The deep blue background represents the Pacific Ocean.
The white and orange bands represent the Ratak (Sunrise) and Ralik (Sunset) chains, respectively.
The customary symbolism of orange as the color of bravery and white as the color of peace are also recognized.
The star represents the cross of Christianity, with each of the 24 points signifying a municipal district of the RMI.
The four main points represent the major centers of Majuro, Kwajalein, Jaluit and Wotje.
Thanks for the beautiful blog of your families journey through adoption, and to Majuro! We traveled there to meet our son and his family in the fall of '08, and then returned Just before Enakai was 2 (he traveled for free... yep, we used that excuse to go back so soon!). So reading your blog was great to reconnect us to his home, the incredible Marshalles people, and our fond memories of them, the food, our experiences there, as well as our son's Birth mom and siblings.
ReplyDeleteIf ever you guys wanted to return and be part of some type of service project, it is a thought we've pondered. We would love to return sooner rather then later, but it would be a big bonus if we could devise some type of service project to do while there... and to do it with other traveling families. As a gifting back to the people there. No specific ideas yet.
Thanks again and cheers! If your part of the Yahoo group, you can see some of our son's pictures under "jensen-lee" family.
Kevin, Heidi, and Enakai.
PS. We still don't fold our laundry much anymore... only on good days. :-)
Oh, and by the way, our son was 3.5 months old when we left Majuro and returned home, and just under 2 when we returned for our only visit so far. The most incredible thing happened when we returned and first drove up to his birth mothers house... he ran from the car into the yard and immediately starting playing with his siblings, cousins and all the other kids with very little inhibition at all. It was as if there was familiarity in it all for him. He loved it there. He loved all the children. And now when we mention his Bmom, he knows her name, says hello to her on the phone, and recognizes her photo. His visit, although at an early age, provided some context for him as we continue to expose him to his family and heritage, although thousands of miles away.
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