Summer 夏天 (xia tien)

Summer is especially brutal in Texas. My hubby and I began a late gardening project and we really enjoyed seeing new baby plants germinating everyday. I have to say, the feeling of accomplishment from gardening is really awesome! Somehow the whole thing was started by Mat and I ended up being the person who waters  the plant everyday. Sounds familiar?

We are currently trying to grow tomatoes, summer squash, arugula and green beans. Wish us luck!

Hectic May

Somehow the word has got out and we have been receiving quite a few translation requests from parents who adopted children from the same cities, the two places mentioned the most are Qichun & Baotou city. It's good that more and more parents are aware of our service and are seeking help. We are always happy to help new parents however I know this has also affected the turnaround time of our work. So I really appreciate your patience in this.

Thank you for supporting us and keep the letter coming!

Benefits of the Doubt

Sometimes I wonder how good of a work can a professional translation company offer besides a pretentious notary stamp.

I recently had to hire translation service to translate some documents for me and my husband for immigration procedures. I was quoted $190 to translate 2 birth certificates and when I received the work, the place of birth and date of birth were translated wrong (these are probably the most important parts of the document) and I had to proof read for them. So much for paying $190.

It makes me wonder how accurate can the translation be when you are sending documents that you have no clue about to the so-called professionals. Parents, if you ever have doubts please do contact us. There is no harm of writing to us at no cost to you.

Peace.

祝大家新年快乐，龙年好运！

It's a new year and it's the year of dragon. As usual, I no longer truly celebrate Chinese New Year since I'm far from my family but I long to see them again and enjoy the reunion and laughter together.

To carry on the tradition, I will probably do a small 捞生dinner in my own home and enjoy the good eats with a few close friends. I also want to continue the tradition of 红包for the kids of my close friends because the fondest memory I had as a kid during Chinese New Year was to receive more pocket money.

I wish you and your family would start the tradition by wearing new clothes, red preferably, and visit China Town and watch lion dance with your children. Happy Chinese New Year to you all!

Welcome Tina! Expansion of language!

We got a new volunteer! Tina is a great friend of mine who just discovered my work last week and has decided to lend her hand to help out. Despite the fact that I translate for free, I don't really get a lot of requests all the time but it is always great to share the joy of helping the adopting parents. I am grateful to have Tina to help.

Also, I would also like to let you know that we will now accept French (European or Canadian French) and Spanish documents if you need help translating to Chinese as well! Please spread the word.

Hello Autumn

Part of me is sad that Summer is gone and part of me is rather glad to welcome to cooling fall weather. This is probably the most gruesome summer I had ever been through in Austin. In August, it reached as high as 110F (44C), it was unbelievably hot and I am glad I survived. Anyway, coming home from vacation with 10 bags of dried leaves aren't exactly exciting either. But hey! It is still better than being in 111F degrees.

Hope you parents are enjoying the summer too. Did you make a trip to China? Did you go hiking in Italy? Would love to see some photos from y'all.

Take care!

Xinran 薛欣然

Dear parents,
I received a gift from an adopting mother from Netherlands not long ago. It was a book called "Message from an Unknown Chinese Mother" by Xinran. It is an eye opening story about adoption in China. Having been translating letters for many of you made me intrigued about the adoption process in China. As someone who are not deeply involved in the process, I noticed that many official reports from the local authority are close to 95% identical. From the abandoned infant report to orphan development report. The book shows  a dark side of what happened behind the closed door of China one-child policy, the price to pay for cultural revolution and rapid economy development. It has once again confirmed a shameful side of Chinese culture where females were suppressed for thousands of years.

Check out this book if you are interested about the adoption history and process in China.