reach me,” she said. “Finally, I gave in and called him back. I told him that I didn’t know anything about his industry, and I had only just finished school, and had not planned on working in the world of business.” The manager insisted that she would be perfect for the position and made her an offer that he thought she would not refuse – but she did just that. “I gave him a higher amount and added in moving expenses. I didn’t really expect him to agree,” said Alexandra. The company accepted with one stipulation: She must start work the following Monday. “I had to make an immediate decision,” she said. “My mother was adamant that I not take it. I was only in my 20s, and she wanted me to come back home.” Alexandra enjoyed her life back in Mexico. But she couldn’t stop herself from wondering what life might look like outside of the world she knew. With little time to spare, she said, “I just decided, ‘I’m going to do it!’” That was 25 years ago, and Savannah was totally different from today. “It was a small, quiet place then,” she said. When her sister left, life in a new country with no family and only a few friends quickly lost its luster. Alexandra missed home and the world she grew up in. “I missed the rhythm of that life. I only knew one way forward and that was to stop waiting for an opportunity to come change things for me,” she said. Alexandra realized that if she wanted things to be 72
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