My Big Airplane Day

Today is my big airplane day, when my parents picked me up at the airport 28 years ago.

Last June I went back to Korea. It was more an opportunity to visit, and stay with Steve and Laurie, not so much as an emotional motherland trip, but more to take advantage of a visit before S&L returned to north America.

From my travel email:

Prior to coming my mother contacted Holt (my adoption agency) to schedule a time for me to see my file. There was also a chance to meet my foster mother, but she passed away about 5 years ago from cancer. I wasn't sure quite what to expect, but the file didn't have too much different from what we knew before: that I was left at the police precinct or box and placed for adoption.

What was interesting was that I was admitted to Bethel Won, the orphanage on June 2, 1976. Because there was no information about my birth parents, they essentially made a new birth certificate and estimated my age based on growth, and relative size of other children. Hence my birthday, August 1, 1974... give or take a few weeks... Interestingly, the post adoption services worker commented that my file was particularly verbose. Also of interest were two letters from my parents before and after the adoption.