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Tristan's thoughts on returning from Colombia
(For his pre-trip thoughts, see Tristan's in Good Hands)

Tristan flies to Colombia, July 2004 THE DAY I MET MY BIRTHFAMILY IN COLOMBIA Tristan Andrés Guibault 2004 My name is Tristan Andrés Guibault and I am 10 years old. In July I went to Colombia to visit my birthfamily. I met my birth grandmother, birthmother Piedad, my Aunt Laura (16), my sister Katerine (14 ... she is almost the same age as my sister Kahleah, 13, who was born in Guatemala), my brother Andrés Felipe (12), my cousin Karina (9), my cousin Anderson (10), my cousin Estevan (7) and my baby sisters Andreza (4) and Ximena (21 months). La Casita de Nicolas I was so excited my heart almost stopped. It was so cool to take a plane to Colombia. My stomach tickled when we first landed. I was happy to be back in the country I was born in. Before I met my birthfamily I visited my orphanage La Casita de Nicolas. When I was a baby I was there for four months. It was great to visit La Casita to see the people who knew me before. It was so cool to see the nursery and the babies that are there now. They were so beautiful. I wanted to adopt a baby but I am too young and they all had parents coming to get them soon. The older kids were very, very, very nice and they liked me. They were happy to see me visit. The ladies there were great and were taking good care of everyone. The orphanage was very clean and I expected it to be dirty because it is a poor country. Medellin was richer than I expected but I did not visit the poor parts because of the guerrillas. Guerrillas are bad people. I think there is a war but I didn't see it. I felt safe always. I could not visit my birth house in Carolina del Principe because of the danger, so we had to stay in Medellin and we brought my birthfamily to a house in the city so we could visit them. Tristan and Katerine The day I met my birthfamily we waited at the rented house for them to arrive. Their drive was very long. When they arrived it was so exciting for everyone. We all looked at each other and the adults cried ... because adults are adults. Adults cry easily. I was just happy. My birthfamily looked just like their pictures. It felt like I knew them all my life. I hugged everyone. My baby sisters were the best to hug because their skin felt good. They were very special and cute. They looked like me when I was little. Andrés Felipe and Tristan I was really looking forward to seeing my brother Andrés Felipe because I already had a sister but no brothers. He looks a lot like me. He runs fast like me. He climbs trees like me. He likes to swim like me. He likes the same toys as me. He has great hair too. He did not speak English, and I did not speak Spanish but it didn't matter. We talked with our hands and played. Vicky would translate for the adults. My sister Katerine was very nice. She was a good big sister. Katerine and my sister Kahleah were very close. They were like sisters too and I think both would take good care of me. Tristan meets Piedad My birthmother Piedad is a good person and she cried when she saw me. So did my Abuela. My Mommy Leceta cried too. I think they cried because they were happy. Maybe they were sad a little too. I think they were sad because we live so far away. When I saw Piedad I felt really happy because it was the first time in my life I remember seeing her. I thought about her for years. I know she thought about me too. My Abuela was really funny. She is a nice person. My best memory was taking my birthfamily to an amusement park. They are a really nice family. Good people. I am so happy I went to Colombia. I want to go back to visit again. I love both of my families so much. I know they both love me too. __________________________________________________ Tristan met his Colombian birth family on July 8, 2004. Tristan's adoptive mother is Leceta Chisholm Guibault. She adopted Kahleah, born in Guatemala in 1991, and Tristan, born in Colombia in 1994. Leceta and husband Jean and family live in Joliette, near Montreal. She is a board member of the Adoption Council of Canada and the Federation of Quebec Adoptive Parents, and moderator of the email list Canadians-Adopting (groups.yahoo.com/group/canadians-adopting). Copyright 2006 Leceta Chisholm Guibault, leceta@citenet.net Published at Family Helper, www.familyhelper.net, on Nov. 6, 2006. First published in La Cigogne, newsletter of the Fédération des parents adoptants du Québec (Quebec Adoptive Parents Federation), St-Jean-sur-Richelieu QC.

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