Russian Ties - Culture, Travel, Adoption & Identity

31/07/2024

We were fortunate to attend REECA this year and are truly impressed by the incredible community that Heritage Camps for Adoptive Families (HCAF) provides for adoptees and their loved ones. The sense of belonging and support is unmatched. We can't wait for next year and look forward to reconnecting with everyone. We hope to see you there!

17/05/2024

Tomorrow, May 18th is the last day to register for Russian/Eastern European/Central Asian Heritage Camp without having late fees applied, and to ensure that you can get in on our on-site lodging block.

02/05/2024

Thank you to everyone who joined our webinar last night! We've had an incredible time with our webinar series this year and have learned so much together. We hope you've enjoyed it too!

In exciting news and as a great way to wrap up our winter/spring webinar series, join our Owner and Director, Dr. Tanya Kaanta, as she explores trauma, chronic illness, and healing in relation to adoption. 🌟 Don't miss out on this insightful session!

Register: https://bit.ly/maytanyawebinar

17/04/2024

🕖 Reminder: Join us tonight at 7 PM CST for our "Pre- to Post-Trip: Gathering Your Support Team" webinar!

But wait, we have more! 🎉 We're thrilled to announce our upcoming May webinar featuring the fantastic duo that is Kimiko Kawabori and Kari Grady Grossman!

📅 Save the date for this awesome FREE webinar.
Date: Wednesday, May 1st
Time: 7:00PM CST
Register here: https://bit.ly/AncestralWebinarSignUp

05/04/2024

We have been loving going through this page and picking out new recipes to try! There is lots of history behind a lot of these dishes that is fascinating to learn.

Are there traditional or inspired dishes that you and/or your loved ones make at home?

11/03/2024

Russian/Eastern European/Central Asian Heritage Camp is happening THIS summer in beautiful Colorado!

For more information, visit: https://www.heritagecamps.org/russian-eastern-europe-central-asia/

Did you hear?! Registration is NOW OPEN for all nine of our unique camps! Several of our camps will likely end up with a waitlist as the year goes on, so make sure you sign up now: https://ow.ly/VOlz50Qr6mJ

HCAF is Forever. We'll see you this summer!

08/03/2024

Happy International Women's Day to all the incredible souls out there! Today and every day, we celebrate the strength, resilience, and diverse stories of EVERY woman. Here's to honoring every unique journey and embracing the power of inclusivity and equity for all!

Adoptive Family Travel - The Ties Program has always been a woman-owned and operated organization. We are proud to be guided, supported and led by visionary women who bring empathy, support, and inclusivity to heritage travel. Cheers to ALL the incredible women who have been part of our trips, supporting adoptees' journeys along the way! 💖🌍

16/02/2024

A great resource for teen adoptees. Sign up to receive information on teen adoptee cohort options this Spring with Therapy Redeemed!🥳

New teen adoptee cohort options coming soon! Join the waitlist here for spring 2024 (also options for AP workshops!)📲

https://forms.gle/WgiMpM1RrWhL2vHh8

05/02/2024

A great resource and support experience in beautiful Fraser, CO!

Camp Season is coming, and we're here for it! 🌞

Last week, the HCAF Staff and Camp Directors met to begin the initial stages of planning for our nine unique Heritage Camps. Our Directors are responsible for a lot at camp, but even more before it: they hold Coordinators accountable to deadlines, host regular planning meetings, build the schedule, draft camp documents, and SO much more! We are so thankful for our Directors and their commitment to passionately planning their respective camps.

HCAF is Forever - and we're all looking forward to bringing you another life-changing summer! Registration is open now, so don't miss your chance to join us: heritagecamps.org

31/01/2024

Hello Russian Ties!

Check out our latest updates: https://conta.cc/3SthR3N

Stay tuned for more information, and in the meantime, feel free to reach out with any questions! Email us: [email protected]

28/09/2023

For adoptees, our lives don’t begin at placement- our lives begin in utero/at birth. However too often I work with adoptees who were raised in spaces that only fully honor the parts that include adoptive family, seemingly forgetting whole chapters that influenced & impacted our worldviews and challenged our senses of safety.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
“She never had a family until us.”
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
“He couldn’t miss birth family, he’s never met them.”
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
“You’re being too sensitive, not everything is about adoption.”
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
These are examples of phrases- that I have repeatedly heard over the years, that are forgetting the chapters before adoption. These are the phrases that ignore implicit memory, that are rigid rather than curious. These are the phrases that forget we must be looking at adopted children and their experiences through the lens of grief & loss.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
How might our perspective shift about big, challenging behavior , big complicated feelings, struggling to find identity,
High risk behaviors, search & reunion, and other big topics if we were to slow things down and get curious about grief and how it bubbles under the surface - a key factor in all of these.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
For many adoptees, this grief is some of the biggest to hit the system. Often occurring in the most vulnerable developmental stages, which also means it’s occurring in preverbal, pre- explicit memory making phases. How (understandably so) disorienting. We cannot underestimate the impact this has.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Of course things feel hard when you have lost so much. Of course things feel isolating when there are no solid answers. Of course things feel disorienting when loved ones raise you and will not acknowledge what came before as if it’s a secret, or something to be ashamed about.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
When children are adopted the wholeness of them is adopted, the wholeness of them deserves love & the wholeness of them needs attunement.

#

03/08/2023

https://conta.cc/3Kp6428

Exciting things are happening at The Ties Program. For 30 years, we have strived to take international adoptees and their families on extraordinary birth country experiences. We have loved every minu

28/06/2022

An important read.

15/04/2022

📍Pskov
📷 https://cutt.ly/sY8ZAyR

24/03/2022

Teens look to parents and teachers to make them feel safe in a time of war.

19/03/2022

17/02/2022

21/12/2021

https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202112/1242867.shtml

People visit Christmas market in St. Petersburg, Russia

05/11/2021

Jaclyn Skalnik, aka on Instagram, speaks from a place of experience. In her early 20's, she participated in a Ties trip with her family. She then went on to earn her MSW, led an international adoption program, traveled as Ties travel staff, became a parent, and ultimately opened Adoption Wellness.

Most international adoption programs require parents to travel to the country. Parents, what did you experience when you were in your child's country of origin? Did you experience cultural differences? Were you out of your comfort zone? Did you explore new foods? Did your brain fatigue after hearing a different language? I ask you to pay attention to what you felt while in your child's country, but also, what you did to learn. This minute window offers you a glimpse of the adjustment your kids go through when transplanted to their new country. I oftentimes hear adoptive parents complain about their trip; it was smelly, dirty, poor, etc. Please use judgement when speaking about your child's country. What you say may be interpreted as a reflection of them. Children growing up outside of their culture will feel disconnected and can only rely on what they hear about it from others. Listen, we have smelly, dirty, poor areas here too - so let's be culturally sensitive while also acknowledging the beauty of their country.

Speak early and often about a visit, save $ for it and make it a priority. Your children depend on you to provide them with resources to make connections to their birth culture/country. If your child is reluctant, it may be because it was introduced to them too late. "We're going to take you back to China next summer" vs. "We're going to visit China next summer" are two very different phrases. As parents, the language we use is critical. Talk with your children about what they want to do and see during a visit. Will the whole family travel? Do they want to travel with other adoptees? Do they want to visit tourist places or spaces connected to their life before adoption (orphanage, etc.)? Talk about their expectations of the trip, not yours.

Adoptees need time to prepare for and unpack from a homeland trip. Please make sure they are supported to share their feelings. They deserve an opportunity to visit where they are from as it can really fill in the blanks. Eating takeout from the local Chinese restaurant once a year does not cut it for "exposing them to their birth culture."

19/10/2021

10/10/2021

When children learn the world is random and unpredictable, they move into a state of protection. We all do it. It’s natural.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
When children have experienced attachment trauma, they have been taught that caregivers can be random and unpredictable and their response of self protection often plays out in behavior and relationships. However, regardless of how they respond- caregivers must be intentional and devoted to how attuned and sensitive they are in creating moments of connection for children.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
It’s these moments of connection that fuel attachment and feelings of felt-safety. It is within these healing spaces that children can find a sense of worth and belonging.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Children who are living from the lens of protection need the presence of connection.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
I see you showing up for the hard and uneasy. I see you creating spaces that enhance peace and validate pain. No one said it was easy. You are not alone 💛

04/10/2021

https://www.npr.org/2021/10/02/1042667310/after-100-years-russia-sees-another-royal-wedding?utm_source=npr_newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_content=20211004&utm_term=5827399&utm_campaign=news&utm_id=52828306&orgid=95&utm_att1=

A descendant of the czarist Romanov dynasty was married in the first royal wedding in over 100 years — kicking off a weekend of lavish events that sparked public curiosity, awe and derision.

03/09/2021

30/08/2021

Tatyana McFadden pulls her hair back into a braid before her competitions — it's called her "fast hair," she said. The 32-year-old certainly is fast — and she has 17 medals across five different Paralympics to prove it. Most are in track and field, though she earned a silver in cross-country skiing at the 2014 Sochi Games and would consider trying for another Winter Paralympics, telling POPSUGAR, "It's never a 'no.'"

https://www.popsugar.com/fitness/tatyana-mcfadden-tokyo-paralympics-interview-48366791

Tatyana McFadden has 17 Paralympic medals, and she's looking to add to that at the 2021 Paralympics in Tokyo this summer.

30/08/2021

By the time Jessica Long was 12 years old, she had won her first gold medal at the 2004 Paralympic Games in Athens, just two years after learning how to swim. For Long, 29, this was just the beginning. The Paralympic swimmer would go on to win 22 more medals: 13 gold, six silver and four bronze in total over four Paralympics. Today, Long is the second-most-decorated Paralympian in U.S. history behind retired swimmer Trischa Zorn (55 medals).

https://www.espn.com/espnw/olympics/story/_/id/31434245/paralympic-swimmer-gold-medalist-jessica-long-preparing-tokyo-2021

When Paralympic swimmer Jessica Long was 18 months old, she had both legs amputated below the knees. Today, Long is a 23-time Paralympic medalist. Long reflects on her career and preparing for the Tokyo 2021 Paralympic Games.

07/07/2021

From Adoption Learning Partners: We know that parenting isn’t always easy. We know that even with the pandemic lifting, parents and families could benefit from resources and support. Last summer, ALP bundled together many of our most popular webinars in new, limited-edition packages and offered them at a significant discount. These packages proved so popular that we are bringing them back this summer.

We began with Parenting Playbook: A Guide to Behavior, Discipline and Attachment, a collection of three webinars featuring experts from Theraplay®. Now we are featuring Effective Family Communication, two webinars which each feature popular coach, trainer, and author Tina Feigal:

https://www.adoptionlearningpartners.org/promotions/webinars.cfm?utm_source=ALP+Users+2&utm_campaign=66edc36e2a-socialmedia_downloaders_2_2-20-18_COPY_04&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_c58a898c93-66edc36e2a-118400585&mc_cid=66edc36e2a&mc_eid=77db675d57

We know that parenting isn’t always easy. We know that even with the pandemic lifting, parents and families could benefit from resources and support. Last summer, ALP bundled together many of our most popular webinars in new, limited-edition packages and offered them at a significant discount. The...

30/06/2021

As you can imagine, with COVID all 2020-2022 programs were sadly cancelled. At this time, we are not sure when programs will resume. As vaccinations are more widespread globally and our international partners get back to work, we are evaluating Ties Program possibilities for 2023 and beyond. If you would like to be notified as programs reopen, please request information and pre-register (at no cost) for the year you would like to travel. You'll find the links on our website.

This has been such a long haul for everyone. Thank you for your patience. We can't wait to help adoptees and their families get back to Russia!

https://adoptivefamilytravel.com/eastern-europe-russia/russia

Russia Group and Individual Travel. Programs tailored to each family's needs. Meaningful, identity building, FUN. Serving adoptive families for 2 decades!

29/06/2021

It's not too late to register for Russia/Eastern Europe/Central Asia camp, brought to you virtually from Colorado.

https://www.heritagecamps.org

Heritage Camps for Adoptive Families serves as an adoption resource and advocate for children, adults, and families with diverse heritages.