Ties Traveler: Meet Aunt Allison
Read this powerful story of adoptee Dulce’s heritage journey to Guatemala with Guatemalan Ties, accompanied by her favorite aunt, Allison. This moving post details how the aunt-niece duo navigated the emotional complexities of a Ties trip, from discovering the program to successfully meeting Dulce’s birth family and siblings.
Learn why having a non-parental "sidekick" made a difference in Dulce's reconnection experience, the process of finding birth family, and how their family continues to build connections to Guatemala through Spanish classes and plans for future trips.
A Tía and Sobrina Adventure to Guatemala
Dulce & other adoptees from Guatemalan Ties.
I had the absolute privilege of being Dulce’s sidekick and travel buddy on this journey back to her home country. Getting to experience Guatemala alongside her, while she explored her roots and reconnected with her birth family, is something I’ll never forget. I was lucky and honored that she wanted to go and invited me to go with her. Dulce is my favorite niece (and yes, I’m confident I hold the title of favorite aunt). We both love a good joke, good food and going new places.
Adoption has always been part of our bigger family story. We have a mix of both domestic and international adoptions. Dulce has an uncle, four cousins adopted from China and Kazakhstan, and even a cousin-in-law who are all adopted. Some have met their birth families or traveled back to their birth countries, while others have taken a different path. Like many adoptee stories, everyone’s journey looks a little different.
For Dulce, there were a lot of unknowns in her story. She knew she had spent time in foster care, that she had siblings, including a sister also adopted into the U.S., and she had a single photo of her birth mother. Beyond that, there were a lot of question marks.
While this trip was incredibly meaningful for me, the most powerful part was witnessing Dulce’s experience-watching her walk through her birth country, connect with other adoptees, and ultimately reconnect with her birth family. I was just lucky enough to be along for the ride.
Why I Went (Instead of Her Parents)
This is one of the questions that comes up a lot: why me?
Dulce and Allison in Guatemala.
The first reason is that I had already become Dulce’s partner in the search as I’ve long been the unofficial family genealogist. I helped my husband trace his Russian roots and reconnect with relatives in the U.S., which involved a deep dive into classes, records, and, honestly, more Facebook genealogy groups than I can count. That work led to some incredible reunions, including connecting my husband with a previously unknown branch of his family and helping his mother find her second cousins.
After that experience, I asked Dulce a couple of years ago if she might want to explore finding her birth family. That summer, we did a DNA test and I dove headfirst into researching Guatemalan adoption, again joining as many online groups as I could find. That’s actually how we discovered the Ties program, and from there, the idea of a heritage trip started to feel real.
The second reason is a bit more emotional.
A lot of our conversations leading up to the trip were about the complicated mix of excitement and overwhelm. There was also the question of who should go with her. We talked openly about the tension she felt—wanting support from her parents, but also feeling pressure at the idea of having them there, and even some guilt about not bringing them.
Her parents handled it beautifully. They made it clear this was her journey, her timing, and her decision. They supported her in doing what felt right and reminded her there would always be time for a future trip together if she wanted that.
Dulce posing in traditional Guatemalan dress.
Deciding to Reconnect
We actually revisited all of these decisions once we were able to locate Dulce’s birth mother and siblings. Dulce clearly wanted to meet her birth family, and she decided that she wanted to do this meeting with me this time so that she could focus on herself and not have to worry about holding the emotions of her parents at the same time.
Dulce reached out to a cousin who had gone through a reconnection experience herself. What made that conversation especially meaningful was that her cousin’s experience hadn’t gone perfectly. That cousin felt that even with a less than perfect outcome, the reconnection had been worth it. That honesty gave Dulce a fuller picture of what reconnection can look like, both the good and the hard.
After a lot of thought, she decided to move forward.
And I’m so glad she did.
Going on this trip was really just the beginning of Dulce’s renewed connection to her country and culture. When it comes to her relationship with her birth family, this is still the very start of the story.
Since returning home, we’ve continued to build those connections in small but meaningful ways—through messages, photos, and regular WhatsApp check-ins. It’s been a gradual process, but one that feels genuine and steady.
Dulce bringing the amazing game of uno to el amor!
Our family has also found other ways to stay connected to Guatemala. Dulce’s parents and I have been taking online Spanish classes through a school in Antigua, and I even went back during a school break to spend a week there studying and enjoying the rhythm of daily life—lots of classes, and plenty of time in cafés.
Dulce will be returning this summer through the Service and Learning Program, which feels like a natural next step in her journey. At the end of her program, we’ve planned a trip together—me, my husband, and her parents—to reconnect with her birth family again, visit El Amor and Yalu, and spend some time exploring together.
For anyone considering a trip like this, my biggest advice is to go in with an open mind and to truly lean into the support that’s offered. There’s something incredibly grounding about being surrounded by other families on similar journeys, and having experienced staff there to guide you through it.
Did you know The Ties Program offers three opportunities to travel to Guatemala? Guatemalan Ties is our classic Ties program that offers opportunities for adoptees of all ages to return to Guatemala. Our Service and Language program is offered for Guatemalan adoptees aged 18-25 and our newest program, Language at the Lake, is for adoptees of all backgrounds who want to immerse themselves in Spanish language classes, cultural exploration and community building.