Being on Your Best Behavior: Respecting an Unfamiliar Culture
You represent adoptive parents, and the image you project speaks for us all. Remember you are a visitor in your child's country and act accordingly.DO:
Remain courteous and patient when frustrations mount.Show an interest in the country's customs and culture and try to adapt to those customs.
Dress yourself appropriately for different occasions.
Be flexible about your length of stay.
When there is a setback stay patient and persistent. It will pass and you will go home with your child.
DON'T:
Be afraid to ask questions, but phrase them carefully.Be afraid to ask for the things you need, such as bottled water, or asking your facilitator to eat with you; your treat.
Put yourself on a time schedule and/or set deadlines that your hosts either cannot meet or will have no inclination to meet.
Expect a foreign bureaucracy to work any more efficiently or swiftly than one of ours.
Complain about or criticize political events or social conditions in the host country.
Expect sterile conditions, but remember your child has made it this far, and will survive even if conditions are not up to your standards of cleanliness or newness.
Overdo on alcohol.
Be impatient, inconsiderate, loud, noisy, or argumentative.
Take offense if you are treated rudely or brusquely. The best way to handle such situations here or there is to rise above, stay calm, and not respond in kind.
DO be prepared to feel homesick, confused, and lonely. You're likely to be very excited, but you also can feel terribly unsettled. It probably won't feel like a vacation. It is however, the beginning of a brand new life with your child, so look at it that way. Don't let the small things cause you to loose sight of the purpose of your journey.
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