Q&A

Now that we know more specifics about the adoption people have asked questions, and since many questions are the same I thought I'd put up a little Q&A

Q:  Where is Ji-wan now?
A:  He is with a foster family.  Korea has a wonderful foster system, very similar to the US and is well taken care of and treated as a member of the family he is staying with!

Q:  Will you go to Korea to bring Ji-wan home?
A:  Yes, Matt and I will be traveling to Korea for a minimum of 3 days, maximum of 7 days.

Q:  When will you go to Korea?  Where will you be?
A:  We have been told its approximately 3-5 months from the time we submit our acceptance paperwork (late April for us) till we will have all of the appropriate visas and papers we need to bring Ji-wan home.  That puts us traveling between late July and late September.  We will be flying into Incheon and staying in Seoul for the entire visit.  We will be updated some as the paperwork is processed, but eventually we will receive a phone call letting us know that everything is ready and then we are given 7 days to get to Seoul!

Q:  Are you taking Eli and Anna along?
A:  We decided it would be best for all of us to leave the kids at home.  Its most likely that they will be in school when we travel, and we could not imagine dealing with all 5 of us having jet lag when we return!  It will also give us a chance to bond with Ji-wan without the chaos of two school-agers around as well :)

Q:  Will you get to do sightseeing/traveling while you are there?
A:  We will have a few days where we will be able to do some sightseeing around Seoul.  We also hope to do some shopping and bring home some souvenirs for Eli and Anna and potentially some things to give to Ji-wan as he grows up.  The crafter in me is hoping to be able to buy some fabrics and yarns there as well!

Q:  Are you going to keep Ji-wan's name?
A:  We will probably give Ji-wan an American first name, but keep his Korean name as his middle name.  It is really important for us that Ji-wan be able to maintain as much of his Korean heritage as possible!

Q:  How old will Ji-wan be when you bring him home?
A:  He will be between 9-11 months old.  We hope all will go as planned and we will be able to celebrate his first birthday in the traditional Korean style at home with his new family!

Q:  Have you guys met any other families with Korean children?
A:  We recently became a part of a group called Korean Focus Indiana (KFI) that is mainly made up of families with children of Korean heritage, but that is highly supported by the wonderful community of the Korean Presbyterian Church in Indianapolis.  We will have lots of opportunities for our whole family to learn about Korea, its history, art, culture, and language.  We already attended a picnic with this group as a family last week and met 3 families in our area who are in the process of or already have adopted children from Korea (plus we got to eat some amazing Korean foods there)!  We will be taking Eli and Anna to a Korean Culture Camp at the Presbyterian church this summer where they will have the chance to learn about modern-day Korea :)

Feel free to ask us more questions if you have them.  We are so excited to be sharing this journey with all of you and learning together more about our newest child and his culture!