After completing our time at university we joined the ranks of overseas teachers in the American International Schools. Now, these schools are not linked in any formal way. However, they are populated by a surprisingly small group of individuals that all seem to know each other, or know someone who knows someone, and so on and so forth. We began our foray into this new and unique world at the American School Foundation, A.C. (who knows what that is for), Mexico City, Mexico. 
Yes, we went all the way to the nearest country (sans Canada, which is pretty much a tie) there is. Of course we could have gone to the second nearest, Russia...yep, you go look at a map if you don't believe my geographic utterance), but there were no offers at that time. So, viva tequila we were off, by car no less, to our overseas job. 
How many people do you know drive overseas?
Mexico is a wonderful place, full of life, color, and, in the case of Mexico City...people. Around 23 million of them. By most counts it is the largest single-city urban area in the world. Now, Charmagne is from the "greater Chicago-land area", but Alex is from Loveland, CO. Not exactly a metropolis (and not the ski resort, that is the other Loveland). Needles to say it was an adjustment. 
We so very much enjoyed the food, the people and the climate...in about that order, too. As to the school, well it was a good training ground for what sorts of things we might find in this new arena of teaching. Unlike U.S. schools, the parents values teachers, the student respect them and the school wants to keep them happy. Of course there are exceptions to every rule. But while our friends in the States don't bat an eye at classes of thirty, we get upset when they are over twenty, and there are students that talk during class. Sorry, no known instances of knifings or bombings in this school system. At the end of the day Mexico, and even ASF were good to us. Professionally it thickened our skins and made us realize what we wanted, and did not want, in a school.
Our first few trips were local trips in and around Mexico City. One of 
the most interesting places either of us has ever been, and as it turned out we went there around ten times in three years, was Teotihuacan. The ancient pyramids and building here are as impressive as anything you are likely too find. No trip to DF is complete with out a trip here.
We also traveled to a small snow-bird riddled town called San Miguel 
de Allende. The architecture is amazing, the church is beautiful and the locals were very friends. Especially as we were not a group of retired Americans who, despite the fact they had been living there for years, had caused the prices of home to skyrocket beyond most Mexicans ability to buy, did not speak Spanish and complained how nothing was as good as home. But I digress. We went on our first trip there with some good friends from ASF, Paul, Julie and Kali. Of course they have to be friendly, they are Canadian.
Our first Christmas saw us driving, three full days in the car, to Cancun. Normally we would not have gone to the American capital of Mexico, but my cousin, Alan, was living there at the time and it was nice to be with family for the holiday. On the way there we stopped at many ruins and while they were all wonderful the best was Palanque. The combination of white ruins surrounded by a misty magical jungle was just awe inspiring.
We managed to travel the rest of our stay there, but then towards the end something amazing, wonderful and life changing happened. We received, one evening, a call wondering if we would like to come by tomorrow and pick up a little six week old girl. While we had been on a waiting list with two adoption agencies, there is no way to prepare for that call. Overnight we were a family.
