Pan Pan Thomas was adopted from China as a young baby by a single mother and grew up in Montpelier, Vermont. Pan Pan and I have been friends in Montpelier since we were babies, and our mothers are friends. We went through the school system in Montpelier together. After high school she traveled through Europe and spent a lot of time in Spain. She is now living in California. She represents a point of view about adoption and Chinese cultural identity that is very different from mine. Our interview was over the phone, here is the transcript. 

1. Do you consider yourself completely American?

Yes, I AM completely American!

2. Why or why not? Why do you feel that way?

I have lived in the United States since I was 8 months old. Blood is not what defines me. My mother, my life and my upbringing in the US are what is important. There are very few moments in my life where I even feel like I was adopted. My mother offered to incorporate Chinese culture into my upbringing several times but she never did much with it. I had less of an interest in it than she did. It is not that I'm against it, but I live in the US and I have built a life for myself revolving around the culture here. I'm not interested in trying to hold onto a place and a life I never had. I love what I have here. I feel I’m very lucky and I love my mom. If anything I have a fascination with Spain and hope to live there someday.

3. How do you feel about the culture of your birth country?

I don't actually know anything about Chinese culture. As I said, I don’t have much interest in it and neither does my mom. I know she would have tried to bring more Chinese culture into my life if I had been interested but I wasn’t so I haven’t ever learned much about it. My mom has always had more interest in the Central and South American cultures, and so do I.

4. Have you visited your birth country?

No.

5. Why or why not?

I love to travel, and I hope I will visit China someday, but not because it is my birth country, but because it will eventually be on my list of places to visit. However, currently I have a fascination with Europe and Central America.

6. If so what was that experience like for you?

  N/A

7. Is it important to you to learn the language of your birth country?

            No. Since I don’t know when I will ever visit there it isn’t of much importance to me.

8. Why or why not?

There are a lot of languages to learn. Chinese is a very difficult one and not one I'm interested in dedicating the time to learning it. Learning Spanish and French will far better assist me in what I would like to accomplish with my life and the places I would like to visit.