We had four brilliant years teaching at AISB. Champa and I often chat about our experience there, and use social media to keep in touch with our extended vampire family, where possible. We recall the students we taught and coached, and of course the trips to Sri Lanka for tsunami relief. We have met teachers who have also passed through there and chatted about our old haunts like Piccolo Mondo, as well as the beauty of the countryside. The pivotal memories are related to friends and those who we considered family at AISB.

After we left Bucharest in 2006, we returned to Sri Lanka. There, our family grew. Annika is now nine, and Samuel is now eight. They spent their rst couple of years at a local nursery, and spent lots of time with relatives who live in Sri Lanka. They also got to know friends of ours who worked at the international school we taught at in Colombo. As Sri Lanka is where we built our home, and where we return to during holidays, both of the children are comfortable there. 
 

In 2009 we headed o to Peru for more adventures. We had four years at the American School in Lima. The children initially spent a year at a local nido (nursery) near our house. This gave them an immediate experience of Spanish, for which we are grateful. For the time we were in Lima both children were considered bilingual. Interestingly, we are very good friends with the kurtenbach’s, who are currently at AISB, and the children fondly remember their times of playing in the sand with Lua and Calvin in their house on the beach south of Lima. We hope to visit Bucharest at some point and see them, as well as old friends from AISB. The nature of international schools is that we often organize holidays to see friends who used to be like family, as happened when Susan Canobie and the Chapmans visited us in Lima. We loved having them there, and wish we could have those visits with our international teaching family and friends more often.

After four years, despite enjoying our time in Latin America, we longed for another adventure, and different learning opportunities for the family. So we settled for a couple of years in khartoum, Sudan. The children enjoyed many aspects of life there, including the nature of the school we all attended. Life in the school there provided a family atmosphere; where friendships tended to become close because there were fewer connections available outside of the school.

We have recently moved to Hyderabad, India. We live on a scienti c research center, where the school is also situated. This gives both our children the freedom to ride bikes, play with friends, and learn in another international environment. They are loving it.

Samuel and Annika hear us talk about Romania, and AISB, and they know that it is a country of warm hearts. They look forward to a visit near as much as Champa and I do. We certainly have vampire family to catch up with. Ten years is too long between visits, although our memories remain incredibly vivid. 


Read the entire WORLD Magazine Winter 2016 edition here.