Final Preparations

Can't believe it's almost here! After years of planning, I'll be leading a group of students to Mexico for the second time. However, this time, the trip will include a home stay! I can hardly wait.

In the first trip with students, we visited Mexico City, Merida and Cancun. We got to see lots of interesting and fun sites. However, I felt that I offered my students nothing more than the services a travel agent could provide. Frustrated, I decided to stop traveling until I finished my master's degree. Then, I would seek out an organization that offered a home stay and emphasized education more. That lead me to an organization called ISE. Kathy, a friend and fellow teacher has traveled with students to Germany several times using ISE and was quite pleased. So far, I am too.

The first meeting with students to announce the trip was in the spring of 2008. Back then, the drug wars in Mexico were just beginning to escalate and H1N1 sounded more like a secret cell phone texting code that only my students knew the meaning of instead of a flu that would worry the world. As a result, I've spent much more time and energy researching and contemplating these issues than I ever imagined. I hope my shift of focus/energies does not affect the quality of the tour. I kind of feel like I should have done more prep work with my student travelers to teach them about the sites we're going to visit. Hopefully, our guides will be good and explain everything clearly!

Well, today I'm wrapping up things here: paying bills, doing yard work, etc. I'm also starting to lay things out to pack. Mexico City has been having highs in the 80s and lows in the 50s, so I'll need long sleeve shirts and a jacket for there as well as beach wear for later in the trip.

OK. I'll write more later, but I wanted to get something on here and send out a link for anyone who wanted to follow the adventure. Please note that if you do not see updated posts here, it may be because I've not been able to access the internet or have been too busy. (I'm gonna need lots of sleep to keep up with teenagers on vacation!) So, if I don't update for a while, please don't be alarmed or worried. Nevertheless, your thoughts and prayers for a safe, fun and growth-filled trip would be appreciated.