Perhaps the most significant thing about heritage travel is what adoptees are doing with the experience related to identity building. It is so interesting to see adoptees country after country doing the same kinds of things as they work toward understanding of self. Step One….Literally off the Plane As international adoptees step off the airplane and onto home soil a … Read More
Magic
I’m sitting here drinking a cup of tea and reading through feedback we’ve received from Ties travelers. It is humbling to think of the magnitude of birth country experiences. One child wrote, “My birth country is dimensional, beautiful, and breathtaking.” And another, “My birth country made me feel magical.” These heartfelt statements got me thinking…what makes birth country travel so … Read More
International Adoption: Do Adoptees Need to Know Their Past?
Emerson wrote, “What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.” But how do we know what lies within us without knowing the past or the future? Is it possible? Certainly, we live life without knowing the future. But the past? The past gnaws at us because we feel like we should … Read More
Journey to Acceptance
Lia, 16, a China Ties participant, reflects on what led her from heartache to healing. Summer, 2001. An elderly couple hobbles up to a promising gate guarding a quiet orphanage with a baby swaddled in a soccer blanket. A girl, who wouldn’t carry on the family name or have the responsibility of taking care of her parents in their senior … Read More