At our house we have 2 Korean kids and two Ethiopians, along with a bunch of us pale folks. We have learned a little bit about each of our kids' cultures, including a few dozen words in Korean and half a dozen or so in Amharic.

We try to sprinkle the words we do know into everyday conversation, which becomes rather humorous when you catch the Ethiopian 3 year old telling the Ethiopian one year old to "Ahn-jah!" (Sit, in Korean.)

Other multicultural moments occur when the Koreans are seen declaring their utter disdain for injera, or when the Ethiopians are wolfing down 'kim' (dried seaweed) as fast as I will give it to them.

I suppose all the cultures around our... more

Many families who adopt older children hope their kids will keep the language of their birth. There are lots of ways to help a child learn some language.

You can buy your children language learning materials. If there is an Ethiopian language school in your area, you can send your child to it. You can hire an Ethiopian babysitter.

If you've adopted more than one child from Ethiopia, you can even encourage kids to speak with each other. (That is, IF they both speak the same Ethiopian language in the first place-- did you know there are over 70 languages spoken in Ethiopia?)

However,... more