travel...

orientation!

This morning Damon and I took one step closer to stepping on a plane and traveling half way around the world to meet our son. Technically, it wasn't really an "offical" or "must do" step in our adoption journey. But, it was definitely something that made us feel like there really, truly is a big bright light at the end of the tunnel. And, we are so glad we took the time to head to the agency to meet with other families waiting to travel and have an open discussion with our Specialist about what to except over the next few months while we wait for our travel call...as well as what to expect when we finally get to travel and meet our son and all those who have cared for him.

We got a lot of good information about meeting Leo (we will have scheduled visits with him...hopefully two before we leave for home...the first being on the first full business day that we are in Seoul and the visits will be with the foster mom, Leo and the Social Worker - there to translate); about staying at the agency guesthouse (a driver will pick us up from the airport, it has a kitchen stocked with breakfast items for adoptive families to share and a washer & dryer to use, and be back by 11pm - doors lock then); about volunteering with the babies in the nursery (the last unofficial count was that there were 71 babies being cared for at the agency waiting for foster mothers - two to three hour shifts of feeding, diapering, holding, rocking...whatever we've asked to do); about gift ideas for the agency president & staff and Leo's foster family (who knew that Koreans love instant coffee, hand lotion, and umbrellas); and for traveling around Seoul (we were provided some quality maps, transporation tips, translation flashcards, and emergency contact phone numbers).

We also confirmed that Leo's care package has made the trip to Seoul. HOORAY!! And, we officially asked for an update on Leo...and hope to get development information and more pictures within six weeks. Six weeks? Yep...but, it's comforting to know that we've asked and something will be coming our way before too long.

But, probably the most vauable information was a better understanding of what's going on over there in Korea while we wait for the travel call. I've had a general understanding of what's happening...but thinking that we are so far down the list to have anything happen, I haven't really spent much time knowing every detail of what's going on over there and obsessing over where exactly we are in the process. But now that we went to this travel orientation and things seem that much more real...don't be surprised if I hop on the obsession bandwagon in the near future. But until then, let me give you an idea of what the heck is going on.

Before Leo can come home, the Korean adoption agency must apply for Emigration Permission (EP). The agency typically submits monthly batches of EPs. As of late, the number of families from our agency in each batch has ranged from 6 to 12. The order in which families are included in a batch is based on when the legal paperwork was sent from Korean agency to the American agency. [that date for us is 2/8 & we estimate that there are around 28 to 35 families ahead of us on the list...our agency anticipates that the next batch will go into the Ministry next week] The Ministry then typically takes four to six weeks to approve Emigration Permission. [only one batch can be at the Ministry at a time - so obviously a four week turn around is ideal] Once the Emigration Permission is granted, it's then all in the hands of our expediant US government...when the Korean agency applies for visa issuance from the US Embassy. It takes roughly 7 to 10 days for the visa to be issued. Once issued, it'll be time to start making travel arrangements!!

So...the "cliff notes" version of a timeline to expect for Leo:
1. EP into the Ministry: late summer (my guess - on one of the 6 family birthdays in August)
2. EP out of the Minstry: September/October based on EP going in during August
3. US Embassy Visa approval: again, September/October

Our Specialist will be calling us at each of these three milestones. So...when we get the call that says Leo's paperwork was in the batch that went to the Ministry for EP approval we will know that we've only got two and a half more months max to go until we're in Seoul! ("only" two and a half more months max?!?!)

That's the rest of the process in a nutshell. I feel like my posts have been way too wordy lately. Might be time to find and post some pictures or maybe even attempt to post a video (FYI: stand-in Leo from Easter has recently been wholely embraced by Drew - you might like to see a glimpse of the kind of big brother Drew is going to be)

Until next time...thanks for all your love and support - it means so very much!