Whew! I think I am finally done catching up on emails, blogs, and forums from the weekend. I didn't really log on at all this weekend b/c the hotel charged $10 for high speed...insane! I opted to try and connect to an unsecured wireless network (there were a few available), but that didn't seem to work out too well...pages just kept crashing over and over...and I finally just gave up.
I had no idea how much time I really spent on the net these days, even on weekends! I felt a bit lost without connectivity, like something was missing...am I really that addicted?!?! LOL
Anyway, the trip was good, a little boring, but it was nice to get out of STL for a little bit. Always makes you appreciate home. We arrived at the info meeting for the agency at 9am and were told that the agency folks were late due to 'transportation' problems. At first I thought...yeah right, transportation problems??, but it turns out their plane was delayed an hour, so I guess I can forgive that one. Due to their tardiness, the presentation was really rushed. They flipped through each slide before anyone could read them and the director only gave very general details about their process and each program! They didn't really tell me much info that I didn't already know, but I kinda figured it would be that way. I went more to 'feel them out' so to speak. I am still deciding how I feel about them.
The best part of the meeting was when adoptive families came in with their adorable children and briefly talked about their experiences with adoption and the agency. I t was great to see real families and listen to their stories. There were children from Russia, China, and Vietnam. They were all so precious! One thing that did rub me the wrong way a little bit was how much they all *loved* the agency, and would not think twice about using them again. I realize these families already have their children and it is easy to forget the hard times, but they all talked like working with was the best experience ever and there were no bumps. Maybe the agency only recruits these types of people to come speak, maybe the families forgot, maybe they didn't want to say anything negative in front of the director...who knows. Maybe I am being a little too skeptical :) Anyway, I plan on contacting some of the families to learn more about their adoption process and relationship with the agency.
And the research continues...
Oh, and for any Big Brother 7 - All Stars fans/addicts out there...I have posted a link to *the* best BB7 website. I have used this website for the past 2 seasons, and plan on visiting it daily this season. It is great for those folks who don't want to subscribe to the live feeds but want to catch the hour-by-hour action in the house. I actually signed up for the live feeds last season but forced myself to cancel them early on b/c I was spending WAY too much time watching them :)
About: This blog has been created to document my journey through the international adoption process from the research phase to bringing my forever child home.
