Teresa Volcheck
West Des Moines , IA
I am a Korean adoptee, raised in central Nebraska. I do not have an accent. I had a Swedish last name growing up and now have a Czech last name. I often get asked, where are you from? I say, “Nebraska”. Then I get, “Really, where are you from?” I have never self-identified as Korean-American and find it puzzling that people need to know this information. I do not know my biological family. I have a Korean adopted brother and growing up, we were often asked if we were REAL brother and sister (we are not biologically related). Is “real” and “biological” the same? Isn’t family more than just blood relations?
