Some emailed and online comments in response to Melodie Cook's Aug. 18 The Foreign Element column, "Challenges can't compare to the rewards of cross-cultural adoption in Japan":
I am French and my husband is Japanese. As a mother of two sons, I never used the horrible term "half" because for the boys it was a kind of mystery: "Which part of me is Japanese and which part is French?"
In Paris we have the chance to see many mixed couples and children. However, I was very often told, "Congratulations on adopting these boys." When on holiday in Japan, they were seen by many as gaijin [foreigners].