The Embassy of
by Carol Kalscheur Jansen
Our summer
trip to Washington, D.C., included viewing the city from the top of the
Washington Monument, receiving new Jefferson dollar coins on the day of issue
at the Jefferson Memorial, gazing at the beauty of the National Cathedral,
seeing the changing of the guard at Arlington National Cemetery, and reflecting
on what we saw at the Holocaust Museum. Those were all memorable experiences,
but our visit to the Romanian Embassy was the most personally touching to me. I
had saved an article from the February 2003 “Support Line,” written by Judy
Mathison about her family’s visit to the Embassy, so I had thought about this
visit for a long time. I wanted to see the place where our paperwork was
processed for three adoptions. Even though it was more than 10 years ago, I
remember the unsettling waits for the Fed Ex truck to deliver our completed
forms from the Embassy. Everything seemed to take so long!
On a late
afternoon in August, I finally had the chance to see where an important part of
the process of adopting my children had occurred. We parked our minivan in the
driveway and were welcomed into the foyer of an impressive 1907 Beaux-Arts
style mansion. It has been used as the Embassy of Romania since 1921. The Romanian employees were very gracious as
they gave us a tour of two reception rooms, the ambassador’s study and the
ballroom. The kids were impressed with the chandeliers, mirrors and formal
furniture. We learned that there currently isn’t a Romanian ambassador to the
United States, but the business of the embassy goes on.
If you are
fortunate enough to tour Washington, D.C., I recommend that you take the time to
plan a visit to Embassy Row. Make arrangements to visit the embassy of your
child’s birth county. It’s an experience you will treasure.