Verbal Curiosity

It seems almost simultaneous. The moment you announce you are adopting internationally, many people around you lose all common sense in exchange for verbal curiosity. Key word in the last sentence is "verbal." If they would keep their curiosity to themselves, it would save us all a little embarrassment. But they don't, and in the process we get to laugh. A lot.

So here is a non-comprehensive list of some of the funniest/awkward things people have said concerning our adoption journey. The names of those who said the following have been omitted to protect their good name. If you are on the list, don't feel bad. You are not alone.

One time we were at a park and Addis would'nt keep leaves out of his mouth. Every time we put him down, he put a leaf in. A friend at the park with us asked, "Is that what he is used to eating in Ethiopia?" Yes, we found him roaming free on the savannah foraging for berries. He is a baby, not a herbivore.

Ethiopia is in Africa, right? So is he going to be (pause because they aren't sure they are supposed to be saying it out loud) you know, African, black? Generally, this question is posed as informational, as if we haven't considered that we will be raising an african american son.

Speaking of african american, that particular term was difficult for a friend once. "No, he will be african" he told me. "And American," I added. "Yeah, I guess. But it's still not the same." Not sure why that mattered, but it did during that bout of verbal curiosity.

There are various poorly planned stereotypical comments made, generally surrounding sports. Football is the topic of conversation that usually draws out these awkward moments. I have a standard answer for this one that I will pass along for the moment that it comes up in your conversations. "Yes, and next we are going to adopt an asian baby because we really want an olympic gymnast."

And, my all time favorite, "will he speak english?" This question has been asked in a hundred different ways. "It will be interesting to see what he speaks once he starts talking." "I wonder if he can understand anything you are saying." "He will probably need some speech therapy to get caught up." My general response is, "when your baby was 8 months old, what did they speak?"

Alright fellow blog friends. I know we are not the only ones with stories, so please pass along your funniest moments in the comments.

UPDATE:

Annie reminded me of one of our all time favorites in the comments section. It has been asked by at least three people at this point. "Do you plan on telling him he is adopted?" My answer is usually a polite, "Yes." What I want to say is, "No, we prefer him to think his mother had an affair and we don't want him to know his biological father."