When I got into international child adoption, I did not expect it to be routine. I knew that, in spite of all of the international adoption waiting children, there would be a lot of work to do. There may be children waiting for adoption all over the world, but for every child there is about four hours of paperwork and two trips, as well as adoption fees. Nonetheless, I had no idea how much of an adventure international child adoption would be. I'm glad I went on my international child adoptions trips when I was young – I would not be up to it in another 10 years.
I started off with a Chinese children adoption international company. I knew that it was pretty easy to adopt children in China – or so I thought. Although there was an international adoption child tradition going back decades in that country, nonetheless it was much more difficult than I would have imagined. International child adoption – or anything involving the Chinese bureaucracy – is nightmarish. I had to meet with local counselors, assistant counselors, governors, and other officials. In some ways, I was gratified to do this. It was good to know that international child adoptions were something that the Chinese government cared about. On the other hand, it seemed extremely inefficient. By the time I was done, I felt like I had traveled all over China!
Of course, there are other ways to do international child adoption, but they seem less reputable. They involve bigger fees, you do not go in person, and do not get to meet the child before you adopt. To me, it seemed important to be a direct part of the international child adoption. A child is not a pet. I did not want to simply import my child from China. International child adoption meant that I was going to spend my life caring for this kid. It was important for me to meet him at home and bring him back to the country with us.
Despite the hassle, international child adoption has been extremely rewarding. I know that United States adoption is possible, but the fact is that it is much more difficult, and takes much longer. There are needy kids all over the world, and by being involved in international child adoption, you can help one of them out and save them from a life of suffering. Isn't that worth a trip or two to China?
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