The journey to work is indeed an important one. The journey though is not so clear for international school teachers, when looking for jobs at schools and cities/countries to which they have never been. So let’s share what we know!
One of our members, who works at the The Bermuda High School for Girls (Hamilton, Bermuda) described her way to work as follows:
Streams of cars full of parents and students + family pets roar by as I take the daily two-minute walk to school along the road. The majority of roads in Bermuda don’t have footpaths…therefore Bermudian drivers have become accustomed to avoiding pedestrians. I can feel the humidity levels are rising throughout the month of June, and my already dripping wet hair will take an hour-long usual to dry. A number of students call out to me from their car window, and they are calling out to me saying “Hi, Miss!” It is customary in Bermuda to always greet people no matter how many times you have seen and greeted them that day. I respond by reciprocating the gesture.
As I approach the school crossing, the space between the wall and the cars narrow to the point that the cars are brushing against my own hip. Mr. Smith, the school-crossing guard, holds out his hand to stop the already snail-paced traffic into the school, allowing me to cross and enter the school grounds. Of course, I exchange greetings with him as well and he normally teases me about what I’m wearing (like if I’m wearing pink). I have now entered the school ground and I am safe from the cars. I am now protected by a hand railing on the sidewalk that I am now using. At this point I can withdraw from the greeting ceremony and look up BBC news on my phone. A number of fathers are walking towards me in the other direction, having just dropped of their primary-aged children off at school. They are dressed in a manner that is typical of the finance industry here, which is the Bermuda shorts and long socks and a long-sleeved shirt tucked into their shorts.
There is another little crossing to make and I again hold up traffic to cross and get to the main building. As I am crossing the road I hear “Miss, Miss!” from a window two stories up. A number of year 7s are hanging out the window, arms waving madly as if they have not seen you for two weeks. I climb the steps and I’m officially in the building.
Currently, we have 36 international schools listed in Taiwan on our website. 18 of them have had comments submitted on them by our members. Check out which ones here by using our school search feature and ticking the box ‘schools with comments’.
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So what is your journey to the international school you work at? Earn 6 free months of premium membership to our website if you participate in this blog series – ‘The Journey to School’. Email us here if you are interested.
Traveling Around: Gurgaon, India (The life of an international school teacher is good!)
Traveling Around: Gurgaon, India
Can you relate?
• Flying on Etihad Coral Economy class, more comfortable than most of European first classes.
• Changing planes at Abu Dhabi, one of the busiest, but one of the most beautiful airports ever.
• Arriving at Indira Ghandi International airport at New Delhi at 5 AM feeling that outside temperature is already 36°C
• Being picked up by a smiling, chatty driver although he had to wait for you for 2 more hours due to the delay of your arrival.
• Noticing that people are sleeping on their market booths and mattresses randomly placed along the road.
• Going through the metal detector on the entrance of your hotel in Gurgaon.
• Being waken up 3-4 times while trying to catch some sleep after your 10h long flight by hotel staff just to check if everything’s ok.
• Getting a massage at a hotel spa and being treated like a king for a more than reasonable price.
• Driving around Gurgaon during an evening rush hour, seeing many programmers and other workers going home from work.
• Seeing buildings with world’s most prominent IT and financials companies such as Microsoft, Cisco, KPMG, Ernst & Young, Deloitte, etc.
• Noticing that roads do not have any strict lanes, no street lights, forcing traffic to a way of self-organization.
• Going to a restaurant and seeing a family cooking dinner next to the parking, feeling ashamed.
• Feeling 45°C and the dry air in the middle of June.
• Feeling a strange smell of organic decomposing in the air.
• Learning about the civic system of India from local businessmen.
• FACT 1: There is no social security number or any other unique number for an Indian.
• FACT 2: There is no institutionalized healthcare institution -> all the medical services are paid in cash (or with credit cards).
• Learning that everyone here has a smart phone, although he/she might not even have a house. WhatsApp and Facebook communication is a must.
• Learning that in the last decade, getting the landline in your house was a cause for a family celebration.
• Eating specifically spicy and tasty food. Not knowing how to use all the cutlery in the right way.
• Getting your body measured for a suit at a local tailor’s shop using the finest Italian and English materials for twice as cheap as in Europe.
Currently we have 6 international schools listed in Gurgaon, India on International School Community:
• Banyan Tree IB World School Gurgaon
• GD Goenka World School
• Lancers International School
• Manav Rachna International School
• Shalom Hill International School
• The Shri Ram School
If you are on a trip right now, away from your host country, write to us at admin@internationalschoolcommunity.com with your “Can you relate?” traveling experiences. Tell us where you are traveling in the world, what you are seeing and how you are coping with any culture shock. Once your Traveling Around experience is posted on our blog, International School Community will give you 6 free months of premium membership!