Who are we?

We are a husband-and-wife team from Minnesota, who adopted our daughter in June 2007.  The adoption trip to China changed our lives, of course, but what we didn’t expect was just how much we enjoyed the whole experience.  As our daughter grows up, we plan on going back several times to visit new places, reconnect with the culture, and help our child understand more about where she comes from.

Even though we had a great time, we encountered situations we wished we had been told about beforehand.  Some things were minor annoyances, some were simply awkward, but none were disasters.  We also came across wonderful situations that other families we traveled with missed out on, either because they were dealing with their own minor snafus or were simply not paying attention to the right thing at the right time.

As we talked with the other parents during our trip, and connected again now that we’ve all been home for a while, each family had its own stories – a problem with a hotel room, discovering obsolete information in a guidebook, having a great dinner at a little restaurant around the corner, dealing with the heat, trying to purchase something in a shop – where they expressed the same idea of “we wish we had a little more knowledge about this before we got on the airplane.”

We have nothing but praise for our agency, and they did a tremendous job in getting us ready for our trip.  But they only have so much time with each parent group, and so many issues to cover.  We all understand that going through the paperwork and talking about attachment are much higher priorities than discussing how the light switches work in your hotel room.

The blog we kept during our travels received a great response, and is still picking up traffic from interested families.  A panel discussion we were on at our agency for prospective parents also went well.  As we kicked around the idea of creating a resource for parents about to travel, we’ve received enthusiastic responses.

So we’ve decided to set this website up to collect the experiences and advice of fellow travelers, those who’ve traveled for adoption, and those who’ve lived in China. Their stories and ours, and hopefully yours, are all incorporated in the entries you’ll see here.

Talk with us!

We love hearing from returning travelers! What were your experiences?  What has changed? Can we add new topics, or build upon information we already talk about on this site?  You input is how we stay up-to-date and helpful to the folks traveling after you.

If your family is about to go to China, what are your concerns?  Your input is valuable, too, because that’s how we investigate and develop new topics for everyone’s benefit.

What you won’t find here

We won’t be getting into adoption paperwork and legal issues – your agency and government representatives are the proper people to talk with.

We won’t be wading into the waiting time discussion.  Other blogs cover that subject extensively, and again, your agency is your best resource.

We steer clear of politics, religion, and the issues Beijing is especially touchy about, because that’s not what your two weeks in China will be about, and also because we want to keep this site unblocked – so that you can get to it while you are traveling within China.

Most importantly, weninchina.com will not be a site for posting photos of your kids (as incredibly cute as they are), which brings us to…

Our Privacy Policy

As adoptive parents ourselves, we know how important it is for you to maintain control over your and your child’s identity and life story, and how difficult that can become on the Internet.

We sincerely value your reports, feedback, and suggestions.  To protect your privacy, we will not post your email addresses, will quote your username only with your permission, and may edit your contributions to remove personally-identifiable information.

While we want to promote a sense of community, weninchina.com will not use bulletin boards, where posts appear immediately without going through an editor.

We do like to show appreciation, so we will feature a “thank-you list” of contributors’ usernames (with your permission, of course.)

Thank You

This site depends on your input to continue to be of value.  We have big hopes for what we can do here, to help the families who come after us, and to help all of us raise strong, well-adapted children.  Many thanks for your use and support.