Out of the Mouths of Babes

An unexpected yet wonderfully pleasant surprise awaiting us at Ian and Alec's pre-school has been seeing quite a few transracial adoptive families just like ours. In fact, the very first day of school we were in line with a (Caucasian) dad who was dropping off his Ethiopian son. He shared that they are expecting another referral from Ethiopia any day, and they are also fostering a teenager from Ghana! In Chile we so rarely encounter other families like ours, that this has been a special treat. 

The cultural diversity in school has also led to a couple of amusing conversations! On Friday morning as I walked the boys into school, another mom caught me and asked if they were twins. She explained that her daughter was in their class this year, and that last year her daughter had been in class with a little black boy named Matthew. When she saw Ian and Alec and another African-American classmate, she went home and reported to her mother that there were three boys who looked like Matthew in her class. Her mother asked, "How do they look like Matthew?" To which the little girl matter-of-factly replied, "They have the same HAIRCUT!" How cute is that?!

Another funny conversation took place around our lunch table. Kendra, Ian and Alec were excitedly telling Owen that they had an "Owen" in their class. Owen's first question was, "What color is he?" Kendra looked slightly puzzled but immediately (and to her mind, logically) answered, "Skin!"

Truly, out of the mouths of babes. If only everyone in this world saw life through the same simple glasses!