Speaking Up!

Comments from Karen and Rob Zimmerman

The Zimmerman family, from Wauwatosa, WI, traveled with the Romanian TIES Program in 2007.

I had heard about TIES program and this trip was always in the back of our mind. We thought about it for a long time before we made the commitment to go. For travel in August 2007, the family registered in September 2006.

How did you decide on this type of homeland tour?
I think I just wanted to go with other people as a group. It felt like it was safer for the four of us to travel with other families. It gave the kids and us a chance to process the experience with other adoptive families. I do think it was great that the kids had a chance to talk with peers; and that Rob and I had a chance to talk with other adults, too. Another deciding factor for me in terms of this particular trip was that a social worker would be traveling with us. That added to having a lot of support and resources for our entire family.

Did you initially plan to meet your children’s birth family when you decided to travel back to Romania?
We thought long and hard about whether we should try to meet our children's birth family. Ultimately, we felt that it would be an opportunity to get some questions answered about how our children became available for international adoption, what the process was like for the birthmother, and what her family's life was like since then. Madalina and Alex had mixed feelings about it at first, but I think their curiosity made them agree to do it. The trip itinerary took us within about 50 miles of their hometown, and we were able to make contact with the birth family through a lawyer a few weeks before the trip, and it all came together perfectly. I'll admit to being a bit apprehensive on the drive over to their hometown, but once we met them, and they welcomed us into their home, I knew we made the right decision.

We have invited them to visit us in the US this summer, which they will do if they can secure tourist visas. The Romanian visit was one afternoon; their visit here will be for two weeks. It certainly is something I never thought possible when we adopted our children in 1996.

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