Tag Archives: Family

A Conversation About Race and Adoption with Kevin Hofmann

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Last night I had the pleasure of interviewing Kevin Hofmann about his experiences growing up in a multicultural household. We talked about race, identity, and cultural expectations. It was a great discussion and we really hope you enjoy it as well.

Don’t see the video?

I’m working hard to makes great interviews with interesting people involved with our story. Please let me know what you thought of the interview in the comments, or by emailing dewittn@anasmiracle.com.

By the way, this our 100th post! I don’t know how significant that is, if at all, but either way it’s a milestone. 🙂

Start of Something New: Making a Documentary

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Sharing Our Story

In 2007 I started this blog with my sister as a way to record our thoughts and help my mother with her book. Over the past three years we’ve posted almost 100 times and talked about everything from adoption to identity. As well as being therapeutic, it’s been a lot of fun.

One of the best parts about sharing our story has been meeting and reconnecting with people who were touched by our words. I’ve heard from people I’ve never met, thanking us for writing about our experiences. I’ve also been reconnected with people from my past.

Reconnecting

One of those people who reached out to reconnect was John Younger. John was my counselor at summer camp in 1990. He still remembers when my little brother Derek came to visit. He says it was striking to see how close Derek and I were despite being so different on the outside. That image has stayed with him for all these years.

John was so moved from reading the blog that he offered to help us tell the story. I have been working with him to improve my writing. He also helped with the lighting and testing the setup for the interview I did with my parents. Over the past few weeks we have been talking seriously about creating a documentary related to some aspect of the story.

Making a Documentary

While I’ve done photography for years, I’ve never made a documentary. John has been explaining the ins and outs of the business. We have been talking about everything from a story line, to equipment, to how we are going to finance it. It has been very interesting and I am learning a lot.

There is still a lot of work to do. We need to figure out what exactly it is going to be about, how we are going to shoot it, and how to finance it. As we work out all the details we will be bring you along for the ride.

Doing Something Different

One of the things we really want to do with this project is include all of you. As this project develops I will be updating this blog about its progress. I’ll be sharing just about all of our ideas and decisions as we make them. This will create a type of production journal that people will be able to follow. Maybe one day it will even become a blueprint that other people can use.

Part of the documentary is going to be a series of interviews with different family members. Just like the interview with my parents, we will be broadcasting over the web so all of you can participate. The idea is not only to share everything, but to allow others to be a part of it. If you have any ideas or suggestions for the project we would love to hear them. This is a new journey and we are very excited to see where it takes us!

How An American Learned to Love the World Cup

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Watching the World Cup brings back so many memories of visiting my family and being exposed to new cultures. I was in Central America for the ’98 and ’02 tournaments. Growing up as an American we knew about the World Cup, but experiencing it was something completely different.

In 1998, I was in Panama and every business that you walked into had a game on. The broadcasters were so energetic and would scream GOAL until they ran out of breath, and then do it again. I remember watching the days replays and being blown away with the incredible goals that were scored.

I returned home before the end of the tournament and was shocked to find that the American stations were not showing the games. Thankfully the finals were broadcast, but even then the atmosphere was completely different. I was at Lacrosse camp and watched with all the other American teenagers attending. I felt like we were watching it just because it was the World Cup, not because we loved the game. It would take another four years before I learned how to really watch a soccer game .

In 2002, I was in Costa Rica and they had made it into the World Cup. It seemed like the entire country had World Cup fever. On every conner, street vendors had carts stuffed full of Costa Rican flags, shirts, hats, wrist bands, whistles, horns, and anything else they could print the flag on. That year the Costa Ricans were facing the extremely dangerous Brazil. My sister invited a couple of friends over to watch the game.

The “Ticos” where not favored to win, but you couldn’t tell that from the way they cheered. Every time the ball was on the Brazilian side they screamed at the TV, trying to will the ball into the goal. Brazil went up 3-0 and things didn’t look good. Then out of no where Costa Rica scored two. The country went crazy. You could hear everyone cheering, cars honking in the street and fireworks in the distance. They ended up being eliminated, but seeing how they got so into the game left a lasting impression on me.

Today I have a new appreciation and love for the game. I admire the skill and artistry the world’s best players bring to this tournament. I love the way each country gets so into it. I wish that Americans could experience the game the same way I did. We would be great fans. If we brought the same passion and intensity that we have for American Football to Soccer, we would go far.

Video From My Interview With My Parents About My Adoption: Enjoy!

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On Sunday I interviewed my parents about what they went through to adopt me. They shared how they were just beginning the adoption process when a mysterious phone call changed their lives forever.

Please feel free to leave questions or comments. We have already received a few and we will do our best to answer all of them!

Join Our Journey

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Its been quiet on the blog recently, but there has been a lot going on behind the scenes. We are making progress with the book. I can’t say anything right now, but we may have some major announcements in the coming months.

As we move closer to publication, we invite you to be part of our journey by joining our monthly newsletter. Every month we will be sharing our thoughts and experiences about our story as well as updating you about news, special events and the book.

Thank you so much for all of your support. It means a lot to us. If you have any questions or problems feel free to email Nelson/Roberto at: dewittn@anasmiracle.com

Embracing Ana, monthly email from us to you.
* We can’t email you without this!

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Our Family Celebrates 12 Years Since We Were Reunited

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If you are unable to see the video click here.

Yesterday, 12 years ago our family was reunited for the first time. It was an incredible experience and to celebrate we did an online video and chat. It was a lot of fun and it was great to hear everyone share their experiences.

For those of you who could not stay for the entire show, or were unable to join us, we recorded the whole thing. It is about 2 hours long but I bookmarked each section to make it easier for people to watch in parts.

We would love to hear your thoughts and feedback because we are thinking about doing it again.

Live Chat Celebrating 12 Years

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12 Years and Counting!

This Sunday, December 20th it will be 12 years since our family was reunited. To celebrate we are inviting you to join us in a live video chat from Panama. Starting at 6:30pm we will be answering any questions you might have about the story or our experiences. This is a chance for you to meet some of the “characters” from my mother’s upcoming book.

Join us:

You can join the conversation by going to http://www.anasmiracle.com/the-story/live or on our Facebook Page. You can RSVP here. Hope to see you there!

Approaching Your Adoptive Parents About the Search

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If you can’t see the video above click here.

I’ve been asked this question a lot recently: “How do I talk to my adoptive parents about looking for my birth parents?”

Obviously this is a sensitive subject and I do my best to give advice based on my experiences. Keep in mind, I never had this talk with my parents. Even though I wasn’t proactive about this, at the time there are things I did that really helped.

1) Treat them the same –  This is probably the easiest thing to do and the most imporant. I think that adoptive parents’ biggest fear is that they are going to lose you; that by finding your birth family, you are going to stop being part of their lives. Everyone who has asked me this question was really aware of this and didn’t want to hurt their adoptive parents. I think by doing the same things as you always do with your adoptive parents they can get over their fear and realize you aren’t going anywhere.

2) Include them – Some parents are more open about this than others, but the more they are a part of the search the easier it might be to deal with. I think a big part of my family getting over its fears was that they went with me and met this new family. As time went on, my adoptive parents got to know them more and it was a lot easier for them.

I also wanted to say something to the adoptive parents out there.

Try to understand this is not about you as parents. You are so important to your adopted child and they don’t want to hurt you. As an adoptee, looking for your birth parents is part of figuring out who you are as a person. I think it’s human nature to resolve unanswered questions, such as where did I come from?

Good luck with your search and if there is anything I can do, or if you have other questions, please feel free to contact me. dewittn@anasmiracle.com

Finding My Family and Finding My Calling

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Next Wednesday October 14th at 12pm I will be speaking at my college, Wentworth Institute of Technology, about my adoption story. I am planning to talk about how finding my family as well as my experiences at Wentworth led me to become an entrepreneur who is passionate about social change. The talk is being put on by MSA and SHPE and will be open to all.

If you are unable to attend the event in person I will be broadcasting live over the internet at this address:

http://www.anasmiracle.com/the-story/live

I realize that this is during the middle of the day and many people may not be able to attend. If you can’t make the event I’ll be recording it and posting it later.

Here is a link to the event on facebook.

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=168242060232&index=1

I’m really excited about this and it should be a great event.

In Adoption and Life, You Are Not Alone

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Saturday Night’s Dinner

Those of you who been following the Facebook page know that this past Saturday I had a dinner with other Salvadoran adoptees. It was a great event. I met some new people and reconnected with some old friends. I thought about the weekend, and some of the themes that were talked about during the dinner. I decided to make this video as a way to recap the weekend.

You Are Not Alone

One of the themes that came up during the dinner was the idea of being alone. Not because we didn’t have great families and friends to lean on, but the uniqueness of our experiences made it hard for people to relate our feelings. I know that when I first heard of someone else being reunited with their family it meant a lot to me. I felt like there was finally someone who really understood what I had gone through. I had the feeling that some of the others felt that this weekend too.

If there was one take away from this weekend, it’s that you are not alone. No matter what you have gone through or are going through there are people out there who have gone through similar situations. While they may not understand completely, talking to them can help you deal with the issues at hand.

I was asked a couple times how I was able to be so open about everything that happened. I think that a big part had to do with the fact that I talked to others about what I was going through. Although they didn’t always understand, sometimes they said something that made me stop, think and eventually feel better. So if you are feeling alone try to find someone who has gone through something similar. You never know what might happen.

More to Come

Thank you everyone that has been leaving comments on the Facebook page. I put up an interview with one of the co-producers of a documentary about the effects of the war 17 years later. It’s going to be a great film, so check out the video to find out more. If you haven’t joined the page then you should join, and if you aren’t on Facebook then now is your chance. I’m also planning some more interviews so check back soon.