If you had the opportunity to move your family to another country for an entire year, immersing yourself in that country’s language and culture, would you do it? That’s exactly what Wallingford resident Linda Bevis and her family did when they moved to Beijing, China back in 2008. Bevis has written a wonderful book, titled Dragon Blossoms, that recounts their memorable journey.
Bevis was not a complete stranger to China prior to their year-long relocation. In 1983, she went to China for two years to study, and to teach English. And then in 2004, she and her husband, Ed, traveled to China to adopt their daughter, Leyla. But in 2008, when Leyla was four, Bevis and her husband decided that the best way to embrace their newly-adopted Chinese heritage, and to give Leyla the opportunity to connect with her birth culture, would be to live in China for a year, enroll Leyla in preschool, and teach Chinese vocational school students English.
But despite having a healthy understanding of the language and culture, nothing prepares even the most seasoned travelers for facing certain hurdles like discovering that the only way to bake a birthday cake is to use the tiny little toaster oven provided in the rented apartment.
Dragon Blossoms was based on the journal Bevis kept during their year in China, providing readers with rich details of Leyla’s preschool and her adjustment to her new surroundings. Leyla went from knowing some Chinese, to becoming a fluent, confident little girl who, by the year’s end, was ready to start Kindergarten back in Seattle. Bevis also includes a very touching story about bringing Leyla to the orphanage in which she was cared for as an infant.
Throughout the book, Bevis meticulously describes their apartment (including the aforementioned toaster oven challenge), and her own colorful students to whom she teaches English. She shares her fears and, occasionally, her frustrations as they navigate through their daily lives, often without her husband who had to return to Seattle for work commitments. Bevis also provides readers with some interesting historical information on China, and includes her views based on events that were happening in Beijing at the time, including the city’s preparations for the 2008 Olympics and the 8.0 earthquake that devastated the Sichuan Province.
After reading Dragon Blossoms, I felt connected to Bevis and her family, and wanted to know how Leyla was doing since her journey four years ago. Bevis tells me that Leyla is 9 and now a third grader at John Stanford International School, where she’s enrolled in the Spanish program. In an email Bevis writes, “She keeps up her Mandarin by attending two classes a week outside of school. I know we could have gone to the Beacon Hill Chinese program, but we didn’t want to leave Wallingford and there is nothing wrong with being TRIlingual!” No, indeed! Bevis also mentions that they had gone back to Beijing one year later for one week, and she writes, “For all three of us, it was a return ‘home’: the first time that Ed or Leyla had felt that about China (in fact, not just in theory). Although it took only a week, it was a very important time to cement our family’s connection with China.”
Bevis tells me that Leyla has been a part of a local China adoption Playgroup ever since she came to Seattle. The group has made plans to visit China this summer and, Bevis writes, “Leyla and her peers will visit Beijing and Xiang together. She is excited to be going back to China this summer: she loves the food (especially the steamed buns dipped in condensed milk) and wants to see her preschool friends again. She also likes the idea of going with her Playgroup friends.”
I admire Bevis and her family for demonstrating that we aren’t just Wallingfordians, we’re also citizens of the world!
Dragon Blossoms is available for purchase on Amazon.com.
Thanks for posting this and to Leyla and family for sharing their story. Looks like a great read on an important topic. Have fun planning your summer trip back to China!