and disconnection through connecting and listening. Help be a part of that change and sit down with someone you know nothing about - a person of another culture, ethnic heritage, or race. Your life may be made more rich, and your heart will grow.