As I write this I can’t believe it’s almost 2011. Here’s a quick look back at a few events from 2010 where I proudly represented ATG.

It was an honor to appear as guest speaker at Asia Society’s weekly webcast. Author Dana Sachs shared her stories and research of the Babylift and I gave an adoptee’s perspective, sharing my life work over the past 10 years since the first reunion in 2000.

March 27th was named Betty Tisdale Day in Columbus. I joined 50 An Lac orphanage adoptees to pay tribute to Betty. One stop was nearby at the cemetery to pay respects to Madame Vu Ngai. It was surreal to visit the grave of Madam Vu Ngai. She was a woman I never met, but probably found me and welcomed me to the orphanage as a baby. I always look forward to seeing Betty, the angel of Saigon, or as she calls herself, “Mom number 2.”

As an Asian American artist in New York City it was a dream to be art of an event at the Asian American Writers Workshop. This is a well respected organization in NYC and APA community. They came to my Queens neighborhood for an adoptee artist night. I was honored.

Fellow APA artist Taiyo Na invited me to appear on PBS affiliated show Asian America. I think the title of the show was “Asian Americans Who Are Making It in Entertainment.” Yes, I chuckled. Fellow adoptee Kevin Maes and I showed up at 2:30 in the afternoon to represent ATG and our film. We talked about Tammy & George, our adoptee volunteer work and my music performance. It was entertaining. I even ended up performing a song and hit a bad chord in the end. Nobody is perfect. 🙂

I closed the year with a trip to Toronto and Ottawa. Children’s Bridge invited me up to perform my music and take part in an adoptee panel.

I joined a Filipino, Indian and Korean adoptee. It was nice to swap stories and experiences. I was reminded of how diverse we are.

Peace in every step,

Jared