Hand in Hand’s End of the Semester Party was held at the Oriental Pearl restaurant in Chinatown on Sunday, May 16th. All the kids and families went on a tour of Atlanta’s Chinatown first and got to tour the Chinese supermarket, Dinhao. For many of the adoptive families in the program, this was their first visit to Chinatown.


After everyone got to the restaurant, the Hand in Hand language and dance classes put on a performance, showing off what they had learned this year. Afterward, the big sisters performed a few dances, and dinner was served. The delicious meal included lo mein, green beans, fried rice, beef and broccoli and lots more!

After dinner, it was bittersweet as we said goodbye to the graduating seniors and wished them luck in college next year. Everyone will miss them so much!

As we were about to wrap up, the kids announced that they had a special surprise performance! Mia and Sarah Anne performed a dance they learned in their dance class and then the language class students performed a dance that they had secretly choreographed and rehearsed to Karen’s favorite Hannah Montana song, “One in a Million”! It was such a great surprise!
We finished the day with lots of hugs and tears, but we know that even though we may be farther apart next year, we will have our Hand in Hand family forever!


For more photos, visit Peng Guo’s photo gallery. (page 2)