On Christmas morning of 2013, my mom surprised me with one of the best gifts ever. She had secretly hired a private investigator in Russia, and he had found my biological family. There were pictures, stories, and even videos. We decided we needed to meet them and began planning our trip that day. Six months later, we made a return … Read More
Birth Country Travel: Language & Identity
Birth Country Travel: Language & Identity This is part 3 in a series on international adoption and identity. For most kids on a homeland journey, language and the ability to communicate is an immediate piece of how they see themselves. Very few are able to speak in their birth language. As a result, their first interaction with people in their … Read More
Identity & Birth Country Travel: Upon Arrival
Identity is a continuum. Who I am today is not who I will be tomorrow. For tomorrow I will be a culmination of who I have been in all my “yesterdays” and who I hope to be in my “tomorrows.” This is part 2 in a series on identity and international adoption. Birth Country Travel: Upon Arrival Creating a New … Read More