Surround yourself with positive people. Do not allow negative comments and attitudes to darken your outlook.
It is hard to stay positive, but when culture shock is at its worst, it is very easy to slip. Sure the other new teachers at your school (and the veteran ones) have a lot to say to you about the host country and culture, but you just might find yourself joining in with them. Commence the inevitable negative thought process!
“When one door of happiness closes, another opens, but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one which has been opened for us.” – Helen Keller
It is hard to know exactly about the meaning behind those negative comments from your coworkers (or from yourself). Are they saying those things because that is just what you do and say when you are an expat, even if it is said like it is only a joke? On the other hand, people say things as a joke under stressful times and there is usually much truth behind their negative comments.
Some things are small and people are easily quick to be negative about it.
“Why do I have a pay this media tax? I never had to pay this in any of the other countries I’ve lived in. I don’t even have a TV. I refused to pay this stupid fee!”
“Seriously the internet in this country is so slow. You can’t even access Facebook and YouTube here. Now I have to pay for a VPN service, which usually makes my internet connection even slower!”
“Nothing is open around here. Good luck finding a store open after 18 hours here.”
“Arg! It is so dirty here. I open the windows to my apartment and one hour later the floors are covered in a thin layer of dust. I can’t wait to move back to a cleaner country!”
There are many more things to talk negatively about when living in another country. We forgot too, under the influence of culture shock, that there are many negative aspects to living in our home country as well (e.g. getting a cable service repair person to come to your home to fix your internet or cable).
People complain and obsess about negative aspects of their lives in their home countries too. But some might say that is your country so maybe you are “allowed” to say negative things every once in a while about your own culture and way of doing things. Is it different or the same then when living abroad? When you are in a host country, the country is your “host.” Certainly, we all would agree that you should try and be gracious to your host.
Some things though are NOT small and can be quite important concerning your life abroad.
“Be ready to not get paid on time. Last year, we didn’t get paid until three weeks after the salary payment date! Why don’t we get paid on time? There is nothing we can do about too.”
“The building management in our apartment complex steals our money. They are giving us bills that are way more expensive than the locals that are living in our building.”
“I have been waiting for six months to get reimbursed for things that I purchased for the school! I am also waiting to get reimbursed for my flight allowance….for LAST YEAR!”
“My last school didn’t have this much work to do. It is unbelievable about much I have to work at this school. I don’t know if I can handle working until 19:00 every day after school!”
When there is something negative related to your home, your salary, or your money (in general), then it is very easy to be sensitive to these situations. Maybe then you are allowed to voice your concerns (i.e. be a bit negative). Hopefully, though there is something that you can do about it; get your school administration involved, the local police, etc. Also, it is important to remember that these things might be temporary as well, inconveniences that will pass after a few weeks or months.
“Don`t be trapped by Dogma – which is living the results of other people`s thinking. Don`t let the noise of others drown out your inner voice. And most important, dare to follow your heart and intuition.” – Steve Jobs.
So, knowing that there are going to be negative comments heard and negative comments coming out of your mouth at some point, the key is to try and stay positive as much as possible. Don’t let the negative thoughts and comments take over and take control of your thinking. Your life in your new country will be full of ups and downs, that is a given. Realizing that simple thing, could dramatically keep your negative thoughts to a minimum. Also, maybe think twice about sharing all of your negative thoughts with your friends and coworkers, some might be best to keep to yourself anyways.
How do you try and stay positive in your current placement? Share your comments with the rest of the International School Community readers.
This article was submitted anonymously by an ISC member. Check out the rest of the 10 Commandments of Relocated Overseas here.
10 Informative Member-Submitted Comments from December 2023
In our new blog series, we will give a review of the most informed member-submitted comments from a specific month. In this article, we look at ones submitted in December 2023.
We ask our members to submit comments that are detailed and full of useful information. With these informative comments submitted into our 68 comment topics about each school, ISC is the place to go to get the information you want, fast!
So here is the list for December 2023 that we thought stuck out as the most informative comments:
In general, why are people staying at or leaving this school
“In general, people stay for the bonuses given to staff who renew their contracts, the high salaries compared to other schools, and the friendly/supportive colleagues. People have left the school due to the long working hours, high expectations, micromanagement from administration, and behavior issues from students.”
Shen Wai International School (42 total comments) in Shenzhen, China.
What types of budgets do classroom teachers/departments get?
“A number of grade level and department budgets can be from DKK 40000-70000 a year. You make a list each year to give a good estimate of what your department will buy, and it is usually approved. Nobody is cross-referencing your list either, so you can basically manage the money how you would like. The team coordinator is in charge of the department’s budget.”
Copenhagen International School (429 total comments) in Copenhagen, Denmark
Describe the proximity of major airport hubs to the city center and give sample taxi, train, subway and/or bus fares to get there.
“To travel from the school to Aeroporto Afonso Pena, the Uber ride costs about 80 reais and takes approximately 45 minutes, while taking the bus is a more economical option at 18 reais, but with a longer travel time of about 2 hours at the rush-hour.”
International School of Curitiba (23 total comments) in Curitiba, Brazil
How do the school’s benefits compare to other international schools in the area/city?
“While the updated salary scale for 2023-24 does increase salaries and benefits for foreign faculty, ISD salaries remain lower than the nearby American International School of Dhaka.”
International School Dhaka (111 total comments) in Dhaka, Bangladesh
The average amount of money that is left to be saved. Describe the survivability for a family of four on one salary.
“I’m very impressed that the previous poster could save 2000/month. Perhaps their salary was higher than mine! However, I did save about 8000 USD in a year. And that is with a nice lifestyle (nothing crazy, but definitely nice, with holidays).”
Dwight School Seoul (61 total comments) in Seoul, South Korea
Explain how salaries are decided (e.g. is there a pay schedule? extra step for master’s degree? Annual pay raises? Bonuses?).
“In the past, there was a salary increase for a Masters degree. Unclear as to the process moving forward. No current salary scale with steps exists.”
Fundacion Liceo Ingles (Pereira) (87 total comments) in Pereira, Colombia
Sample prices for food, transportation, average hourly rates for a housekeeper, etc.
“A housekeeper is around 50 euros for a full clean. It costs around .5 euros for 30 minutes on public transport. The cost of food varies from grocery store to grocery store, with Spar seeming to be the most cost-effective if you purchase their branded foods. Restaurants also vary depe…”
American International School of Zagreb (52 total comments) in Zagreb, Croatia
In general, why are people staying at or leaving this school?
“People are leaving because communication is very poor especially from SLT to staff and parents. Lots of parents are very unhappy with how chaotic everything feels – this is having a negative impact on staff. Also, there is lots of uncertainty which is leading to teachers wanting …”
Colegio Gran Bretana (203 total comments) in Bogota, Colombia
Details about the current teacher appraisal process.
“There is a Professional Growth Process which is just a yearly goal setting with supervising admin. Admin will occasionally walk through classrooms but it’s a very casual and supportive environment.”
International School of Latvia (53 total comments) in Riga, Latvia
Languages of the host city and the level of English spoken there.
“In the tourist areas, some locals can speak pretty good English. But even in those areas, if you go to a random shop the store worker will just blankly stare at you with no interest in even trying to understand you. This was a recent experience of mine. In the end, I bought something, but it seems like a pain for her to sell it to me.”
British International School Hanoi (9 total comments) in Hanoi, Vietnam