[MSWildcat]

We are from the USA and considering a move to Hong Kong for a job opportunity. Our daughter is 4 years old and was adopted from China three years ago. We think it would be an experience of a lifetime to live in HK but want to go "eyes wide open" with regard to any issues that we might confront as a mixed race family (my husband and I are Caucasian). We are also concerned that our daughter could have a difficult time being accepted in the expat community/schools because of her race. Does anyone have a similar situation with experience to share?

Thanks!

[Lammarite]

Contrary to many other threads I don't think it would be an issue. We have friends who have adopted Chinese babies and locals are more curious than anything else.
Kids in school here are truly international and used to having a circle of friends from different colours, of different colours and who speak different languages. I suspect it would be easier here than in the US but have no grounds to base that on!
You're right- it would be an opportunity of a lifetime and you should embrace it.

Spoken as true expat third culture brat.

[KnowItAll]

There is a brilliant adoptive family support group here in HK. We got invited to their annual dinner last year and there were a fair number of Westerners with kids adopted from Mainland China - we continued to hear good things through out the evening.

They did mention that kids do get curious and there are the normal issues related to the curiosity and kids being kids. But nothing in terms of system wide prejudice.

I agree with Lammarite and would have to add that I've also seen a growing trend for bi-racial kids to now go to local schools. A number of my friends are opting to send their kids to the local schools and I don't hear complaints.

[gilleshk]

I think she would fit it very well in most international schools where there are many mixed kids who speak an array of languages.

She would also have the opportunity of learning how to speak Mandarin and Cantonese which is going to be a very valuable asset this century.

My experience of schools in Hong Kong is that they are much nicer places to be than most public schools around the world and many compare well to very good private schools abroad.

Of course, kids will be kids and some can have difficulties integrating but it usually has to do more with personality than race. That being said, there are schools that are more appealing because of a better racial mix. A shy caucasian or indian may find going to Chinese International School more difficult than Hong Kong International for example.

[rani]

Here's the Group

Adoptive Families :: Hong Kong Pregnancy and Baby Resources on GeoBaby.Com

[jayinhongkong]

I grew up here and went to ESF schools in the '80s and '90s. IMO she'll be even more readily accepted here than she would in most of the US. International school kids here tend to be extremely open minded.

The only negativity I experienced growing up here was my fellow students' parents' fault (for raising their kids to be culturally and racially insensitive), and the worst offenders by far happened to be British and Scandinavian. Don't get me wrong, the vast majority of kids were really cool.

By the time kids get done with high school here, they tend to be pretty darn multicultural.

On the flip side, many Americans tend to be less culturally aware and have less knowledge about the world thanks to the education systems in most states, although a lot of kids in the US are now learning Mandarin and other Asian languages.

[carang]

i, too, thought it would raise far fewer eyebrows here than in the states...

[MSWildcat]

Thanks for your input! It seems obvious that a place like HK would be accepting of people of all races...but I've learned to never assume anything!

[jayinhongkong]

Good for you. Assumptions are dangerous! There are a few downsides to living here though, the biggest of which (for me) are the pollution and the cramped apartments.

[gilleshk]

Originally Posted by jayinhongkong

the biggest of which (for me) are the pollution and the cramped apartments.

Agreed, it chases me away every few years...