Jiangxi, China --> New York City
Originally published on Jan. 11.
Hey everyone, I’m Isabelle (福艺娜 Fú yì nà), and I was adopted when I was 10 months old from Jiangxi, China. I grew up in New York City with three sisters (two are also adopted, and one is my mom's biological child). I grew up attending a dual language school to learn Mandarin, which I hated. I didn’t want to learn Chinese and felt different from all of my peers. The expectation of me knowing Chinese just because of what I looked like, was a slap in the face, since I saw myself as an American girl.
"I am grateful for my extensive journey in learning my native tongue and learning to accept my Asian identity."
I ended up studying Chinese in college, double majoring in anthropology and Chinese. I was able to study abroad in China for a year: studying at Nanjing University for the first semester and interning at a photography studio in Shanghai for the second semester. I would say I’m pretty fluent now, but I am a little rusty since I haven’t been practicing much since moving back to the states. I am grateful for my extensive journey in learning my native tongue and learning to accept my Asian identity.
Last year I lived in South Korea teaching English, which was an interesting experience. I’m currently in graduate school for school counseling and am excited to see what else life has in store for me.
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[Description: Light gray background with a string of three square photos. The first photo is Isabelle on a rooftop with a sunset behind her. The second is of her looking up at the camera and the third is her in front of a white wall. Large, cursive text says "Isabelle."]
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