23 years ago, I was sent to the village of Ghanzi on a Canadian government programme to help rural education in the country and to go where local teachers did not want to go. So my knowledge of the international school scene in Botswana is zero. In those days, there was not much traffic, the people were friendly, and the struggle against apartheid in neighbouring South Africa was still raging on. All the grass in the school was uprooted to discourage snakes, so the village became a muddy mess when the rains, which were rare, came. There was a golf course in Gaborone but the greens were made of sand and needed to be raked after play. Litter seemed to irritate me in those days, as it existed in Botswana yet was more or less non existent in neighbouring countries. The people were always friendly and curious where I had come from. The local people were quite sophisticated and appeared to be very knowledgable about the world even though most of them in my village lived in very basic housing and carried water long distances.

Of course none of this information does you any good as no doubt you will be going to a modern, elitist international school in Gaborone, where you will only meet the children of the wealthy and those foreigners who are temporarily posted in the country. Most of your students will have maids and gardeners, and tutors to help them pass their exams.

I envy you for going to southern Africa. It was a magical place for me a generation ago, and I hope that some of that magic still exists.

Istek Schools has a good reputation in Turkey as it is one of the few that is not run strictly as a small business. It is a huge organisation with dozens of schools and colleges which seeks academic excellence at a high price for the parents. Labour laws in Turkey were changed in 1980 and for that reason, teachers and workers in general are more vulnerable and less protected than before that date. As you can notice from the International Schools Review, a lot of Turkish schools have problems with changing contracts and benefits not being forthcoming, yet Istek appears to one of the few Turkish schools with a bit of integrity which perhaps only reflects that it is a foundation with plenty of money and a good reputation which will not be sacrificed for the sake of saving a few dollars on an individual teacher.

It is important to remember that Istek is not technically an international school, but a Turkish billingual school, which presents a number of challenges for the foreign teacher. The housing is of a high standard, transport is good, and they give you a free lunch every day. The salary is average, but on the whole, the extra perks make it into a fairly okay package. Most of the teachers at Istek are moderately happy, which when compared to other Istanbul schools is a big step forward.

Firstly you should not confuse Botswana with South Africa as they are two separate countries. It is the only country in Africa with a hard currency using the Pula, which is supported by diamonds. Hence if you are paid in Pula, you do not need to worry when you leave the country as all your money in transferable into sterling or dollars etc.

The country is very dry and has two main cities, the capital Gaborone and a town on the Zimbabwe border, Francistown. Most people speak English fluently, and are generally very respectful of teachers and education. If you like discovering beauty in the desert, then Botswana could be your cup of tea, but it is much less developed than their neighbours. It is right in the centre of a lot of interesting places to visit like South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Namibia. The people are generally friendly although there is not much to do. You would probably need to buy a vehicle as public transport is not easily accessible.

High taxes, no housing allowance, good PE department, lots of sports. The school is great if you are independently wealthy but ignore it otherwise.

The key to success is to find a good associate. I can strongly recommend Ray Sparks in Canada as he has hustled for me since I first joined Search. When I had problems, he came to my defense and helped in every possible way to set me up with good contacts and job prospects.

If your associate is not working for you, find a different associate. Don't blame the whole organisation. Search is basically sound and well run but obviously from the letters in this topic, there are some associates who are not doing their job properly.

I have noticed that many international schools have a policy of taking possession of a teacher's passport on arrival in the new country. This is particularly true in Saudi Arabia and South Korea. I personally feel very uncomfortable about this practice. Is it legal? Are there other teachers who have had this experience and who feel uncomfortable about it?

When I taught in Brussels, I was taxed at a rate of 44%, received no housing or furniure allowance, and received a very poor medical plan. It sounded like a good salary at the job fair, but there was nothing to save at the end of the month. I assumed that I was unique in my experience until I coached the school's baseball team and met other coaches from all over the EU. Everyone shared my experience of high taxes, no housing allowance, and no savings.

My advise to those thinking of the EU to teach, is to leave those jobs to the independently wealthy and those who simply want to work in "safe" locations. See the world and go to schools in the Middle East, Far East, and Africa. I saved more, and had wonderful experiences in these non-European schools. The EU is highly over rated.

I have been to four Search Associates job fairs, Oxford, Kuala Lumpur, Dubai, and Toronto. It all comes down to your local Search advisor who should be able to help you and advise you as much as possible. Ray Sparks in Canada has been excellent. We call him Mr. Hustle, because he is so keen and enthusiastic to help you to find a school that suits you. He has also advised us not to apply to certain schools who have a dubious reputation for mistreating teachers.

But those letters from the US and the UK who have disappointing stories about their experiences need to find a hustler as well. Most people I know who have used ISS find that there are too many schools and too many candidates at the ISS job fairs, which is not my cup of tea. Search limits the number of schools and the number of candidates so the experience is more like a social event rather than a rugby scrum.

We also have found jobs independently from job fairs but this can be overwhelming in its complexity and potential danger. The Times Educational Supplement in the UK have a webpage with a database for international teachers, and contacting schools directly can sometimes work if you are lucky. Blanket emails to schools can be a waste of time and the school administrators will usually not respond to unsollicited applications.

There are many international schools that use the name "Canadian" overseas but unfortunately it is often a marketing strategy in cities where other international schools dominate. Cairo, Singapore, India, and Japan come to mind. But there are hundreds of so-called international schools that use the Ontario, Nova Scotia, and occasionally Manitoba curriculum. However, working in these schools will not help you to move to Canada but it will help you to be more acquainted with the Canadian school system.