We have some exciting news! When we applied to our international agency in fall 2020, we chose the China Regional Program since it includes China, Hong Kong, & Taiwan. Up until now we have been learning about the China adoption process and learning about Chinese culture. Recently, thanks to incoming funds for our adoption, we paid our initial fees to Holt International and had a welcome meeting (via Zoom) with the China Regional Program Director! She had clearly done her homework and was familiar with our current family make-up and lengthy application answers before she called us. She knew we originally wanted to adopt siblings (surprise!) and asked why we had chosen China. We explained Robert's background with Southeast Asia and the influence of Chinese culture on Malaysia. Then she asked the question "Have you thought about Taiwan?" We had, but had been nervous about some differences with the process compared to mainland China, and felt guilty because the kids in Taiwan have much fewer medical needs than the kids in China. We had let go of the dream of adopting 2 kids because that is not really a possibility in China. The chances of adopting siblings is less than 1%. Far less. But we would be able to help 1 Chinese child receive the medical care that they need in the US and absolutely smother them with love in our family. On the other hand, there are very very few families willing to adopt siblings. The wonderful director encouraged us that we would be filling a different need by our willingness to adopt siblings. So with excitement, we said, "YES we want to adopt siblings from Taiwan!" The adoption process in Taiwan is a little different from China, and more similar to adopting from Foster Care in the United States... plus immigration and international travel! Children live in foster homes, not large orphanages. Birth family is usually still involved (grandparents, aunts, or uncles) similar to birth family involvement in US Foster Care. But, they are not necessarily willing or able to care for more children. We are VERY excited that our children will be able to have continued communication with their biological family because it is so dramatically healthy for adopted children to have that. We might even get to meet their biological family when we travel to Taiwan! I'm sure that will be an emotional and nerve-wracking visit, but we are willing to do anything to help our children feel safe and secure with us and grow up into healthy adults. We will also likely get to skype with our kids before we travel to adopt them. Eeeeeek! :D That's all for now! We are pretty stoked! If you would like to learn more about Taiwan and the complicated relationship with China, we recommend this video: Is Taiwan a Country or Part of China? (12:12) Light-hearted fun glimpse into Taiwan: 8 Facts That Will Make You Want to Visit Taiwan (1:21)
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AuthorAll posts are written by Robert or Rebecca. Maybe you can guess who's who based on the number of emojis and exclamation points!!! CategoriesArchives
February 2023
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