Random musings

I have a lot of really randoms things on my mind, some adoption related some travel related so this post may not make any sense but I will do my best.

Travel:

I truly enjoyed Seoul. I could see us bringing the kids there and being just fine. It is a nice big city with lots to do and see. While we didn't do as much as we wanted we did a lot and we ate a variety of foods from bulgogi pizza to Korean BBQ to some of the best Italian food to Vietnamese. We also ate a lot of sandwiches. There are little cafes like every block sometimes more than one. Within a 5 minute walk from our hotel we had 3 cafes it was nice. Then there was the coffee. I am pretty sure Seoul would be up near the top of the list for most caffeinated cities. There were coffee shops everywhere. Within that same 5 minute walk we had 2 Starbucks, a Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf in our hotel, the 3 cafes all served coffee and then on one block there were 3 coffee shops practically next to each other. It was like this all over Seoul. Completely unexpected but as a coffee lover I was grateful.

One thing we did notice is the lack of napkins. Sometimes when you ordered a meal for takeout you would get a packet with a wet nap in it. There were not a lot of actual napkins and when you did find them they were thin and cocktail size. I so wish we had bought a roll of paper towels....toddlers are messy.

Even though we had a language barrier it was pretty easy to get around in Seoul. The front desk at our hotel was great and would write out our destination in Korean so we could hand it to the cab driver. The subway seemed really overwhelming at first but once we got our bearings it was super easy and cheap.

This adoption trip was so very different than Ethiopia. We were sheltered and someone held our hands all along the way. In Seoul we were 100% on our own and it was kind of neat to navigate and explore on our own.

Adoption:

Adoption is not easy. It can be downright painful at times. That said I am glad it was how we grew our family. Katie's adoption from start to finish took 3 years and a country switch and a surprise.

We are glad she is part of our family and will share with her her story and her Korean heritage. She is 1/4 Korean. She doesn't look Korean at all as we were told oh so many times while in Korea and since being home. It doesn't matter at all to me.

It does to her big sister. Kiya is THRILLED that her baby sister has brown skin and curly hair.

We even had a lady on the plane ask us if it was hard to adopt in the States. She was under the impression that we flew to South Korea to adopt this adorable black child. We politely informed her that Katie was part Korean and she she kind of stopped asking questions at that point.

We had been warned about racism while in Korea and it was a huge factor in not bringing Kiya with us besides the whole idea of 13 hours on a plane with a loud almost 4 year old and an almost 18 month old who was in essence a stranger. We even had to get special permission to adopt from South Korea because Kiya is from Ethiopia. Some agencies in Korea wouldn't allow our family to adopt with them. Thankfully Eastern was more open and because of that we have sweet Katie. I should also say thank you to the other families that looked at Katie's file and didn't think she was a good fit for their family. She fits perfectly in ours and we are in love.

While our and about in Seoul with Katie we got a few stares but most people thought she was adorable which was an unexpected reaction. I had braced myself for the worst. I am sure that things were said in Korean that I didn't understand and thankfully Katie didn't either. I think for the most part people were just as confused as the lady on the plane.

I think I have rambled enough. I know we as a family will travel back to Seoul and enjoy it. I also know that in my heart my family is truly complete. After we adopted Kiya I had dreams of a sibling. I don't have those anymore. I am complete. My heart is overflowing and I get to be the mom to two of the most amazing and special girls. I am blessed. I couldn't ask for anything more.