A Record of SACAS Events in 2006
|
A Record of SACAS Events in 2006 |
|
December 2006 - A Personal Reflection on the Year of the Dog
10
December 2006 - The SACAS Christmas Picnic
27 November 2006 - China Information Night SACAS and AFIS held a very well attended China Information Night at Enterprise House. Whilst the regular expert presenters were sidelined through illness and circumstance the show went on with 3 new presenters. The Chinese have an ancient saying that "to know the road ahead you must ask those who are coming back". And that is essentially the premise of these information sessions. Parents who have returned from China discuss their experiences and those of other people they know. As was emphasized during the evening - everyone will have a different adoption experience. This can be frustrating for those who are just looking for a straight answer. However it is also beautiful as your own adoption journey will be truly unique. SACAS urge you to speak to as many people as possible to gain a diverse range of opinions. This website itself is the result of research compiled through the personal experiences of many SACAS Members. It's a good place to start, but nothing can beat talking to people who have come back from the journey you are now taking. So network; join SACAS; come to events; register for the Host Family Scheme; and even chat on the newsgroups. It all helps to increase your awareness of China, the process and adoption issues!
23
November - Upcoming
Event on 3 December 2006 Multicultural Festival 2006
13
November 2006 - Mandarin Classes End
11 November 2006 - Quiz Night The first SACAS Quiz Night was held on Saturday evening and provided members with an opportunity to learn about China in a fun and interactive way. Topics ranged from the traditional "history-politics-geography" to the amusing "newspaper headlines" and "musical challenge". Table 4 took out the winners prize and waiving cat trophy, but Table 5 were close on their heels all night. With the exception on one person, who had been to Shanghai for a short holiday, both tables were comprised of people who had not yet visited China! A very impressive effort. Of course even the loosing table took out a prize, although a wooden spoon just didn't seem appropriate and so instead they were awarded a giant pair of wooden chopsticks!
Children of members were entertained by Kara, Frances, Kerry and Sarah and we thank them all for performing this critical role. However the children also played an important part in the proceedings. Apart from popping in to amuse and delight us throughout the night they also judged the art work of the adults. This artwork is illustrated below. We hope that you left the Quiz Night with just a little more knowledge of China. But as with all SACAS events we mainly hope that you had fun!
27
October 2006 - Hong Fen Movie Review
7 October 2006 - Asian Moon Festival A Success! An Aussie Sausage Sizzle and Chinese Moon Cakes. Now that's fusion cuisine at its finest! But the fusion of cultures didn't stop there. With families representing the adoption programs of China, Hong Kong, Philippines, South Korea, Taiwan and Thailand the night was a fusion of many different cultures. In addition the event attracted friends from East Meets West, the Taiwanese and Chinese Communities and it was great to see them in attendance. The theme for this years event was the ancient Chinese Quote that states "When the Moon is Full, Mankind is One". We hope that this event served to bring the inter-country adoption community in South Australia a little closer together. We also hope that it will inspire future cooperation and collaboration between our diverse groups. We would like to take this opportunity to thank those who assisted with the significant preparation and clean up required for this event. A big thank you also to Chris and Kelly of Springfield Butchers for kindly providing the sausages and assisting members of the SACAS Board in cooking the BBQ. Every community requires the generosity of its members to succeed and we are very fortunate to have such wonderful people within our membership. Happy Zhong Qiu Jie!
During
the opening night of the Dancing Hybridity exhibition SACAS President Mark
Stewart noted to Dr Barbara Kameniar that "if a picture speaks a thousand
words then thirty thousand words have been spoken here tonight."
Every one of those words was a celebration of Chinese-Australian Adoptions and
an exploration of the many ways in which these families are redefining culture
within an Australian context. Some of the families involved in the project
were in attendance and for them the evening was charged with emotion. A
testament to the quality of the work was that almost all of the paintings were
sold by the end of the opening night. The artist Amy Hamilton will be
donating a percentage of the profits to the "Half the Sky Foundation"
to assist children in Chinese institutionalised care.
25 September 2006 - Panda-Play Visit Chinese Students at Bradford College, University of Adelaide Panda-Play enjoyed a lovely city excursion to visit the Chinese Students at the University of Adelaide's Bradford College. The students warmly welcomed the parents and youngsters and together they played games, sang songs and spoke about all things Chinese and Australian. We shared some fruit together and even learnt a song in Chinese (the words are below and an English translation will follow) A special thanks to the management and teaching staff of Bradford College for their hospitality. Thank you also to the students for taking the time to meet with our children and parents. The students have been invited to attend the upcoming Moon Festival event and we hope that we can build upon the friendships made today. This initiative was taken in response to feedback gathered during the 5-Year Planning Day and through the personal contacts of two SACAS Members. The SACAS Board are always happy to hear from members who have suggestions or contacts for events and activities. Especially when they are as fun as this one!
16 September 2006 - Waiting Parents do Yum Cha SACAS never need an excuse to hold a good Yum Cha lunch, and this Waiting Parents event was a particularly good Yum Cha lunch. With several adventurous eaters at the table we witnessed feasting on many exotic morsels including chilli-jelly-fish and chicken's-feet which were described by one diner as "super-charged KFC!". As usual the company was fun and the atmosphere in Ding Hao provided a quintessentially Chinese dining experience. Although not surprisingly we all ate far too much! Pictures of this event were taken and will be posted on this page shortly.
26
August 2006 - The Daughter's Festival or Chinese Valentines Day
17 July 2006 - Waiting Families Function The first ever dinner specifically for "Waiting Families" was held on Sunday 16 July at the Marryatville Hotel. This event was initiated in response to feedback from our members. The idea was to create a family friendly environment for those who already have children and are awaiting the allocation of a child from China. The dinner was reported as a success with over 27 in attendance and the playground facilities at the venue enabled the children to have lots of fun. Initiatives that result in greater inclusion of specific groups within our membership are fantastic and the SACAS Board are always open to such suggestions.
24 June 2006 - Dragon Boat Festival River Cruise What better way to celebrate the Dragon Boat Festival than by getting on board a boat! Sure it wasn't a dragon boat, but on a cold winters day the MV Port Princess was a lot more comfortable and child friendly. A lucky few also had a fleeting glimpse of one of Adelaide's famous Port River Dolphins. Everyone who attended received a traditional dragon boat string bracelet designed to "ward off evil and ensure a long and prosperous life". These bracelets were also forwarded to the staff of AFIS so that they could share in some of the Chinese culture. Following a public draw, the autographed copies of the books "Chinatown" and "Mao's Last Dancer" were won by Frances Fausch and Kara Holder respectively. SACAS greatly appreciated the support of the celebrity authors Ross Dobson and Li Cunxin in donating these prizes. If you didn't win then why not visit the authors web sites at www.rossdobson.com and www.licunxin.com Better still why not purchase a copy of their book from your local book store! The SACAS Board would also like to thank Katie Silva for volunteering to assist with the face painting activities. For the children this was a real highlight of the day and something they will remember for a long time to come. We hope that everyone had a nice time and that the pictures below capture the spirit of "Duan-Wu-Jie" Adelaide Style!
13 May 2006 - Vesak Day - Multicultural Buddhist Celebrations Vesak Day is the major Buddhist festival of the year as it celebrates the birth, enlightenment and death of the Buddha on the one day. This day is usually the day of the first full moon in May and Vesak is the name of the month in the Indian calendar. It was great to see Victoria Square alive with a variety of international foods, cultural activities and gifts. Of course it goes without saying that Adelaide's Chinese Buddhist community had a strong presence at this event. It was also nice to see a few SACAS Members at the event and we hope that they enjoyed this annual multicultural experience.
6 May 2006 - Waiting Parents Dinner at Citi-Zen The Waiting Parents dinner at the Citi-Zen Restaurant was reportedly a huge success. Once again no photographs have emerged from the evening. Could it be that they were having too much of a good time? However, the name of the restaurant "Citi-Zen" does remind one of the insightful quote that "Children are natural Zen Masters; their world is brand new in each and every moment." Observing this in our own children is undoubtedly one of the greatest joys of parenthood. We therefore wish a speedy adoption process to all waiting parents and trust that you will soon be taking lessons from your own little Zen Master like the one below!
24 April 2006 - Panda Play in The Parklands Fortunately the April weather was kind for the "Plants and People of China" tour in the Adelaide Botanic Gardens. Flora Gao, an international Masters student from Xi'an was our volunteer guide for the day. She taught us about the significance of a number of plants to the Chinese people including Lotus, Willows, Fig Trees and Cycads. We also learnt that the Chinese don't say "cheese" when they smile for a photograph. Instead they say "qiezi" which translates as "eggplant"! The event attracted around 50 people which was an amazing number for what was a working Monday morning. It was also great to see some new faces and some new babies who had only recently arrived in Adelaide. Also included in the new faces was AFIS representative Sam Cross who attended at the invitation of the SACAS Board. As the photographs below show the children enjoyed being outside in the gardens and getting their hands dirty with some arts and crafts. Flora also seemed to enjoy herself and the SACAS Board were very happy to present her with a painting from one of the children as well as an authentic aboriginal boomerang.
SACAS would like to formally express our appreciation to both Flora Gao and Steve Meredith, Education Officer with the Adelaide Botanic Gardens, for making this event possible. It is always a privilege to be able to access any Chinese culture when living in Adelaide. However it is particularly satisfying to have our children interact with people who share their Chinese birth culture. Considering that our children are predominantly girls, perhaps it is equally significant that they have opportunities to interact with Chinese women who are excelling in their chosen careers. Whatever your thoughts on these deeper issues, we can all agree that it was lots of fun watching the kids running around the Adelaide parklands!
26 February 2006 - Zhu-Lin Temple Visit A very big thank you to the SA Zhu-Lin Buddhist Association for allowing SACAS to tour its beautiful temple. Located at Ottaway the temple was constructed in 1994 in the traditional Chinese style. Our guides, including Caren Wong and Brother Roger, explained not only about the building itself but also provided an interesting insight into Chinese Buddhism. As many of our children would have been born into the Buddhist faith in China this knowledge was particularly special to receive. We learnt that Chinese Buddhism is the Mahayana (Great Wheel) tradition as opposed to the Hinayana (Small Wheel) tradition found in South East Asia. We had an explanation of the Sakyamuni Buddah, Karma, and several Bodhisattava's including one represented in female form. In China she is often called Guanyin a name which means "the one who listens to complaints". Well there were certainly no complaints from our members who thoroughly enjoyed the tour, meeting some lovely new people and sharing in a delicious vegetarian lunch. SACAS cannot thank the Zhu-Lin Buddhist Association enough for assisting us to achieve our vision of providing opportunities to explore and celebrate Chinese culture. We will most certainly accept their kind invitation to return in the future.
11 February 2006 - Moonta Street Chinese New Year Street Party Wow! The Chinese certainly know how to party! Moonta Street was alive with colour, noise and spectacle for the 2006 Year of the Dog celebrations. As always the Dragon and Lion Dancers stole the show and were hard to ignore as they were accompanied by some incredibly loud drums. In accordance with tradition the children were offered red packets of goodies and wished a happy new year by the organisers. All forms of Chinese culture were on display and parents and children had fun watching and attempting such activities as calligraphy, paper-cutting and lantern making. Of course the food was delicious but the additional stands, including a Satay Vendor, were a real treat. Apart from being an excuse for our members to get together the day also provided a great opportunity to network. Members of SATASG, the Taiwan support Group, were in attendance and as always it was a pleasure to interact with them. The local Chinese Community were once again very welcoming and a range of possibilities were discussed for future interaction and cooperation. A special thanks must also be made to our Country Members who made it all the way to Adelaide for the celebrations. Finally, SACAS would like to thank Chinatown Adelaide of SA Inc who deserve a huge pat on the back for organising such a terrific cultural event. We hope to do it all again next year!
4 February 2006 - Waiting Parents Dinner The Spring Festival, or Chinese New Year celebrations, continued on Saturday 4 February 2006 as a group of over 25 "Waiting Parents" met for dinner at Adelaide's renowned T-Chow restaurant. Reports were that the food was great but that the company was even better. Some familiar faces were joined by new members attending their first SACAS event. Another positive outcome of the night was that the next batch to travel to China were identified and people put in touch with one another. It is also worth noting that "Waiting Parents" events are not just for couples who are currently childless. Anyone who has begun the adoption process and has selected to adopt from China is welcome to attend.
29 January 2006 - Yum Cha in the "New Yar" The SACAS Calendar of Events for 2006 kicked off with a Yum Cha lunch on Chinese New Years Day, 29 January 2006. The Yum Cha was a spectacular success with over 35 people enjoying great food and company. Many noted how well behaved the children were and how willing they were to try some quite unusual morsels of food. It was particularly nice that this event attracted a mix of waiting parents, parents with Chinese children, biological children and children adopted from other countries. We look forward to many more successful events in the Year of the Dog.
|
