Connecting with Vietnamese Relatives via DNA

After doing 23andMe, I uploaded my DNA to GedMatch because that was the database used by DNA Connect to locate potential birthfamilies. While I have not matched to anyone close on GedMatch (all are distant cousins) and my 23andMe results weren't exactly spectacular (my closest DNA relative and I share 0.80% DNA), I was able to contact some people that were willing to chat with me. I was able to confirm through both sites that my ancestors really were from Guangdong. I found many other distant relatives from that area: Vietnam, Guangdong, Taiwan...

I was very surprised to see that I had about 2% Vietnamese ancestry on 23andMe and believed it to not be very accurate, however I was able to find a distant Vietnamese adoptee relative and a few other people from Vietnam! One of those people was very nice to me and connected me with the rest of her family. She said I looked like her cousins and I was able to connect with them via Facebook. I don't believe that we look super similar, but it was very meaningful for me to see other Asian American women who I was somewhat related to. When I showed my parents the one photo of my contact's younger cousins, they were shocked. In certain photos, at certain angles, they were able to see me in her, especially in the way she smiled.

My contact told me that the kit I matched with was from her cousin in California and I was able to friend him on Facebook too. We ended up Skyping for the first time about a week later and it was just incredible to speak with him. He was very kind and told me how they were trying to put together a family tree of their own, which was what led them to DNA in the first place. I sometimes doubt the accuracy of GedMatch, and sometimes one has to wonder what the significance of a >4 cousin relation is, but in the end I made a human connection. They didn't ask any disrespectful questions. They were genuinely interested in me and shared a lot of their family history with me. I don't expect much else from them and was shocked at their generosity and openness, as so many other contacts won't give you the time of day (or worse, are fake and try to scam you.)

Before finding Vietnamese relatives, I had never really considered myself anything other than Chinese. I never realized how much history the two countries had with each other (not always a great history), and honestly, just looking at the map, you can tell that immigration was definitely occurring throughout the years. I wouldn't necessarily go out and introduce myself as Vietnamese American or Vietnamese and Chinese, but I do find comfort in knowing I am most likely from where my orphanage is: Guangdong.

BONUS:

Naomi Ji (The Here and Nao) is another Chinese adoptee who has done 23andMe. She found out she was part Korean and was related to some Korean adoptees! Watch her YouTube video on it here.

Leah Ellen's video (another Chinese adoptee) about doing Ancestry's DNA test. (I recommend doing 23andMe because it is the database most used by Chinese adoptees, but after doing any test you MUST upload your raw DNA to GedMatch.) Watch here.