In July 2001, my family was informed that my dad and I would be able to travel to Vietnam to adopt my new little brother. We had been anticipating this news for some time and were very excited when the time finally came. We had gone through the adoption process twice before when my parents adopted my Vietnamese sisters several years ago.

One of the most surprising difficulties of adopting this little boy was crying to figure out what to name him. After many family disagreements, we decided to name this new Iittle five-year-old boy, Scott. By August, we had made all the travel, hotel, and paperwork arrangements, and were set to go.

Vietnam was extremely hot and humid. Fortunately the hotel that we stayed in was well air-conditioned. The first city we stayed in was Saigon. The best word to describe this city is poor. Everywhere you look there are people begging, people trying to sell food, and houses that are very old and run down. A Communist government controls Vietnam, and the majority of the people either don’t have jobs or make very little money. The average adult makes about $200 every year. Many people wander through the dirty streets trying to sell what they make or grow.

After one night in a hotel in Saigon, we flew to Da Nang, where we would pick up Scott. We stayed in the hotel for a total of three days. On the first day, we went to the orphanage to pick up Scott. Leaving the orphanage was very hard for him. Once he realized that he was going to be adopted, he became very scared. Fortunately there were two Vietnamese ladies who spoke English and could comfort him. Another thing that made this very hard for Scott was that he had to leave a brother and sister. This was a very sad time for all of them. He also had lots of friends that were his age who came to say goodbye to him and see him off.

Once we arrived back at our hotel with Scott, he stopped crying and relaxed a little bit. We gave him the toys that we had brought along and he played happily with them. Although he adjusted very well, there were still many times when he would start to remember his family and would miss them. At times like this he would cry but would usually get over it several minutes later.

After several days in Da Nang, all three of us flew back to Saigon and stayed in the same hotel that we had stayed in when we first arrived in the country. Scott quickly adjusted to my dad and me, and we did many fun things together at the hotel. Some of Scott’s favorite things to do at the hotel included golf, swimming, and watching TV. Another thing that Scott really enjoyed was eating really good Vietnamese food at restaurants for almost every meal. However, two of his favorite things to eat and drink were Doritos and Pepsi.

After two weeks in Vietnam, we finally got all the adoption papers and were allowed to fly back to the United States. Scott loved the airplanes but was always a little nervous because he never knew where we would be traveling next. At last our plane arrived at the Pittsburgh airport on Sept. 6, and Scott was greeted by many friends and family.

This trip was a very good experience for me. I had never been out of the United States before, and I was very excited to have the opportunity to travel and see another country. Seeing all the poverty in Vietnam made me so thankful to have everything I have. It also means a lot to me to have a new Iittle brother. I have a lot of fun with him now, and it is neat to see him grow up and learn so many new things. Scott is now attending kindergarten at Beaver County Christian School and is making lots of new friends even though none of them speak Vietnamese. He turned six and had his first-ever birthday party. Christmas was a very confusing but fun day for him. He loved all the presents he got, and our family is so thankful to know that one day he will be able to know the true meaning of that happy day.

Nick is a member of the College Hill (Beaver Falls. Pa.) RPC.