"I'm Chinese and American," said Teresa "Tess" Salvatore, flushed after all the

PHOTO: C.Z. Carlin Tess Salvatore, a third- grader at P.S. 372, on stage in the dance "Yi Melody."

excitement of performing in front of over 900 spectators. "When I first came I was 9 months old. Everyone came to greet me at the airport. I have a video."

For many New York families the New Year celebration is not only a passage into a new year but a celebration of the passage of their adopted children into their lives and homes.

"My family all came to the airport. You know, balloons, everything," said Tess' mother Rose Murphy. "We thought it was important for Tess to know her culture so Tess dances twice a week at the cultural center. She started when she was four."

Tess, born in Tian Jin, a coastal city east of Beijing was officially adopted into the Salvatore family on March 28, 1994. The process took three weeks and the adoption was completed in China.

Cathy Urbina described her experiences adopting Zoe, her 8-year-old Chinese-born daughter, and celebrating the Chinese New Year as enjoying "an ancient culture with richness that expanded our world."

Adoption Across Borders

The process of adoption can take as long as a year and cost between $15,000 and $25,000. While a number of countries from Ecuador to South Korea have active inter-country adoption programs, China has one of the largest programs in the world.

Chinese adoptions by American families were estimated by the National Adoption Information Clearinghouse to be 4,101 in 1999.

China's policy that limits families to having one child may explain the large number of babies available for adoption - particularly female children. But many of the adoptees were orphaned or abandoned children taken into orphanages. About 95% of children adopted from China are girls.

The process of adoption from China breaks down into three phases according to the Families with Children from China organization. "Assembling the paperwork that will to go to China, waiting, and the trip to China to adopt the child," report the organization's official website.

"When we finally got to China it took only about three weeks to complete the adoption," said Ms. Murphy.

Helpful Adoption Links:

Families with Children from China - The purpose of Families with Children from China is to provide a network of support for families who've adopted in China and to provide information to prospective parents.

INS Inter-country Adoptions- U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service web page that explains the process for adopting children from foreign countries.

National Adoption Information Clearinghouse - National resource on all aspects of adoption.

Consular Affairs U.S. State Department - Outlines rules/regulations concerning inter-country adoptions.

Next: The Year of the Black Horse

Starts with a Gallop
A Passage to the Heart
The Year of the Black Horse