Meigon Stuy

My name is Meigon Stuy, and I am 15 years old. was adopted from Guangzhou, when I was eighteen months old. y father named me Meigon because he wanted to name me Beautiful Gift. know that Mei means beautiful in Chinese, but I have never been able to find the Chinese meaning for gon, so I am not sure of that part. like the spelling of my name though, because it is different from the other Megans of the world.

I enjoy reading, writing short stories, and drawing manga. am taking Japanese next year so that I can hopefully understand my anime shows in the original language. have been taking Chinese since fourth grade, and speak and read it fairly well. I am going to China on a study abroad trip this Summer. t is the first time I have been away from home for so long, and I am a little nervous. But I will have some good friends with me. I am excited to go.

Growing up, my parents took me to a lot of FCC parties. never really liked them, because the parties were not very fun. When I was younger the other Chinese children made me feel like I was among my people, but now I have my own friends and so it doesn't really matter anymore.

When my father was dating my mother, they visited a lot of orphanages on different trips. usually went with my father on these trips, so I have been back to China many times. I remember one of my favorite memories was hiking on a hot day on the Great Wall in Beijing. e were all very hot and tired, and my dad found an ice cream vendor, and got us each a treat. At the bottom of my ice cream I found a small plastic monkey. I thought that was very cool. hina had a lot of cool stuff. Another trip I went with my mom and dad alone to Xi'An. We ate dinner along the street, such as chicken on a stick. It was delicious.

All of these experiences showed me that China is very different than my life in the U.S. ome of these differences are good and exciting, others not so much. I hated the smell, for example, when we walked past toilets. I hated going to the bathroom in China, because usually the toilets were squat toilets, which I found very gross. ut overall, I love China and find it very interesting.

My parents have asked me if I am interested in finding my biological birth family. I have always felt that this was not very important for me. feel that I am not connected to them in any meaningful way other than genetics. My parents and my sisters are my family, and I don't feel a need to search for others.

China is part of my history, of course. was born there, I have visited there many times, but I don't feel it is my home. feel a connection to China, more than just a country, but it is like a distant echo in my mind.