The International Schools Review Forum

So I have been a long time lurker and jumping into the IT world in 2017. I read and digest quite a bit... often hoping on here every day seeing the new posts. I particularly find the "fair journal" style post interesting simply because each experience is different.

With that said, I was thinking it would be a cool idea to hear about everyone's first year teaching abroad. I know we have some "old timers" to the IT world on here as well as some "fresh" faces. I mean I would like to hear the full story like:

-How did your move go? From packing up in the US to your destination? Flight? settling into your new apartment/life.
-Challenges you faced within your first week/month/year
-Differences from your previous school in the US to your IS
-Did you stay for another year or choose to keep moving to another school?
-What was the fair like after you had some IT experience?
-What did you do to become more marketable at fairs? (Ex. sponsor clubs, certification, etc.)

I know that blogs/journals exist but I trust you guys on knowledge to the IT world. Plus it would be a great time for some of you "old timers" to reminisce back to their start to help the newbies out!

@b12r

My first IE experience outside of ESOL was to the ME.

1) My relocation went pretty smoothly, I really didnt have much to bring just baggage that went on the plane. I did grossly over pack, but didnt bring enough of the items I should have.

2) I went to the ME, stayed around two months, just long enough to get my salary dispersment. My ISs leadership was extremely unhelpful. I had to ask for everything, and every response was answered as if it was an oversight, if i hadnt asked and in many cases ask repeatedly it would have never been done.
The ITs were a lot more helpful, they had a number of lifehacks that were extremely useful and helpful. A lot of the ITs I was working with were running from something, mostly families with debt where the only savings they had were pensions and their home. They were there to 'cash up' build a college fund or early retirement. As much as the ME is a poo hole, there are DSs in many western regions were its much worse. The singles essentially couldnt get jobs anywhere else that would pay anywhere near what they were making, most of them had exit plans to get out of education once they were done with the ME.

3) There were many (the over abundance of sand for one, the heat for another), the greatest difference was the imposing weight of just how vulnerable I was. I was in a repressive foreign country, didnt understand the language and culture (and the risks of trusting that X individual had the right answer had very high negative consequences if they were wrong), there were no protections of any kind what so ever in any appreciable form. I was solely well off and safe by the grace of my IS and its leadership, a grace that could evaporate on a whim.

4) Took a runner at about 2 months.

5) Went to different fairs, didnt get my first appointment from an IE fair. The fairs got more ego intensive.

6) I got certified in everything, the biggest surprise was that my doctorate was more a liability than asset in some scenarios. Mostly everyone in IE does ASPs, its not usually a marketability booster.

Post Script: You sound like a primary staff development coach.

How did your move go? From packing up in the US to your destination? Flight? settling into your new apartment/life.

First posting was in Egypt. We were told not to ship anything but did anyways. We found a good company and packing/shipping of 2 CM of belongings went smoothly. Flight was just fine until we got to Alex at 4 in the morning during their summer crazy season and had to get through everything ourselves. Someone from the school was supposed to meet us and help with Tourist Visas etc but due to a mix up they were waiting outside. There was definitely a sense of what the hell had we done as we drove to our hotel. It took a couple of weeks to get an apt. We didn't get much choice (This one, or the one on the floor above it). The furnished apt. was simple and a bit rickety but it cleaned up nicely and we were pretty happy there.

-Challenges you faced within your first week/month/year
Our venture out of the hotel was an adventure. We manged to buy some water and a few other things and basically just held out some money. Luckily Egyptians are/were very honest and forgiving and helped us out. It did take some doing getting our shipment out of the port but once we did we were glad to have some additional personal belongings with us. Getting set up at the bank, cell phones and learning our way around was a hassle but not too bad. The school provided some support but mainly we got to be friends with a driver who we trusted probably more than we should have but it worked out. Our school held onto our passports and it seemed to take a long time to get our work visas.

-Differences from your previous school in the US to your IS
Having maids on each floor that brought you coffee every morning (for a small monthly fee). Having to get any copying approved. Having very inconsistent behavior and discipline support. Having very few after school offerings until we created some. Having local staff and students speaking in Arabic (a lot). Having local staff making much less money than we did (and yet still doing much better than many other people).

-Did you stay for another year or choose to keep moving to another school?
We were on a one year contract but planned to stay for two years. Our son's teacher quit midway through the year and the new teacher was a nightmare and very unprofessional. The principal sided with her and we started looking around. We found great positions in Japan and so jumped at the chance to leave (although we really enjoyed Egypt and would have been happy to stay another year).

-What was the fair like after you had some IT experience?
We actually had less success, partly due some special circumstances with our son. We got lots of interviews but no offers during our next two fairs and eventually realized our first early success was partly due to the school/location that was desperate for two teachers in our positions and was willing to be flexible about our son. All of our other jobs we found outside of fairs.

-What did you do to become more marketable at fairs? (Ex. sponsor clubs, certification, etc.)
Additional years of experience and a Masters got us more attention and interviews but no offers. Extracurriculars are kind of a negative bonus. You are expected to have them and want to do them. They don't really add much to your candidacy but if you have none then it can take something away.

Going from Egypt to Japan was amazing. We only stayed two years due to our school closing but we knew that our future dreams would brings us back (and they have!!). 10 years after our first Egyptian adventure we are living the dream!!

-How did your move go? From packing up in the US to your destination? Flight? settling into your new apartment/life.
The move itself was painless. We were contacted by the school's shipping agency in April and given a synopsis of how to pack our belongings and when they would be picked up for sea shipment. Because we didn't have enough stuff, we opted to ship everything via USPS instead. The school gave us a fairly large allowance to do so and the boxes were placed into our apartment the day we arrived. The flight allowance was paid to us by check in June, and we were able to get two economy flights and still have a bit left for the extra baggage fees. When we arrived at the school (we were picked up at the airport), we were immediately taken to our new house and saw that one of our new coworkers had bought us enough groceries/essentials to get us through the first few days. All in all, it was the easiest transition I have had when moving countries.

-Challenges you faced within your first week/month/year
We moved to a school on a compound and in a hardship location, so there was quite a bit of culture shock during the first few weeks due to our movements being restricted. During our first week, we tried to hire staff and had a few mishaps (destroyed clothes, minor theft) before finally finding our current housekeeper. Aside from that, things went smoothly and the school provided ample support with day-to-day issues (getting better internet, tours of the city, etc.).

-Differences from your previous school in the US to your IS
I did not teach in the US before moving overseas. However, the difference between teaching at a for-profit bilingual school and a true IT position was astounding. I didn't realise that supportive admin existed, and was surprised at the comparative lack of bureaucracy.

-Did you stay for another year or choose to keep moving to another school?
We looked around, but ultimately decided to re-sign as the only thing that other schools could offer us at this point is a better location.

-What was the fair like after you had some IT experience? What did you do to become more marketable at fairs? (Ex. sponsor clubs, certification, etc.)
I haven't been to a fair, but we did sign up for Search to test the waters. It seemed like we (math/science couple with no kids) would have gotten something had we gone to the fair now that we have two years of IT experience. Our advisor seemed especially interested in our coaching experience and my Master's degree.