I'm rooting for you, Steve Jobs

A day after the CEO of Apple, Steve Jobs, launched the new and apparently sexy and upgraded iPhone 4, I would like to bring to your attention an inspiring speech he made in June 2005, at Stanford University. I saw and heard his speech recently online through the website Ted.com. This is the link. You should definitely have a look.  http://www.ted.com/talks/steve_jobs_how_to_live_before_you_die.html

The speech is amazing because Steve Jobs is, obviously, a very special person. But it is also a special speech for me, because Steve Jobs was adopted as a baby. I didn't know that until I heard his speech.

So Mr Jobs. Thank you for your Apple Macs and your iPhones. And thank you for being a person adopted children and their families can look to for inspiration and hope. I hope for you what I hope for my adopted little girl, MG. That you managed to keep your back upright when the adoption bag tried to pull you down. And that along with your success you are also a happy person.

Picture caption: Apple CEO Steve Jobs holding the iPhone 4 at Worldwide Developers Conference 2010.
Picture credit: Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Steve_Jobs_Headshot_2010-CROP.jpg

"A Brand New Life" - a heart-breaking South Korean movie about adoption

  

You come out of the movie “A Brand New Life” by French-Korean film maker Ounie Lecomte with the same feeling you get after you’ve read a great book – a haunting bitter-sweet warmth that stays with you for days.

This 2009 autobiographical movie, debuting in Tel Aviv this week, is about nine-year old Jinhee. The first scene depicts her sitting on a bike hugging her father’s back, going on a trip. We don’t get to see the father’s face. He rides her to a cake store, tells her to pick the best cake on sale, and then bikes to an orphanage run by Catholic nuns. He leaves Jinhee there, without an explanation and without a goodbye.

All-of-a-kind families

We spent the weekend on Lake Kinneret (Sea of Galilee), at a wonderful site called Karei Deshe- a youth hostel right at the steps of the lake with lush gardens and a wide common outdoor area where you can sit around and chat.

MM (MyMan), MG (MyGirl) and I went for the weekend. MB(MyBoy) stayed in Tel Aviv. He had a friend's overnight birthday party and was planning to come home on Saturday and recover some lost hours of sleep.

The reason for our trip was our twice yearly meeting with parents who have adopted children of Ethiopian origin. The group was formed some 20 years ago, with the first adopted children. Today the mailing list of the group numbers around 73 families. Not everyone comes to these meetings of course,  but there are always a significant representative number and the meetings are always fun. We generally have a Friday night meal at the hotel/hostel we are staying in and on Saturday we have a joint picnic. Each family brings something from home. We put it all together and have a feast.

A small victory in a big war

This is going to be a long post, so you'll have to bear with me.

My ten-year old daughter, MG, has started attending an Israeli folk-dancing class. She goes to it dressed in a black leotard and tights, with her shoulder-length curly hair gelled down tightly into a ponytail, black clips holding down any rebel curls. They do folkdancing steps, often in couples, clapping hands, swirling around and loudly yelling:"HEY HOP" . It looks like real fun indeed.

She used to love the class. She'd come back skipping, and singing and dancing the steps. A big smile on her happy face.

But she also happened to mention that most of the girls in her dancing class had received the "best dancer of the week" title the teacher conferred to the students. But not her. So I told her: "Don't worry. Just do your best. I am sure you will also get the recognition sometime."

My favorite colour is Brown

Yes it is.

My favorite colour is brown.

And yes, I am used to the big eyes and surprised looks I get from people, especially children, when they hear that brown is my favorite colour of all. When that happens, I say: "Why are you surprised? Brown is the lovely colour of earth, of tree trunks and of delicious chocolate." And then, when appropriate, I add: "Brown is also the beautiful colour of your hair and eyes." That is when understanding a recognition appear in their eyes. Brown is indeed a beautiful, even if a somewhat undervalued and forgotten, colour.