Blogs of international school teachers: “Dan and Jillians International Teaching Adventures.”

Are you inspired to start up a blog about your adventures living abroad?

Our 22nd blog that we would like to highlight is called “Dan and Jillian’s International Teaching Adventures” Check out the blog entries of this international school teaching couple who are currently working at Al Batinah International School (9 Comments).

A few entries that we would like to highlight:

Semper Try

“Suddenly it sounds all too apropos—with such a small teaching staff, everyone needs to fill in to make the school day run smoothly. Certainly our principal sold the job this way and these last few days before school begins have been an exercise in filling in every last gap in the timetable with people ready and willing to take on new things. The second grade teacher (who’s from Pawtucket, Rhode Island!) will also teach grade 6-7 math and the P.E. teacher will dabble a bit in middle school science. Flexibility becomes our greatest virtue…”

Working at a small international school with a small group of teachers would definitely be an interesting experience. It is much appreciated when administration tries their best at the interview to give you a head’s up about what life as a teacher is really like at their school. At a small international school you indeed really would have to help “fill in the gaps” to help get teachers to teach all the classes on offer at the school! Using the School Profile Search feature on the homepage of International School Community’s website, we found that there are currently 513 international schools (out of 1273) that have a student population of 300 or less…that’s is almost half of our schools listed!

Location, Location, Location

“Since we’d been at the school everyday since we arrived, Jillian and I decided that yesterday would be a break—though this didn’t stop her from spending several hours planning her reading curriculum, but at least she was doing it on the couch. I, on the other hand, did nothing of the kind. After putting up nominal resistance, I succumbed to the temptation to begin reading The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet’s Nest, part three of Stieg Larsson’s awesomely escapist crime trilogy. Just what I need to be doing right now.

In the afternoon we headed out for a drive and our first real look at Sohar. We’d driven around a few times previous, but it was always within a short distance of our house. Yesterday we headed down towards the fish market and the old Sohar Fort and turned south and just started driving. Sohar is incredibly spread out, so even after driving along the coast for a good 45 minutes, we had only just reached the Sohar Gate, the entrance to town…”

It is so important to get yourself out and about the first few weeks of school, especially when working at an international school. Going out and appreciating your host city and taking in all that it has to offer is a great idea!

New Frontiers

“Less than an hour later during lunch, our principal walked into the teachers’ lounge and informed Jillian and I, plus another teaching couple, that to obtain our much-needed resident card, we’d need to leave the country and re-enter on a new working visa. Ummm, huh? Oh, and it would be best if that happened today. Thanks.

So after the closing bell we were headed for Dubai, or more exactly, the border station between Oman and the United Arab Emirates. Waiting in line in Oman only to be told we needed to exit the country and come back in. Yeah, we got that. Then standing in the hot sun, waiting for our UAE visitor’s visas. Of the thirty days we were allotted, we used approximately three minutes. U-turn, then back across into Oman and literally sprinting into the building ahead of a group coming off a tour bus to beat them to the window. And finally, an official stamp certifying our working status.

I’ll never forget my first trip to the United Arab Emirates. No matter how hard I try…”It is unfortunate, but this situation is not so uncommon for many international school teachers. It is really hard getting the whole residency and visa paperwork to work out as you would have hoped it would work out. We all know though that it doesn’t always work out perfectly. I guess as international school teachers we needed to be flexible and aware that we might have to leave the country at some point and re-enter to get your new working visa validated.

If you are also interested in starting your career in the international school community, feel free to check out the 1273+ international schools that are listed on International School Community here. Also, don’t forget to check out our latest submitted comments and information about these schools.

If you are an international school teacher and would like your blog highlighted on International School Community contact us here.

TIC (Teachers International Consultancy) article: This time next year….teachers get planning for international opportunities

It’s not an easy time of year for teachers. The summer holidays are over, the academic year ahead seems daunting, and bad weather is just around the corner. Not so for Physics teacher Gerry Young who is enjoying the sunshine in Bangkok and loving his work.

Four years ago, Gerry was in Lanarkshire, Scotland and not so happy. “The rain was battering against the roof of my lab and the wind was rattling the windows. It’s no secret that Scotland isn’t a nice place to be just now if you’re trying to find a [teaching] job.”

It was enough to inspire Gerry and his wife Jane to look further afield and as a result, they discovered the extensive opportunities available to qualified, skilled, English-speaking teachers and school leaders in international schools.

“We never realised the possibilities that were out there to develop our careers as well as to travel and see different countries and cultures – to live them rather than just pass through them,” he says.

Gerry and Jane have since spent three years teaching at an international school in Mauritius; “Where we worked with a staff body pulled from lots of wind-swept and interesting corners of the globe,” he says. “The lifestyle was completely different. We spent most of our free time outdoors, in the sunshine, on beaches and there are huge benefits to be gained from a rich career spent teaching and living overseas…in a word, adventure!”

This summer, Gerry and Jane have relocated as a teaching couple to Harrow International School in Bangkok. “We moved from a sleepy little school of 260 pupils to one of the biggest names in international education with almost 1200 pupils, and traded mellow Mauritius for bustling Bangkok – a different corner of the world and a whole new adventure,” says Gerry.

With over 6,000 English-medium international schools to choose from, making their move could have been quite a daunting prospect for the Youngs. “What is often a traumatic experience was transformed into one where excitement and anticipation were our main emotional states,” explains Gerry who says the recruitment approach that Harrow International took was supportive, informative and reassuring.

Andrew Wigford from Teachers International Consultancy which is the sole recruiter for Harrow International Schools says “The number of international schools is growing at a phenomenal pace. Finding the right school to match a teacher’s specific skills and experiences, that supports their career growth, is a reputable establishment, and offers them the lifestyle and location they choose can be a challenging matching-up process.”

As a specialist recruitment organisation for international schools, Teachers International Consultancy works with many schools throughout the world and places hundreds of teachers each year. “There are currently over 280,000 expatriate teachers working in international schools around the world and there’s still a demand for more who have great skills and teaching experience. Our advice to those considering this as a career move is research the schools as much as you can. Look for accredited schools or those with a very good reputation and get your applications in early. Most international schools start their first round of recruitment in January and February so now is the time to get registered with a recruitment organisation and to find out as much as you can. Agencies that specialise in the international schools market should be able to help you through the whole process; right from preparing your CV appropriately, and reputable agencies do not charge candidates for this service because there is such a demand for quality teachers.”

If you would like to find out more about the opportunities available for working in international schools, Teachers International Consultancy regularly hosts free informational webinars and will also be hosting a free seminar providing advice about teaching in international schools on Saturday 17^th November in London. For more information visit www.findteachingjobsoverseas.com.

Survey results are in: Where are you spending your ‘extra’ money while teaching abroad?

The survey results are in, and it seems as if most visitors and members of International School Community who voted are spending their ‘Extra’ money on traveling, clothes and food.

I guess it comes as no surprise that international school teachers are traveling a lot. If we have the time and means to do it, then we often take advantage of this time in our lives (because it might not last for ever!). We love the fact that we are getting more time for holidays throughout the school year (than maybe you would be getting in your home country). Some international schools are also celebrating up to three countries’ national holidays! Being that many of us don’t have family living where we are currently living in the world, there is sometimes no good reason to stick around our host city during our vacation time. When holiday time comes around, we are all asking each other “Where are you traveling to?”

At one point in my international school teaching career, I was traveling so much that I was averaging 12 new countries a year! New countries! And I was at a placement with the lowest salary of my teaching career. I guess then it all depends on your location in the world and how well that city’s airport is connected to other cities in the world. Sometimes the cost of living in the city can play a factor as well to how much money you have left over for traveling. If you pay rent in your current placement, having a roommate too can help you put more of your earnings towards traveling instead of a higher monthly rent that you would be paying if you were living by yourself.

There are many factors to consider. Knowing about all this information about traveling before you sign a contract can quite important then…that is if traveling is one of your top priorities while living abroad. Luckily on International School Community, we have a Travel Section in the comments and information part of each school’s profile that discusses this very topic. There are four topics in this section:

• Sample travel airfares from host city airport to destinations nearby.

• Describe proximity of major airport hubs to the city center and give sample taxi, train, subway and/or bus fares to get there.

• Popular travel websites to buy plane tickets or tours that are popular for expats living in the city and/or country.

• Places to travel to outside the city by bus or train.

There have been many comments and information submitted in the Travel Section on numerous school profiles on our website.

One International School Community member said about working at American School of Barcelona: “It is easy to get to almost every European city from Barcelona for a decent price. You do have to shop around and it is better to book ahead. A flight from Barcelona to the east coast of the USA at Christmas costs around 500-900 Euros.”

Another member said about working at American School of Asuncion: “It is very difficult to travel on a regular weekend, since Asuncion is basically in the middle of nowhere, and flights to the closest cool cities (Buenos Aires and Rio de Janeiro) are expensive. It is also becoming more and more pricey with the Visas required for Bolivia, Chile, Paraguay, Argentina and Brazil. They range from $60-140.”

Another member submitted a comment about the traveling opportunities while working at Kodaikanal International School: “KIS is fortunate in having a fully staffed Travel Office to coordinate student, staff and community travel. Our travel partner ‘Around the World Travel’ is an India-wide agency with decades of experience in providing national and international travel options to and from KIS.”

We also have other comments and information topics in the City Section of the school profile pages that are related to clothing and food. One of these topics covers the best places in your host city to find good deals on clothing and other shopping. We all can benefit from hearing about places that are good to go to versus spending time and energy going to ones that aren’t so good in our host city.

For those international school teachers that put going out to eat a lot as a top priority while living abroad, there are also topics that discuss the best places in the city to go out to eat. We even have a topic that is about restaurants that appeal to the expat community living in that host city (we all want a little ‘familiar’ food every now and then!).

Some of us spend our ‘extra’ money buying imported goods. Typically the food sold in the local expat grocery store is at a very high price, prices you would never pay if you were living in your home country. But because of the ‘extra’ money that many international school teachers have while living abroad, we can afford buying these products. Well we can often buy these high-priced products, but maybe not live on these products!

So what are ou spending your ‘extra’ money on while living abroad? With the appeal of being able to travel to most places in the world and being able to go out to eat more often, it is indeed difficult to save your ‘extra’ money at times. According to the survey results though, there are some international school teachers that are saving their money. Some schools actually force you to save in a way, when they transfer part of your salary into your home country bank account while they transfer another part into your local bank account. Typically you can live on the money transferred into your local account, letting you save the money in your home country bank account very easily and make is ‘less accessible’ to spend too!

To save or not to save…that is the question!

Using the School Profile Search feature on International School Community: Search Result #7

Only on International School Community will you be able to search for the perfect international school for you. The possibility to search (using our unique search engine) for international schools based on the type of school that best fits your criteria. There are many different kinds of schools: ones that are small in student numbers to ones that have more than 1200 students, ones that are for-profit to ones that are non-profit, ones that are in very large cities to ones that are in towns of only 1000 people, etc. Each international school teacher has their own type of a school that best fits their needs as a teacher and a professional. You personal life is also very important when you are trying to find the right match. Most of us know what it is like to be working at a school that doesn’t fit your needs, so it’s best to find one that does!

Utilizing the School Profile Search feature on International School Community, you can search our 1280 schools (updated 13 September 2012) for the perfect school using up to 8 different criteria. The 8 criteria are: Region of the world, Curriculum, School Nature, Number of Students, Country, Year Founded, Kinds of Students and Size of City. You can do a school profile search in three different locations on our website: the homepage, the Schools List page and on the side of every school profile page. Past search results: Search Result #1 posted in December 2011, Search Result #2 posted in January 2012, Search Result #3 posted in March 2012, Search Result #4 posted on April 2012, Search Result #5 posted in May 2012 and Search Result #6 posted in July 2012.

Search Result #7

Criteria chosen:

Region of the world (Eastern Europe)
Curriculum (All)
School Nature (All)
No. of students (Medium 300-700)
Country (All)
Year founded (16-50 years ago)
Kinds of students (All)
Size of city (All)

Schools Found:11

Armenia – Quantum College

Azerbaijan – International School of Azerbaijan (12 Comments)
Sample comment – Being that the campus is on the outskirts of Baku (which lies on the Caspian Sea), the city centre is a 15 minute drive away.

Bulgaria – Anglo American School of Sofia (7 Comments) and Zlatarski International School
Sample comment – Salaries are paid in Euros. Monthly salary is around 2300 Euros (no taxes are paid by teachers).

Czech Republic – English International School Prague and Riverside School

Hungary – British International School Budapest

Romanian – International School of Bucharest and Mark Twain International School

Russia – British International School Moscow

Ukraine – Qsi – Kiev International School
Sample comment – “Teachers get a furnished apartment with back-up power, telephone/internet, with underground parking. There is an allowance for utilities.”

Why not start your own searches now and then start finding information about the schools that best fit your needs? Additionally, all premium members are able to access the 6001 comments and information (updated 13 September 2012) that have been submitted on the hundreds of international school profiles on our website.

Join International School Community today and you will automatically get the ability to make unlimited searches to find the international schools that fit your criteria.

IS Community Blog

Rules for Counting Countries You’ve Been To

From Teacher to Principal and Back Again: What 15+ Years in Int’l Schools Taught Me

So Many International Schools WITHOUT Retirement Plans! (Updated 2026)

Become an ISC Mayor and Get Unlimited Free Premium Membership

Categories