Why China?

I am asked this question often - Why did you chose China? We chose China for many reasons. The first being - that is where our daughter is. At least, that is the first thing that comes to mind now that all of our paperwork is in China. But I know what everyone means. Initially, I always thought of Romania. When the plight of orphans was brought to my attention, it was in regard to the mistreatment suffered by the children in Romanian orphanges. It was gut wrenching to hear and watch and really just pulled on my heart-strings. Around the same time, the infanticide in China was also starting to make rounds in the media circuit. The ideas of girls being killed because they had the misfortune of being girls in a society that favors boys or left abandoned on the side of the road was almost too much to fathom. I always thought I would end up adopting from one of those two countries.
When Lalo and I finally decided to go through with an adoption, I thoroughly researched all the countries that were open to international adoption. Not everyone is. Romania was closed. Russia initially appealed to me because I thought that a child from Russia would blend in "physically" with my own biological children, being that the girls are blue-eyed and fair skinned. But ultimately, I wasn't adopting to have the "picture pretty" family. We aslo considered Colombia for awhile, but the required 7 to 8 weeks in-country stay was just too much time to be away from work and school.
There are so many advantages to adopting from China. The most significant reason is that China really has the most predictable and stable program of all countries. There are no surprises with China. You are given a timetable and know upfront what to except and what not to expect. The court system there is predictable. Just yesterday, Lalo was telling me about a cousin of a coworker of his who had to travel back and forth to Russia SIX... YES, SIX times to adopt their child. Mind you, it is supposed to be a total of two visits for Russia. This would never happen in China. This is just one example of the many things that can unexpectedly pop-up in Russia and other countries. The issue of baby selling in other countires is also a scary reality. Today, on several adoption websites, there is rumor that adoptions in Guatemala are being halted as of today. If true, this will leave thousands of families in adoption limbo until the red tape is straighten out. Again, this most likely wouldn't happen with China. There are also many other countires that have recently opened up to international adoption, especially in Africa. These programs were just too "new" for us. The girls have know from early on that we would be adopting. We needed a country that we could count on for stability and security. China is it.
There is one other key factor that made our decision to adopt from China an easy one. China requires only one visit to their country with a short 10 day stay. During that stay, we travel in groups with other adoptive parents and are escorted by our agency's very competent representatives. I chatted on-line with many parents who adopted from China who had very positive experiences. Many of these families return to China to adopt a second child.