[ocracoke]

Since you have already made your decision I understand that my opinion is too late. But since I am an opinionated person I am giving it anyway. Adoption is an emotional thing. You should do what is in your heart. When I was trying to pick a country I looked at all the big ones (china, russia, korea, guatemala, etc) however it wasn't until I found Ethiopia I knew that that was where my daughter was. It sounds to me that you know that your daughter is from Guatemala. And think of the wonder rich things you can give her because of your personal connection with her country!! However, I agree with one of the other people -- why not both!!! Maybe your next one will come from Ethiopia...or Vietnam... or China... or Russia... or....

Samantha

[CalandraLark]

Since I'm planning to adopt internationally the issue of which country to chose and why do I prefer one over the other is something I've been thinking about a lot.

I think a major consideration is if you can be a more helpful adoptive parent to a child from one country than another. For instance if you're very familar with and in love with a country it's not a cop out to chose one that you want and that would be better for a child. I've decided familarity doesn't neccessarily mean it's the best one though... that's why I added the part about being in love with the country. I grew up in Europe and am way more familiar with Poland, Russia, or the Ukraine, but I feel way more pulled to Korea and Ethiopia.

Part of this is because I've had enough European culture immersion, it's already a part of my life to some extent and I'd much rather add a new culture to my life. Also, I would end up not focusing on my child's birth culture enough because I was uninterested except for their sakes. To me, part of being a good international adoptive parent means having a love for the country before the child enters the picture. Too much emphasis is sometimes placed on which country has the "poorest" people in respect to need for adoption or ethnicity. My adoptive children will probably be asian and african, but I didn't pick the countries for their skin tones, I picked them because the people I've meet from Korea and Ethopia gave me a picture that grabbed my heart. Children from Vietnam and Liberia need parents just as much or more...but for me it wouldn't be the same. Every child deserves a parent that loves everything about them as a person, and I think personal country preference can sometimes add to that.