If you’ve attended any of my workshops, you know that I talk about the need for setting goals and considering the desired outcome of a trip to your child’s birth country a LOT!
Before I took my daughter to China in 2011, I had never thought in terms of goals or outcomes that were important to us while traveling. After that trip, it consumed me. The trip could have had an entirely different outcome – she might have been more connected to her Chinese heritage, we could have become so much closer as mom and daughter, etc. I simply joined a group trip – which was fine (for me), but it did not suit my daughter and actually worked in opposition to what I now know would have been my goals.
I knew as a travel planner and especially as a mom, I should have considered what my daughter needed before we embarked on such an important journey. For several years and through hours and hours of research, I dwelled on questions like:
What had I missed?
What should I have done differently?
What kind of trip would fit her better?
And most of all, why hadn’t I thought of all this BEFORE taking her to China?
Yeah, I beat myself up a lot about that trip. But you shouldn’t have to. That’s why I’m here – to help you plan a Heritage Journey that will benefit you and your children and inspire many years of positive memories!
So back to the goals …
During my research I realized that there are some very tangible goals that can be achieved on every Heritage Journey and if you’re like me, you want this once in a lifetime experience (the FIRST time you take your child back to his or her birth country) to be monumental!
A Heritage Journey can and should be – at a minimum:
- A way to connect more deeply as a family unit.
- An opportunity to build self-esteem and a positive self-image.
- A journey that cultivates pride in your family’s multi-cultural heritage, and connects your adopted child to his or her heritage.
These are the main themes (goals) that I spend most of my time reflecting on when I plan a Heritage Journey for a family. Best of all, they are achievable! I promise. It takes an investment of time, energy, forethought and background knowledge to make sure we accomplish these goals, but they are doable.
And what better time than a trip to your child’s birth country to deepen family connections, build self-esteem, help your child develop a positive self-image and cultivate pride in your family’s rich multi-cultural heritage?
So when you are ready to design a trip that will accomplish family goals, call me. It’s my forte and I would be thrilled to help you plan the trip of a lifetime. And I’ll be honest, you can connect your family more deeply, build self-esteem and a positive self-image, as well as connect to the culture of the country where you are traveling, on any trip! I’d be thrilled to show you how.
As a side note, this is a great time to book travel! I’m seeing travel deals on most airlines right now. Although traveling during the winter holidays might be tight, and expensive, there is still availability during spring break and if you’re looking at summer, we can typically get better prices for booking early. Flights will definitely be cheaper for summer if you’re booking them now!
When you are ready to explore the world with your family, please schedule a 30-minute Discovery Session with me at www.calendly.com/bambi. I’d LOVE to help!
Bambi Wineland is the mother of two internationally adopted children, a traveler, a Certified Professional Coach, and the Founder and CEO of Motherland Travel. Motherland Travel began by designing Heritage Journeys for families with internationally adopted children. The emphasis of those Heritage Journeys has always been on deepening family connections, building self-esteem and cultivating pride in a family’s multi-cultural heritage. Motherland Travel also uses the philosophies of transformative Travel for designing family trips with purpose – building rich connections, with each other and the world! Read more about her here >> http://motherlandtravel.com/
PS – If you want some more information on why goal setting is so important, check out these previous blog posts about designing a Heritage Journey for your adoptive family:
https://motherlandtravel.com/adoptive-family-travel/heritage-journey-childs-birth-country/
https://motherlandtravel.com/heritage-journey/designing-heritage-journey-part-two/
https://motherlandtravel.com/adoptive-family-travel/designing-heritage-journey-part-3/
https://motherlandtravel.com/adoptive-family-travel/designing-heritage-journey-part-4/