We had several different kinds of Chinese food for the main course (egg rolls, sweet and sour chicken, sesame orange chicken, General Tso's chicken, and chicken fried rice...as well as these things called "chicken cakes" that I picked up from the Asian Market this week - which was kind of ironic because these "chicken cakes" had not one bit of chicken in them, but were very good nonetheless). Then for dessert, we tried several different kinds of treats that I also picked up from the Asian Market (mung bean cakes, mochi balls, snow pies, sweet honey cakes, cashew nut and walnut crunch cookies). I have been shopping at a few different stores over the last two weeks and have tried a lot of different stuff. I finally narrowed the list to several food items that I thought everyone might like but I still stuck in a few items that were very unique to Asian culture (and definitely not typical American fare). Overall, I think everyone got a kick out of experimenting with them too. It has been really fun to try new things and understand more about her heritage. I have felt like a "fish out of water" since I don't understand much yet, but it has been a really great experience and I look forward to many more. We put sparklers in these little moon cakes (which are traditionally eaten on occasions such as Chinese New Year), and that was our "birthday cake" this year for Mali.
Also, for a little atmosphere, I had put these things called joss sticks in sand in a big pot on the front porch. They are pretty much like big incense sticks and from what I understand so far, they are typically burned in front of Buddhist temples as a purifying ritual before entering. I thought this would be neat for everyone to experience as they entered. I hope I wasn't offensive by doing this...I'm just trying to learn and try out various things so that I (and Mali's whole American family) can begin to understand more. After dinner at the bonfire, we burned "money" (fake $5000 bills from the Asian Market), as this is also another cultural ritual that is done for ancestors who have passed away. It is used as a symbol to send money with their loved ones in their afterlife. I like this and think it's a beautiful way to remember those who have gone before us.
And of course, we all spent time remembering Mali's birth mother as we sat around the bonfire. Without her, none of this could be possible. I cannot imagine how difficult it must have been to place Mali in that box and say goodbye to her, hoping that she was doing the right thing for her daughter, because she loved her so much. For myself, I choose to believe that Mali's mom must be a very strong woman to have been able to make this ultimate sacrifice. I will forever be grateful to her for that. I'm sure not a single March 6th will go by when her mother won't look up at the stars and say a prayer that her daughter is healthy, happy, and loved. And I will send a prayer back to her, hoping that she knows that Shawn and I will do our best every day to make sure her prayers are answered.
Now, here are some of the various pictures from last night...I hope you enjoy them as much as we enjoyed making these memories :)
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