Adoptions Together - China Birthland FAQ's

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FAQs - China Birthland Tours FAQ

Who may go on the tour?
Should it be my child’s decision if we go to China?
There are many other China Tours to choose from. What is unique about the tours offered by Adoptions Together?
When are the Tours?
What are the advantages of a spring tour?
What are the disadvantages of a spring tour?
What is the itinerary for the Spring tour?
What will be the itinerary for the Summer tour?
How should I register?
What if I have two children adopted from China and want to visit both of their orphanages?
What if I want to add-on time to the beginning or end of the tour to see some additional sights in China?
Will I be assured of the opportunity to visit my child’s orphanage?
Will I get to see my child’s file? Will I find out anything new?
Will I get to visit the place where my child was found abandoned? What if I don’t want to or I don’t want my child to see this?
If my child was in foster care, can I meet the foster family?
What will the land portion of the Tour cost?
What is included in the Tour cost?
What is NOT included? What additional costs can I expect?
When do I need to make a decision about going?
Should I purchase travel insurance?
Who is making the tour arrangements?
What support will we receive?
What happens after the trip?

Who may go on the tour?
Anyone can go regardless of the agency they adopted from or where they live. Some of the families will probably have adopted through Adoptions Together, however we had a number of families from other agencies on previous tours. We also had extended family such as aunts, cousins, siblings and grandparents. There is no upper or lower age limit although we believe children will benefit the most from this trip who are at least eight years old. Most children have been in the 10-12 age range. Parents are the best judge of the maturity level of their child for this trip. If you desire further consultation, our tour social worker, Marcy Gitt can be emailed at marcygitt@cox.net

Should it be my child’s decision if we go to China?
It should be the parent’s decision. Most likely if you ask your child if they want to go to China, the answer will be, “I don’t know” or “no”. Many children harbor unconscious fears of going back to China due to thoughts of being lost or left there, or they don’t want to leave friends or a pet, or they are uneasy about the fear of the unknown. If you decide to go, you should simply tell your children, with enthusiasm, “We are going to China and we’ll all come home together after a great trip!” Our tour social worker will talk about these concerns in a pre-trip group Orientation to address such concerns. Our experience is that children overcome these issues, have a wonderful time in China, and come home as more mature, self confident, empathetic people, with a greater pride in their Chinese identity. As in many things that are good for children, they may not think want to do them. Without exception, the families who have gone on our tours have been very glad they did. (Comments from parents are listed under References and phone numbers are available if you want to speak to someone who has toured).

There are many other China Tours to choose from. What is unique about the tours offered by Adoptions Together?
Our itinerary offers you as much flexibility and customization as possible within a group tour concept. • Just tell us if there is something special you want to do or see and we’ll try to arrange it. • Feel free to take a “time out” from touring with the group if you want some family time alone. • We’ll add on time at the beginning or end of the tour if there is somewhere else your family wants to go and set it all up for you. You won’t spend the entire trip being in hot, humid weather! Most summer tours only travel in the areas that will probably be uncomfortably warm. Our summer tour spends refreshing time in cool weather in Yunnan province, known as an area of “Eternal Springtime.” You can’t believe how good that feels after the hot, humid days in Beijing and most other provinces. We emphasize opportunities for your children to feel personally connected to China Children from the tour connect to China through giving and personally delivering donations to the orphanages and to children in China, and through visiting people’s homes. Our tour children take school supplies and distribute them to school children. Our tour will sponsor an orphan through the China Children’s Humanitarian Aid Fund that Xiumin Overall and Adoptions Together founded in 1999. These are orphans who have lost their parents and live with foster families in very rural areas. We will go to meet the child we sponsor and see a glimpse of rural China that is not seen on tours of big cities. These experiences have a profound impact on the adopted children. We encourage families to think of ways for their children to raise these funds themselves. The amount your child would need to raise is about $25 per family, although some children raised much more. Examples: We had a bake sale at the Orientation and families bought items for desert. One family hosted a fund raising tea and bake sale at their home. One child spoke at her church and raised a lot of money! One child asked for donations instead of birthday presents at her party. We offer an orientation session for parents and for children with an experienced adoption professional. Everyone will feel better prepared by knowing what to anticipate when visiting orphanages, finding places, and homes in China. Everyone’s concerns are lessened through these times of sharing facts and feelings. Positive anticipation of the trip is built up through advance meeting. You may already know Xiumin Overall, her family in China, Marcy Gitt, Sandy Rappeport and Adoptions Together from your adoption experience • You can trust this group to plan a tour that will be well organized, child oriented, and a meaningful family experience. 70 families have already toured with us! • The tour will usually include a chance to see some of Xiumin’s family (Mr. Mo, June, Nicole, Shigu and Shihong who Adoptions Together’s families may have known while adopting in China).

When are the Tours?
We arrange tours based on families' travel preferences. Most people prefer to go the last two weeks of June after school is out, but we form groups based on availability of families, any time of the year. We encourage people to consider Spring tours because the weather is so much nicer.

What are the advantages of a spring tour?
The advantage of spring tours are: • Cool weather with little rain makes touring much more enjoyable • A good fit for families who have a limited travel time due to school Spring break

What are the disadvantages of a spring tour?
The disadvantages of spring tours are: • It’s a long trip for so few days of touring if you want to limit it to school break • It is more difficult to get a group formed due to conflicting spring break dates

What is the itinerary for the Spring tour?
Sample Spring Tour itinerary of 11 days: Beijing – 3 nights Xian (terra cotta soldiers) or Wulong/Chengdu (pandas) – 3 nights (group will discuss) Orphanage city- 2 nights Possibly Guangzhou-2nights (White Swan is closing for renovations so this portion of tour may be retained with another hotel, or other optional itineraries) The tour activities are designed to be fun and age appropriate for children. After all, they are our most important “customers” because we want them to fall in love with China. Some of the activities are: Climbing the Great Wall Shopping for souvenirs Swimming Learning to make dumplings in a Chinese home Riding in rickshaws and boats Seeing dance performances Face painting at the Opera School Visiting a training school for aspiring Olympic gymnasts Hiking by the river Taking school supplies and visiting classrooms of similar aged children Taking donations to orphanages Seeing the children being adopted with their new parents at the White Swan Singing and talking and playing on the bus rides

What will be the itinerary for the Summer tour?
Sample summer tour itinerary: 3-4 nights in Beijing 2-3 nights in the province where child was adopted (orphanage, finding place, foster family) 3-4 nights in Yunnan province (a cool, mountainous area with wonderful sightseeing to Lijiang and/or Dali) 2-3 nights in Chengdu/Wulong/Xian area to see the terra cotta warriors and the pandas Maybe: 2 nights at the White Swan in Guangzhou (visit medical clinic)-the White Swan is closing for renovations so this is not certain The tour activities are designed to be fun and age appropriate for children. After all, they are our most important “customers” because we want them to fall in love with China. Some of the activities are: Climbing the Great Wall Shopping for souvenirs Swimming Learning to make dumplings in a Chinese home Riding in rickshaws and boats Seeing dance performances Face painting at the Opera School Visiting a training school for aspiring Olympic gymnasts Hiking by the river Taking school supplies and visiting classrooms of similar aged children Taking donations to orphanages Seeing the children being adopted with their new parents at the White Swan Singing and talking and playing on the bus rides

How should I register?
We prefer you register by January 1st with a nonrefundable registration fee of $300. The first tour payment will be due in the spring. We are accepting registrations now and the form available by emailing marcygitt@cox.net.

What if I have two children adopted from China and want to visit both of their orphanages?
We have had many families with two children on the tour. They were able to visit both adoption cities. These families will miss a few days of the tour in another city because of the extra time required to visit two orphanage cities, or the family may opt to stay longer so as not to miss out on the tour itinerary.

What if I want to add-on time to the beginning or end of the tour to see some additional sights in China?
We are happy to arrange this for you, just let us know on your registration form. Suggestions for add-on tours that families enjoyed: Shanghai, Hong Kong.

Will I be assured of the opportunity to visit my child’s orphanage?
China has formalized the visitation process to orphanages. As hundreds of families return to China every year, this has become necessary to control the planning and staffing required to meet with families and obtain the adoption files. We will submit your Application form to the Chinese officials requesting permission to visit the orphanage. We cannot promise that you will get to visit the orphanage, although it is likely. Sometimes things change at the last minute, too, so you need to prepare your child for that. Be aware that over the past ten years, most orphanages have been torn down and rebuilt, or relocated, so it is unlikely that you will visit the same building your child came from. The orphanage donations from adoptive families have allowed for tremendous improvement in the facilities. Most of the orphanage visits were very positive experiences. There were a few orphanage directors who seemed quite formal in their interactions with families, but most others were very warm and welcoming and very excited about seeing the children. There were tears of joy from caregivers. Some orphanages allowed families to hold babies, others did not. Some allowed picture taking inside, others did not. Rest assured, we do our very best to arrange a visit that meaningful and positive and to communicate prior to your visit with the orphanage staff so they are welcoming and open. 2006 and 2007 tour families got to go to the home of one of the staff from the Changzhou orphanage to share a meal in their home (a top favorite for tours!) with a translator, as well as go to a banquet with the orphanage staff, and look at their child’s file with the orphanage officials.

Will I get to see my child’s file? Will I find out anything new?
All families had the opportunity to see their child’s file. Many were given copies of the file. Most people did not find any new information. A few found out that the abandonment location (finding spot) they had been told about verbally in China when they adopted was not the same as the place written in the child’s abandonment paperwork in the file. A few people found notes in the file which were left with their child indicating the date of birth. We encourage you to take a copy of all your paperwork from your adoption with you to China so you can do a comparison.

Will I get to visit the place where my child was found abandoned? What if I don’t want to or I don’t want my child to see this?
We believe that visiting this place is an important step for the child in understanding their adoption and their birthparents circumstances and decision not to parent the child. This experience is more “traumatic” for parents to imagine than it is for a child to experience. We spend lots of time in Orientation talking about this, and the children benefit greatly from being in a group where everyone is talking about their “finding place” and it seems normal to them. We do use the word “abandoned” with the children. Although most parents dislike that word, it is necessary for the children to hear it before they go, because they will hear it used in China by orphanage officials, tour guides, etc. Again, by getting it out in the open before we go, it is not so upsetting. Most often the finding place will be difficult to imagine before you get there and may have changed dramatically if you visited it during your adoption trip. Finding places can be on a busy corner near a new mall, or in a small village by a river, or at a police station. Several families had very unique and positive experiences. At the police station, the policemen were thrilled by a child’s visit. Even though they didn’t know if they were the ones who actually took the child to the orphanage, they had taken many children, and they were excited to have their pictures taken with the child. In a small village, one child had the incredible experience of actually meeting the farmer woman who found her, and who shared her finding story with her! They have since exchanged letters. A few other families visited the police station where there child was taken after being found, and from there, were taken to meet the family who found their child, and visited in their homes. Despite these amazing meetings, it is not something you should go to China expecting. We have never had anyone find a birth family on one of our Tours, although this has been reported to have happened by other organizations.

If my child was in foster care, can I meet the foster family?
There have been many families on tours whose children had been in foster care. We were able to find the foster families through the orphanage and arrange visits with them, which usually the adoptive families knew about before they left on the Tour. Everyone was thrilled at meeting the foster families, and some have visited their homes and saw the beds where their children slept! The foster families were absolutely thrilled to see the children. In orientation, we talk about this. Children need to be prepared for meeting a person who expresses great affection towards them, yet that person feels like a stranger to the child. Other children who don’t have foster families need to understand why they might not meet someone who remembers taking care of them in China.

What will the land portion of the Tour cost?
Costs in China are going up every day. We estimate the cost for the land portion of the tour in China will be approximately $200 per person per day (approximately $3,200 per person for a 16 day tour with a possible discount for a child under 12 at the time of departure. a. A child has to be 11 years old or under on the last day of the tour to receive a discount. b. In China, a child taller than 3'10" is charged an adult fare for admission tickets, transportation fares (except airfare) and meals in restaurants. We assume all children 11 years old and under are shorter than 3'10" and quote them a child's fee. If your child exceeds this height limit, your tour guide might ask you to pay the difference of the transportation fare and admission ticket while in China.

What is included in the Tour cost?
The land tour includes: All hotel stays in four and five star accommodationsAll internal travel (flights or trains) within China.(an extra charge applies to families traveling to two orphanages) Tour guide, bus driver, and translator in every city All breakfasts, most lunches and a few dinners Admissions to sightseeing spots

What is NOT included? What additional costs can I expect?
• This above quoted land price does not include international airfare to and from China. (Airfare has been about $1,100 per adult and $900 per child for airfare, but we do not know yet what the going rate will be for 2009.) We will recommend a tour operator, but bookings are done individually, however, we suggest you fly with others, as it is a lot more fun to fly over and back with the group. • Costs for passport and visas. (Be sure you passport is good for 6 months past your departure from China and check NOW as passport processing is slow) • Donations of: Gifts to the orphanage (estimate$100 per family) A donation to the Humanitarian Aid Fund to sponsor an orphan for school, who we go to visit during the Tour (not on the Spring Tour) – estimate $25 per family Small gifts to caregivers or foster families • Travel to Orientation in the D.C. area (not mandatory but highly encouraged). • Shopping in China, of course! • Some dinners in China are “on your own”. We found that families like that free time to explore on their own after a day of touring. If you visit more than one orphanage, there will be an extra travel fee and an extra orphanage fee. • Orphanage Visitation Fee (ranges from $150), but some may charge more. This process is still in flux as the new procedures are worked out in China. • If you have a cot put in your room, there is an extra fee for it, and for breakfast. Twin beds in China hotels (about 50 inches wide) are closer in width to the 54" double size beds in the US and much wider than the 39 inches wide twin beds found in American homes. If you need a cot added, there is an extra charge.

When do I need to make a decision about going?
We would like to have tour registrations and registration fee by January 1st, however registrations may be accepted after this date. Further payments will not be due until spring. If something happens that you have to cancel, a refund will be made if at all possible, and the amount will depend on the notice you are able to give. We will give you the refund policy in writing. The Tour registration form is available by emailing marcygitt@cox.net to request it. A $300 non-refundable administrative fee is required with the registration, and it is not deducted from the travel costs. This will help you qualify to buy travel insurance for preexisting conditions.

Should I purchase travel insurance?
We recommend that you buy travel insurance to cover your expenses if you should have to unexpectedly cancel your trip, unless you feel that you can afford this risk. You are required to purchase travel medical insurance for this trip including medical evacuation and repatriation. You can get quotes at www.insuremytrip.com. You will need to buy the insurance within a defined number of days of your first travel payment (not your registration payment) if you want preexisting conditions covered. We do not count the $300 administrative fee as a travel cost.

Who is making the tour arrangements?
Xiumin Overall and Marcy Gitt have worked with Adoptions Together for over fifteen years. Both of them traveled with families on the 2006 Tour. Xiumin was involved in the founding of the China program for the agency, and is presently the facilitator between Adoptions Together and their adoption programs in China and Vietnam. She has family in China who work with a travel agency to make all the tour arrangements in China for families traveling to adopt as well as for the Birthland Tours. (for those of you who know “Nicole” and “Shigu”, they travel with many groups for a portion of their tour. Mr. Mo and June do not travel any longer but try to greet families in Beijing. Shihong is sometimes in China, too). This family has arranged hundreds of tours and are very well respected by the adoptive families who have been their clients. . Xiumin will be communicating with the tour families about the travel arrangements. Marcy Gitt, MSW, has many years of experience planning and accompanying Birthland Tours to Korea and now, has added China to her expertise. She used to be the China Program manager for Adoptions Together, and, later, did many homestudies and post placements for families adopting from China. She is your contact prior to registration for any questions (marcygitt@cox.net).

What support will we receive?
Pre-trip Orientation There will be an adoption orientation session held in the Baltimore-D.C. area several months prior to travel. It is especially important for the adopted children to be emotionally prepared for this journey, and parents need preparation for what to expect at the orphanage, the finding place visit, etc. This preparation involves communication between the parents and child about the details of their China adoption story, which is guided through materials provided to the parents. There are separate sessions at Orientation for parents and children. Children benefit greatly from the group process of asking questions, sharing concerns, etc., with other adopted children who share similar adoption histories. Culturally appropriate behavior and what children can expect to be different about China is covered, too. The time spent in preparation has been very much appreciated by families who saw the benefit when they were in China. During trip If the tour group is large enough, approximately 10 families, it is probable that Marcy Gitt will travel with your tour throughout China. There is opportunity during the tour for child and parent discussions to share feelings and experiences. You will always have a local Chinese tour guide/translator with you, whether you are with the group, or off on a visit to the orphanage with only one family. In general, we were extremely impressed with these guides. They are well educated, speak excellent English, and are usually sensitive to the importance of the adoption parts of the trip. They impart a lot of formal knowledge of China and are eager to participate in informal, more personal conversations, as well. Some of these guides are top notch and get to choose the most desirable tours to accompany, and many chose ours because they were so inspired by the idea of spending time with adoptive families. You will have a cell phone number for 24 hour access to someone in Xiumin’s family who has been responsible for tour arrangements, and who speaks English. After the trip Families are encouraged to stay in touch after the tour. There may be opportunities to meet with the adoption professional who traveled with the tour, too. Families will be invited to volunteer to talk with other families who are considering a Birthland Tour.

What happens after the trip?
Families are encouraged to stay in touch after the tour. There may be opportunities to meet with the adoption professional who traveled with the tour, too. Families will be invited to volunteer to talk with other families who are considering a Birthland Tour.