A Journey Back to Guatemala: How One Adoptee Found Connection Beyond Birth Search
To end National Hispanic Heritage Month, we are spotlighting Gabby Mendez, a Guatemalan adoptee. Gabby traveled with Ties in 2023.
Gabby holding the Guatemalan flag at Volcán Pacaya.
Introduce yourself to the Ties community! What is your name and what country were you adopted from? What are things that make you unique? What are your interests? When did you travel with Ties?
Hi Ties Community, my name is Gabby Mendez and I was adopted from the beautiful country of Guatemala. I was raised in the Bay Area and am currently a third year student at the University of California, Santa Barbara. I’m a Political Science and Sociology major with a minor in Legal Humanities in hopes of going to law school. Some of my interests include watching and playing sports, going to the beach, and traveling the world. I was fortunate enough to travel with the Ties Program in 2023 and visit my home country for the first time since being adopted. I also was a part of the first group to experience the Guatemalan Ties: Service and Language Program.
Prior to going to your country of birth, how did you feel about visiting your birth country while having inaccuracies in your adoption records? Once you were in your country of birth, how did your experience differ from what you were expecting?
Prior to visiting my birth country, I felt that I had so many unanswered questions about myself, my biological parents and even just the culture of Guatemala. I feel like I hardly knew anything about my culture and Guatemalan people. But I also think that there was a part of me that was scared of knowing prior to visiting because I never wanted to see my country in any negative way. When I was fortunate enough to visit Guatemala in 2023, after 3 years of waiting due to Covid-19, I felt a sense of clarity to an extent which I don’t think I expected. While it was difficult to know that I didn’t have any family to visit or to meet, I still felt so connected to the culture of Guatemala. It felt like I was seeing a part of myself that I had never known before, and it felt amazing to experience that with my parents who have raised me to be the person I am today.
Gabby and fellow travelers pose for photos in the rain in San Juan.
When other adoptees on the tour were reconnecting with their birth family, did that impact your experience? What is one piece of advice that you would give to other adoptees with inaccurate records who are traveling with adoptees who are reconnecting?
At first, it was hard to watch and hear about the other adoptees on the trip meeting their birth family. However, the support and love that my parents gave me helped me so much. They never forced me to talk about it but also created an environment where I knew I could talk about it if I needed. [The tour] made me appreciate the fact I was able to immerse myself into my culture and see the beauty of my birth country. The only way I could describe my experience was grieving someone I didn’t know. But some advice I would give is, don’t let this one piece of you stop you from learning about the other parts of you. Everyone's experience is different and I truly believe that the more you give this trip a chance, the more you’ll get out of it. The Ties Program is truly a life changing program and has helped me meet some amazing people and help me connect to my culture more than I thought I could.
“Having people around my age that also had the experience of being adopted made me feel so understood.”
Gabby and her parents at Cerro de la Cruz (“Hill of the Cross”), overlooking Antigua and Volcán de Agua.
What was the most meaningful part of your trip to your birth country?
I think the most meaningful part of my experience was meeting people with the same background as me. I’ve never really had anyone in my life that has a similar background of being adopted, let alone from Guatemala. Having people around my age that also had the experience of being adopted made me feel so understood and I felt like we were able to connect about similar things even though we all grew up differently. It made the trip more special to be surrounded with people experiencing Guatemala for the first time as well. To know that I wasn’t the only one experiencing the culture of Guatemala for the first time made me feel so much better and really helped me gain life-long friends.
Since visiting your birth country, do you find yourself taking on aspects of your birth culture in everyday life?
Ever since I traveled to my birth country, I’ve been fortunate enough to take more academic classes about Guatemala that helped me dive into the culture more and learn more about Guatemalan history. As a political science major at my college, understanding the political science of Guatemala has always been interesting to me. When I first traveled back with the Ties Program, it just happened to be during the presidential election which was such a good experience to see. I have found myself more interested in learning about Guatemalan culture and want to make more traditional Guatemalan dishes to immerse myself in my culture even more.
Gabby poses with the Guatemalan flag at Volcán Pacaya.
What is one tip you would share with other adoptees from your birth country on how to have an amazing time in your birth country?
I would say, take every opportunity that is given to you. Traveling back to my home country was such an amazing experience and I feel like I truly got so much out of traveling back because I immersed myself into the culture. While I didn’t get all the answers I wanted to get when I went back, I was still able to get so much out of my trip. It’s much easier said than done, but if you give it a chance and don’t dwell on things you cannot control, you’ll have an amazing time and meet amazing people.