Blogs of International School Teachers (#1 – “an adventure of a lifetime…”)

Your first job at an international school and starting your new BLOG…

I did it.  When I got my first job at an international school, I definitely was inspired to start up a blog about my adventures living abroad.

Our new category on the International School Community blog is “Blogs of International School Teachers.”  Check out the experiences of another teacher from the moment they signed the contract to what they are writing about after 3 years working abroad.

Our first blog that we will highlight is called “an adventure of a lifetime…” found here.

Entries we would like to highlight:

After signing the contract
“So what am I doing… I know don’t be surprised! I am moving to Guatemala City for the next two years to teach at the American School of Guatemala….”

Finding out more about the position
“I found out this week that I will be teaching 3rd grade next year in Guatemala. I am very excited about this for many reasons….”

The official goodbye
“Friends and family! I leave in 3 days!! AHH! I am very excited! I have had a wonderful time with all of my friends and family over this last month. It has flown by, but I am ready and I know that I am supposed to make this move to Guatemala….”

One of the first adventures in the host country
“The volcano was INCREDIBLE! Volcan Pacaya is still very active and we were able to walk up to the flowing lava…”

The first week
“My first week in Guatemala has flown by. Since I actually have some time to sit, relax and reflect I figured I would let y’all hear about my journey so far. I arrived on Monday July 2nd and was met by two men from the American School where I will be teaching. Luckily a nice man Rafael helped me get my 4 large pieces of luggage out to the car…”

Top 5 Reasons I like walking or taking public transport to get to places around a city instead of driving

Best and Worst Cities around the World for Public Transit

I found this article here on the Time magazine website.  The article actually turned out to be about cities in the United States.  You can look at the best cities for public transit here and the worst cities for public transit here.  The best city was Honolulu, HI; which I’ve never been to myself (though I really WANT to go there soon).  The worst city was Knoxville, TN; also another city that I haven’t visited yet (not on the top of my list of places to visit, but I’m always game for exploring more of the United States).

Now on to the rest of the world.  I’ve lived in 2 cities now on 2 different continents, and I must say that I completely rely on public transport nowadays in my life….and that doesn’t bother me one bit.  Barcelona vs. Shanghai.  One city beats out the other one though for more reliable and cheaper transportation.  You guessed it, Shanghai is the winner.  Though there is a lot of pushing in both cities, I’ve been impressed with Shanghai’s public transit.  Usually I only wait 1-2 minutes for the next metro train!

I’ve been without a car of my own for 5 years now.  I remember when I was living in the United States and a work friend of mine decided to go car-free.  I remember him saying to me, “I LOVE not having a car…”  And I remember me thinking, this guy is CRAZY!  We all know that most of the United States is lacking with public transportation.  Where I am from, you literally need a car or your are not going to be able to get anywhere.

Now I think just like my old work friend.  I don’t think I ever want a car again.  Disregarding the fact that you can save so much money by not having a car, I think I have actually lost interest in driving in general.

Top 5 Reasons I like walking or taking public transport to get to places around a city instead of driving:

1. Getting the chance to go into narrow alleyways where cars can go.

2. Looking over the shoulders of the people in front of you.  Boy did she have excellent handwriting.

3. Some walking paths can be very beautiful.  If you are in a car, you pass it by too fast.  If you are walking, you get to take it all in!



4. People watching in general.  Where is everyone going?  Where is this man going?  Who is he? Who is she?  In a car, you don’t have time to look at anyone.



5. Walking to the market that doesn’t have a car park or that is in the middle of a big city that cars can’t get to.  I love walking/taking a bus to my neighborhood market!



*Though I do miss one thing: listening to my favourite songs in my car and being able to sing very loud to them!

So, what makes International School Community unique you ask?

There are indeed a few other review and comment-based websites currently on the internet helping out international school educators gather information about international schools around the world.  However, International School Community is trying to take it to the next level.

So, what are some ways that make International School Community unique?

– A member is able to find real people that work at the schools they are interested in.  Integrated networking!  If a member lists a school that they currently work at or have worked at in the past on their profile, their name will show up in the Members of this School section on the school profile pages.  That means you now have a real person to contact that can answer your specific questions about the school!  Those other websites don’t allow for this type of of networking.

– You can search for other international school educators based on criteria.  For example, if you want to find where the EAL teachers are in East Asia, just search it on our website.  Again, networking has just become that easier!

– You can search for the international school based on your criteria.  For example, if you want to find a school that is in Western Europe, that teaches the UK curriculum and that is in a city less that 750,000 people.  You can do just that using the search feature on our homepage!  Finding the right school for you is possible on International School Community.  We don’t know another website that currently has that kind of search power.

– International School Community is organized. Finally, now you can find the information you want, easier and faster. For example, if you want to know more information about the housing allowance, just go to the Benefits section.  If you want to more about school grounds, just look in the School section.  Other websites put all the school, benefits, city and travel info all in the same section which takes longer to find the information you are looking for.

– Our website focuses more positive and really useful information sharing.  All schools have good and bad aspects.  International School Community allows for members to leave truthful, firsthand information no matter if it is good or bad.  We have structured all of our questions to not allow for our members to rant on and on about certain aspects of the school.  The more controversial topics are put in the voting sections, where members are only allowed to vote.

These 5 things are just a few of what makes International School Community different from what’s currently out there.  And guess what?  We have plans to add more features and functions that will make being a member even more benefiticial.

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