[LEJ8]

I am a single woman considering adopting a healthy 8-10year-old boy from a foreign country. I do not have a specific child picked out. I have some thoughts on this I'd like to get everyone and anyone's opinions on.

Please don't think I'm naive--I don't know how I could be b/c I've been researching adoption for over a year now! But I am worried that adopting an older child may not be good for the child. The orphanage I am looking at is in a country that is not dirt poor. The waiting children are all smiling and apparently go to school, play games and have good caretakers. I would be adopting a child, pulling him out of his native country--where he is living with a bunch of other kids his age. At my house, it would just be me and him (and my dogs). No siblings to play with, new language to learn, different food to eat, etc...When you think about it, the obstacles are quite significant! I read an article written by a woman who adopted an older child from Vietnam. She said her daughter was happy in her orphanage. I spoke to the agency rep that is representing these waiting children, and she assures me that older children are asked if they want to be adopted. But do they really understand it? I know children in Russia and India, in particular, are put out into the streets with no education once they reach a certain age, but this is a fairly wealthy Asian country (Thailand). I know every child deserves a family, but would I be doing more harm than good. Maybe a different country or a younger child would be better...Please tell me what you think!