Angels from Near and Far
A Resource for Adopting Children

Chompu Comes from Thailand!
by Jeannie Stanley

We saw Chompu on a waiting list with Adoption Advocates International, whom we had used previously for a China adoption in 1996. I began the paper chase in July of 1998. My dossier arrived in Thailand on Sept. 29, 1998. We were notified by Janelle at AAI on Dec. 19, 1999 that we had been approved and had a Thai Department of Public Health appointment on February 11, 1999.

Chompu in Thailand

We left the states on Wednesday, February 3, 1999, from Los Angeles, on Thai Airways......they were WONDERFUL!!! If I ever fly to Asia again, they will be my airline of choice. The seats seemed roomier with more leg and knee space than any other flight that I have ever flown. The attendants were super.

We flew up the coast of US and Canada, across the Bering Strait, down the coast of Russia and stopped in Osaka for an hour layover. This was after about 11 hrs of flying. We were able to stretch our legs and go into a couple of duty free shops (even though it was 1 a.m. their time). Then we got back on the same plane for another 5 hr. flight to Bangkok (BKK). We arrived there at 6:00 a.m.

Customs was a breeze....couldn't believe it! We had a young woman waiting for us to take us to our hotel.....Holiday Inn Crown Plaza.....great people there, they went above and beyond, and after Chompu joined us, treated her like a little princess! We checked in, got showers, and I called the US Embassy, who told me to come there and to Immigration that day. Then I called the Thai Social Worker, Ms. Angkana, at the Thai Dept of Public Welfare. So off we went in the crazy and I mean crazy Bangkok traffic. Arrived at the Embassy and they looked over my papers, gave me an appointment for the next Fri. the 12th at 8 a.m. and sent us down the street to Immigration. A woman there looked over paperwork and told me the documents I'd need. We then went across the street which was no easy feat until we found a crosswalk above the street, to find the office to translate Chompu's Birth Certificate. We went in the building where we were told it was located ....huge....looked all through the directory, asked the info guard on duty, asked around and could not find it!!!! Went back across the street and walked, looking for a translator. About 3 blocks down the street from the Embassy and Immigration, we found an office on the 2nd floor of an old looking bldg. that had a sign to do translations. The woman there showed me a doc from Immigration that had them listed as approved by our government to translate. After we got this done, we caught a cab back to the hotel. We went to our room to rest for awhile then went for dinner downstairs early and back to the room for showers, rest and BEDTIME. We were zombies.

We had planned to go out walking the next day, Sat. and do some shopping. Neither of us slept very well, and Mom was up most of the night. We went for breakfast and after eating Mom starting feeling sick and faint and put her head on the table. Scared me to death. I got one of the hosts to get a wheelchair and call a dr. I was imagining a stroke. 3 guys from the hotel came and escorted us up to our room. They were so wonderful. At this point, mom is saying she's fine, doesn't need a wheelchair and once we hit the elevator I lost it and started sobbing. The phone was ringing in our room when we got there, Dr. calling. Mom got to it first and refused to let him come see her. After crying and begging for 20 min she relented "for me". We called the Dr., who called me and made sure she would see him. He arrived in about 20 to 30 min. during which time, I cried and imagined my mom stroked out in a Thai hospital....all my fault and I wouldn't be able to get my daughter. The Dr. and nurse arrived, took her blood pressure which was ok and told her she was just exhausted. He gave her some medication. She took it and went to sleep. I spent the remainder of the day watching her sleep and writing in my journal. I was actually scared to leave her in the room alone. She finally woke about 5:30, and we went to dinner and back to the room to get ready to leave for Chiang Mai the next morning (Sunday.) I think I called my husband that night but am a bit fuzzy about exactly when.

We left Bangkok next morning and arrived in Chiang Mai about 10:30 a.m. I had to go outside to catch the hotel minibus. We got checked in, ate lunch but mom was too tired to do any walking around. So, we just unpacked and got ready for our new arrival to the family. I also went downstairs and asked about transport to the babies home the next morning. Guess what....no taxis in Chiang Mai! The lady at the hotel desk arranged for some tour minibus to take us. 

At this point, it was 11 a.m. and no Chompu. I was beginning to really feel scared. Mrs. Yoktree said Chompu was very excited about me arriving and as a result ended up in the hospital for diarrhea. When I asked about the fever, she replied little fever. Then she asked if I wanted to go to the hospital and see what was going on.....yeah, about 2 hrs. ago!!!!!! It was only about 5 min. away and we followed Mrs. Yoktree through a maze of hallways, walkways, crowded rooms up an elevator and when we got off there was Chompu sitting in a chair with the social worker and a bunch of people waiting around. She looked so small. She recognized me and of course Mrs. Yoktree immediately and met us as we were getting off the elevator. When I hugged her, she was so slight and frail; I could feel every bone. We took her back to the children’s home while the social worker waited for the medicine she was to take.

Back at the children’s home, they gave her a bath which consisted of her standing in a big bathroom with a drain and having water dipped from a big barrel and poured over her. We then dressed her in her new outfit and shoes, which fit perfectly....size 4 and 10, respectively. She got her first pair of lace up shoes and by the 2nd day, wanted to learn how to tie them. I showed her 3 times and she got it!!! Bright kid. She was soooooo over stimulated. She was into everything. Wouldn't leave the knobs, buttons, t.v., toilet, paper (they didn't have toilet paper!). All she wanted to eat was eggs.....would eat 3 or four at a time! That night we walked to the night market. She was worn out, over stimulated and we only stayed about an hour before returning to the hotel. Was able to pick up a few things for her and my younger daughter. Chompu tested me at every point. Simply ignored any of my requests to stop a behavior. She wanted no discipline and just wanted to run wild. By Tues. morning when she opened the window of our 7th floor room, I started smacking hands! Not proud of it, but had to do it. This helped some. At least she was seeing there were parameters for her behavior. She never cried for the children’s home. They had done an excellent job of preparing her. At this point, I was wondering what I had gotten myself into. This wild child, defiant, stubborn and literally testing me at every moment.

We left Tues afternoon for Bangkok. About 7 or 8 eight of the babies home staff met us at the airport to bid us farewell. We got back to BKK about 4 p.m. We went to the same hotel...Holiday Inn......and got settled back in. Chompu was still into everything. Suckers and hair bows in the toilet, refusing to take medication.....spit it back out all over me and/or the bed and carpet. She would ring the emergency bell on the elevator, hit all the buttons so we would stop at every floor.....I could go on and on.

The morning of Wed. the 10th, we went for her visa photos.....took 3 tries to get them correctly. Then took a tour of the Grand Palace grounds and all the wats (temples). It was unbelievably beautiful....impossible to describe all the ornateness. It was also incredibly hot! We went back to the hotel and had lunch with our tour guide (and young woman who had met us at the airport every time for our hotel to airport transfers). Spent the afternoon, getting docs together, and planning all the events of the next day. We were to be at the Dept of Public Health at 9 a.m. on Thurs. the 11th. It was hot there and no AC! We were the last ones interviewed by the Adoption Board. When we entered the "hallowed room" where all the dignified officials were waiting around a big boardroom table, Chompu stopped and spit right in the doorway floor. I was mortified. We sat down across from the officials and as luck would have it, the chairs had wheels. Chompu was twirling around and around, propelling herself back from the table 5 ft. and so on. The questions weren't intrusive or difficult. Questions like: How did I find Chompu? Why did I choose Thailand and not return to China for another child there? Even asked if there was some reason that I COULDN'T adopt from China….to which I explained that I saw Chompu and knew she was our daughter. She was in Thailand, not China. They also asked about provisions for her care while I worked teaching school. I had taken pictures of the daycare here we were going to use.... her younger sister in her classroom room and also pictures of the room and class that Chompu would be in. They seemed to really appreciate the pictures. Maybe it reassured them. After about 15 min. it was over. we left and it was about 11:30 a.m. We went directly to US Immigration office (eating in the lobby of the building). I gave them all docs necessary. Then we were off to the hospital for a med. exam. I gave them the paper from the embassy. I thought it was weird that the dr. didn't seem to know what he was doing. When we got back to the hotel....I had this niggling fear about the medical so I got it out and looked at it......they had sent me to the wrong Doctor!!!! They were supposed to close at 4 p.m. It was 5 p.m. at this point and I was frantic......I  had to have a med. exam by an  approved dr. for the embassy appointment approved dr. for the embassy next morning at 8 am. I called the original dr., explained the situation and he said one of the Doctors. on the list was on duty until 7 p.m. So, off we went back to the hospital in the rush hour traffic in Bangkok. It was horrible. They took blood and also gave her an HIV test and her immunizations (one in each arm and each buttock). She got ice cream after that. We waited about 30 min for the results and went back for the packet to take to the embassy. It was about 7 or 7:30 p.m. by the time we got back to the hotel....one long hellish day.....the worst one! I felt so sorry for Chompu. Her little body has been through so much, when they held her down for the shots, I was crying, she was screaming for me!

Next morning, we were up, ate breakfast, packed, checked out, and ate lunch while we waited for the transfer to the airport. Again, we flew Thai Air through Osaka, one hr. stop, which was very helpful. Got to LAX Sat evening. Customs and Immigration was a breeze there. No waiting....went right through! Caught the bus from the Immigration was a breeze there. No waiting....went right through! Caught the bus from the international terminal to the Immigration was a breeze there. No waiting....went right through! Caught the bus from the international terminal to the domestic one, ate something and waited for our flight to Philadelphia. Chompu was a real trooper on all the long flights. I had really dreaded the Pacific flight....I thought she would be rowdy and all over the place. I even worried if a child was capable of opening the plane door! But the only problem was her hitting the call attendant button every time we went to the bathroom! From Philly we went to Charlotte, NC where we had a 3 hr. layover. We ate, walked around and couldn't wait to get on that last plane to Tricities. 10 min before boarding time, they announced the flight would leave late because the crew was late.......at this point, the jet lag had hit me.......I didn't think I could hold my head up! Chompu was talking to everyone in Thai, which put me in a position to have to converse and I was brain dead.

Finally we got on the plane, which is basically up and back down....about a 30 min flight. About ten minutes before landing, as we were descending, Chompu fell asleep. When we landed, and I woke her up, she was in a foul mood and wouldn't get up. I tried carrying her, but she was kicking and throwing a fit. When we finally got out to where Daddy and my youngest daughter were, I ran up to them, but she took one look at me, burst into tears and turned her head. I had one daughter crouched at the luggage carousel refusing to have anything to do with me and another clinging to daddy refusing to have anything to do with me. I was heartbroken. Daddy got all the luggage loaded and once we got in the Jeep for home, both girls brightened up and started smiling and talking like it had never happened. When we got home, they went wild, chasing each other and pushing each other around the house in their toy car. Things were looking better.

Chompu at Home

The six months since Chompu arrived home have been a roller coaster ride. The first month was very difficult. She tested all the limits. The next 3 wks. or so, were wonderful. Then we had about 5 days of “regression”. Then about a 5 wk. period with very few discipline problems. After this, we took a few steps backward again. This has lasted for about the past 1 to 2 wks. But just in the past 2 days, I’m seeing improvement again. It seems to run in a cycle. But, the “nice” cycle is lasting longer each time.

The very least of our concerns have been language. We had no trouble communicating from the beginning even though I spoke no Thai and she no English. Within 2 mos., her language was phenomenal. She understood almost everything we said around the house. And was speaking very well. Now, after six months home, she can say anything she wants to say and understands everything. She will be starting Kindergarten in a few weeks.

So, now we have our wonderful, bright, active, funny, talented, curious daughter home with us. Would I do it again? You bet! She has added so much to our family. We can’t imagine our family without her now!

© 1998 Jeannie Stanley

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