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I'm really glad you brought this issue up. To me one of the absolute biggest things required for a sucessful adoption experience, particularly for your kids is plenty of information from the beginning.
Of course I might be on the extreme here seeing as I'm obsesively attatched to these boards five years before I even reach the minimum age for international adoption, much less before I reach my own requirements of finacial and marital status.
Anyway, I encourage everyone who's in the process or has completed it to join in this discussion and tell us how much you knew and how much you wish you had! (and add to my own never ending quest for enough information) So post!
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TCK"s or Third Culture Kids are difined as "[A] person who has spent a significant part of his or her developmental years outside the parents' culture. The third culture kid builds relationships to all of the cultures, while not having full ownership in any. Although elements from each culture are assimilated into the third culture kid's life experience, the sense of belonging is in relationship to others of the same background."
How being a TCK relates to my desire to adopt some day: I grew up an international child, and while the walls between country and race mean less to me than most, I grew up with an understanding of the influence of clashing cultures that is hard to explain to someone who exists in solely one culture. God has given me the gift of experiences to fuel my desire for international adoption and to understand an internationally adopted child's world.
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