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ISS/CIS Seattle

Posted: Sat Jan 12, 2008 1:16 am
by suquita
I am registered with CIS, but two schools that are listed with ISS want to interview me at the Seattle fair. Does anybody know how these joint fairs work? Will I have access to all the schools or just CIS schools? Thanks for any info.

Posted: Wed Jan 23, 2008 1:30 am
by shansar
This is a great question Suquita. Have any of you ever been to this? I see that CIS is sure a lot cheaper but I wonder if any of you veterans could please let us how both Fairs can be held under the same roof? I would imagine there must be a huge advantage over going with ISS?
I am telling you guys there will come a day when I can start giving advice rather than just taking!!
Thanks :D

Posted: Fri Jan 25, 2008 2:00 am
by suquita
I think I can answer my own question. I finally completed the long registration process with CIS and I can now access the schools attending list. The CIS site lists all schools regardless of affiliation. So if you want to go to a combined fair, CIS seems like the way to go. There are, however, many more schools attending the ISS New York fair.

Posted: Fri Jan 25, 2008 4:04 am
by shansar
Thanks Suquita. I am in the process now with CIS. How long did it take you to get the whole thing processed? Are you going to NY? Seattle? That does seem to have quite a few more schools at the ISS NY one.

Posted: Fri Jan 25, 2008 12:06 pm
by suquita
I'm only going to Seattle because the New York fair is ISS, not a combined fair. I also have a non-teaching spouse so I don't want to risk the expense of a New York trip. Seattle is just a short drive for me and some of the schools attending are interested in me even with my husband. The CIS process took me about a month. The hardest part was that I had lost my BA diploma (kind of useless in the states) and they wouldn't accept transcripts. Good luck!!

Seattle

Posted: Fri Jan 25, 2008 3:18 pm
by seacat
Hey there,
I am in the Seattle area too! Alas, I am not going to the fair because I am thinking more about the '09-10 schoo year. But, I would love to hear about your experiences abroad and with the job fair.Thanks for sharing your information with the board about the fair here in Seattle.

Posted: Sat Jan 26, 2008 5:27 am
by shansar
Small World. We are actually about 45 minutes North of Seattle and are planning on going as well. I'll be sure to let you know how it goes SeaCat.
Do you know where you would like to teach?

Posted: Sat Jan 26, 2008 7:03 pm
by seacat
Hi there! I'm pretty open-minded right now about which country. I speak Spanish, so Mexico, Latin America or South America would be great. What about you? I've been following the thread about you going over with your wife and three kids-good for you!

Posted: Mon Jan 28, 2008 3:52 am
by shansar
Yeah where to go or should I say where we would really like to go is the big question now! We have our stuff together and are now trying to figure that out. So hard to do as one persons idea of the "ideal" place can sure be different from another's. I do know I have sure learned a heck of a lot more about Geography this past month. I haven't travelled all that much (big shocker) so I am at a bit of a disadvantage but I'm trying to make up for it in reading and research. I'll be sure to let you know how it goes one way or the other.
:D

Posted: Fri Feb 29, 2008 4:53 am
by shansar
Well we just got back from the Seattle Fair and what a great time! I must say that I am absolutely beat after going through this whole process with all of the interviews, decisions, questions and such! Wow.
First off I must say that both ISS and CIS have some of the nicest people you'll ever meet working for them. They couldn't have been more pleasant. The whole event was smooth and there were plenty of people there to help if you had questions.
We are a teaching couple and I was surprised at how many people had already put stuff in our file before the interview sign up had even started.
We scheduled 7 interviews and ended up canceling one at the end.
When all was said and done we were offered jobs at 6 different schools. We couldn't believe it. We ended up going with a school in Sumatra and we couldn't be happier. It does have a few draw backs but I must say as far as it being what we were looking for it is exactly that and the Director is a great guy. Needless to say when I went back to my regular teaching job today I was a little sad as I love where I am at and it is tough to leave. However this should be a great adventure and the kids are really excited. All in all this really opened my eyes to a whole new world and all of the possibilities of teaching overseas. Again I have to say I was sure impressed with how solid the teachers and recruiters were. What a great time! Thank you all for your help and words of wisdom. It is really appreciated.

:) :) :)

Posted: Fri Feb 29, 2008 11:37 am
by JISAlum
[quote="shansar"]We ended up going with a school in Sumatra and we couldn't be happier.

:) :) :)[/quote]

Is this the Caltex school, or the school that was Caltex? Heard pay was good. Spent time at JIS and loved Jakarta.

Plus, how many kids do you have and was that a problem. We've got two and heard that the ratio between dependents to teachers should be 1:1.

Thanks-