Comments on: united, at last

By: laurajeong

laurajeong — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 14:33:07 +0000

Christin, thanks for sharing that. We hear about the adoptive parents' stories and sometimes, also about the foster mother's, but never the escort's perspective. I imagined it was tough but never heard an escort's personal account before. This will be helpful when I tell adoptive parents about their child's travel experience. Thanks for shedding light to an often unknown part of the child's journey home.

By: Christin

Christin — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 22:47:31 +0000

I can only imagine the anxiety the parents were feeling at this point. The baby was very tired and was trying to sleep. By this time, I was also very tired and looked horrible. Slowly, I came up on the escalator at the ATL airport. I was afraid that his parents would not be there and I wouldn't know what to do. As I got closer to the top, I saw a woman with a poster. I couldn't see the poster, but knew who she must be. She pointed at the poster, and I saw a picture of a baby. I nodded as I climbed off the escalator. A crowd of about 15 people came around me. I handed the baby to his mother. He woke up and smiled at his mom. He must have known. He barely smiled or made an attempt to during the long trip, but at the moment of meeting his mom he gave her a big one. What a priceless moment it was. I took a couple of picture with them before going my way. It was a very sad moment, but I have not doubt that he is where God placed him. I am going to Korea with my in-laws next year to bring back my niece next year. I am very looking forward to the trip.

By: Christin

Christin — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 22:47:11 +0000

I escorted an adoptee baby when I returned to U.S. back in 2006. I have to go through an interview process to get approval. And then, I meet the baby to get familiar before the long flight. The foster mom had the baby longer than usual, since the baby kept getting sick. He was seven months and 20 pounds. It's a rare case to find an escort going all the way to Atlanta on a non-stop flight, and becasue I looked strong enough to carry the 20lb baby, they decided to send him to his parents, even though he is still bit sick. The departure date finally came. His foster mother cried and said her good byes. It must be a hard thing to say good bye every few months. I was warned about possibility of diarrhea. We were dropped off by a shuttle bus at the airport. He is now in my care. Wow.. He cried a bit, and had some problems with diarrhea. Mostly, he tried to sleep. When he got cranky, I sang softly to him, as instructed by his foster mom. The agency asked me to change his clothes before meeting his mom. They want to make sure he looks good for the pictures. Getting through the immigration took a while for the baby – it's his first time in U.S.