International adoption makes Brown family complete

By: 
Jamie Hult, Staff writer

Julie and Adam Brown and their son, Austin, 13 (middle) welcomed Marielle, 9, into their hearts and home in August. Jill Meier/BV Journal

New siblings Austin Brown and Marielle Brown clicked immediately. The Brandon family adopted Marielle in August.

Marielle Brown is a typical 9-year-old girl in many ways. She loves Disney, dolls, the color purple and playing on her iPad. But the newest member of the Brown family is still adjusting to life in America, and if given a choice for dinner between pizza and ice cream or noodles and fruit, she’d still pick the latter. 
It’s what she grew up on in southern China – first, at an orphanage, and then, for the past two years, at a foster home, from which Adam and Julie Brown adopted her in August.
After 18 months of training, home visits, paperwork and patience, the Browns and their 13-year-old son, Austin, flew to China in late July to meet Marielle.
“It’s been interesting with the adjustment, but so far, we’ve been really blessed,” Julie Brown said.
The couple aren’t new to adoption – they adopted Austin as an infant – but the difference between the domestic and international process is like night and day, they said. 
“Each child is different, especially with international and when they have a disability,” Adam Brown said. “Even though we knew she was going to be a little person, so we kind of knew ahead of us, because we’re little people as well – just the unexpected, what to prepare for, and then when we met her for the first time, not speaking any English.”
In the beginning, they relied heavily on an English-to-Mandarin translation app to communicate with Marielle, but after a month, they barely needed it. Using gestures for “hungry,” “sleepy,” “hot,” and “thirsty,” helped, and they had an eager learner. 
“When she tried to communicate back to us, we would repeat it in English, just so she could correlate,” explained Julie, who’s an EA with the ELL program at Brandon Valley Middle School. “Now we use the app just when we can tell she’s upset, and she’s trying to tell us something that we don’t understand.”
After only two weeks in the United States, Marielle started school on Aug. 23 with the rest of Brandon Valley students. 
The Browns weren’t sure if that would be possible – they were prepared to homeschool, and Adam took several months off work for Marielle’s transition – but they met with the school district and decided to give it a shot. 
In China, Marielle had been in kindergarten – not because of any cognitive disability, but because of her size. In America, the 9-year-old would be in third or fourth grade.
The Browns decided to place her somewhere in the middle – second grade – and see how it went. 
“That’s something we were a little frustrated about. They don’t really have any kind of system like we have in the States,” Adam said. “We thought we’ll just start there, and we can always bump her up. But how fast she’s been catching on in the past three-and-a-half months has just been amazing.”
Marielle gets one-on-one time with a reading specialist at Fred Assam Elementary; for the rest of her subjects, she’s in the regular classroom.
“It helped that she had that school structure, but still – going into a school where you look different and you don’t speak the same language,” Julie said. “The teachers have said she just kind of looks around to see what everybody else is doing and follows along.”
Marielle’s teachers have described her as spunk and friendly, and her parents agree. She’s not afraid to try new things; in fact, she often wants to be right in the middle to help or ask questions. When Adam got out the lawn mower and leaf blower, she was intrigued; she’d never seen either before. 
“Anything we’re doing, she wants to join in. If Adam’s outside, and he’s raking leaves, she wants to help,” Julie said. “There are moments where she gets tired, and she says, ‘TV? TV?’ Like any kid. But if it’s a new experience, she wants to join in.”
She experienced her first zoo in Hong Kong, and Adam and Austin recently took her to her first movie in a theater, The Grinch.
“She’s fascinated by new things that she’s never seen before,” Adam said. “Everything new that she’s never been to before, it’s like, ‘Wow. So cool.’”
Her parents said she’s all about the group – at home and at school. 
“She likes to make sure everybody’s included – like her brother, her mom or dad. If someone’s not there, if someone’s not included, she questions,” Adam said. “It’s the same way with her friends at school. She likes to be in charge. She’s not afraid to jump in.”
Marielle loves to help out in the kitchen, and she sets the table without being asked. 
“We don’t even have to ask her, and she comes and helps,” Adam said. “We don’t expect it, especially with our older son. We’ll ask him, ‘Did you tell her to do that?’ And Austin says, ‘Nope.’ And he just shakes his head.”
Marielle adores her new big brother, too.
“The bond that her and Austin have is unbelievable. He’s her number one,” Adam said. “Those two are like two peas in a pod.”
They joke that Austin and Marielle are like the main characters in Wreck-It Ralph, a buddy movie about a gigantic, soft-hearted gamer and a pint-sized girl who team up.  
Austin accompanied his parents to China to meet his new sister, and his presence seemed to help with the bonding experience. 
“They recommended having the other children there, because then the adopted child sees the interaction between Mom and Dad,” Julie said. 
The Browns took a 15-hour flight from Chicago to Hong Kong, where they stayed overnight before boarding a bullet train to Nanning, just north of the Vietnam border. After 16 days abroad, they finally brought Marielle home. 
Marielle came to the Browns with nothing but the dress she was wearing and a backpack. 
Her first few weeks away from her foster family were tough.
“You go to a new family, and they smell different, and you don’t understand anything they say,” Julie said. 
After arriving at home in Brandon, they set to work “cocooning” – staying home, keeping life simple and small, and connecting with Marielle. 
The Browns were told to hope for the best and prepare for the worst, and the transition has been better than expected. 
“We kept thinking what if this, or what if this – not to be negative, but it’s totally different than having a child of your own, so you’re thinking about that as you’re traveling over to meet her and what to expect, even though she’s going to be scared out of her mind,” Adam said.
Marielle is also acclimating to South Dakota weather after nine years in a tropical climate. She took an instant dislike to grass, which is very different on the southern coast of China, Julie said.
One of her favorite outings is the grocery store, because it reminds her of the convenience store her foster family owned.
They think Marielle’s helpfulness is part of her nature and also the way she was brought up in the orphanage. 
She likes routine, and if there’s any change, she’s quick to point it out. She’s still adjusting to the concept of “weekends” – in China, she went to school on Saturdays, too. 
The Browns have kept in touch with Marielle’s foster family through WeChat, a Chinese social media app – maintaining that connection is important, Julie noted – though Marielle is asking to use it less frequently. 
“She has a good memory, though. She remembered our phone passcodes the first time,” Adam said with a smile. 
The Browns – now a family of four - will celebrate their first Thanksgiving with Julie’s family in Luverne, Minn., where she’ll meet many of her extended family members for the first time. 
“She’ll do great,” Adam said. “She’s so easygoing. It’s really been a great experience.”

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