Traveling Around

Traveling Around: Sicily (The life of an international school teacher is good!)

June 6, 2022

Traveling Around: Sicily

Can you relate?

• entering a local deli shop by chance and being in awe of all the delicious food!

• getting an Airbnb right in a small harbor where the locals are doing their daily fishing.

• planning this trip with some international school teacher friends that you met at a conference many years ago.

• learning about the history of the island when you run into some ancient ruins.

• resisting the urge to buy things from the local market when you see that your partner is purchasing a number of things.

• Imagining what life would be like living in Sicily as you walk down cute and quaint narrow streets.

• running into huge packs of high school aged children all over the city and not understanding why they aren’t in school!

• succumbing to the urge and getting at least one delicious gelato a day.

• taking a detour two times during the trip and stopping at some remote, local beaches to just lay down and relax (some of us taking a dip as well).

• walking around the beautiful nature and being curious about all of the local wildflowers.

• going all the way up to Mount Etna and being amazed at the fact you are standing so close to an erupting volcano!

• ringing a doorbell of a closed store that sells honey only for the bell to be answered by the owner who then lets you in (the honey was delicious!)!

• loving the city life as you people-watch in downtown Catania.

• stopping the car to get out and buy four peaches from a local produce seller selling produce out of their truck.

• driving around and being scared because of the way the locals drive. It was like the driving rules there were merely suggestions.

• visiting a touristy town but realizing how amazing it was, especially the views of the sea.

• eating at a different restaurant every night and totally enjoying every meal and experience.

• running into a local wedding that was just ending and watching firsthand all of the traditions of their culture.

Currently, we have 39 international schools listed in Italy on International School Community. 21 of them have had comments submitted on them. Here are a few of those schools:

The Bilingual School of Monza – 29 Comments
International School Florence – 34 Comments
American Overseas School of Rome – 40 Comments
Bilingual European School of Milan – 79 Comments
St. Stephens School Rome – 29 Comments
Westminster International School– 29 Comments

If you are on a trip right now, away from your host country, write to us here 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!

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Traveling Around

Traveling Around: Småland, Sweden (The life of an international school teacher is good!)

March 6, 2022

Traveling Around: Småland, Sweden

Can you relate?

• getting a private tour of a crazy Swedish man’s small moose park. The moose were so big and cute!

• staying at two different Swedish hotels (here’s one in Kalmar) that offered not only breakfast but also dinner as included in the price of the room.

• taking the trains to get around from city to city, and splurging by buying the First Class ticket for some more comfort.

• going to a local restaurant and being the only guests in it. It is hard to do, but you can be surprised by some tasty food!

• finding a unique Italian restaurant run by actual Italians (in a Swedish city of around 50000 people) and being treated to such a wonderfully authentic Italian meal.

• stepping into a small butcher’s shop and buying unique locally-made products like jams and crackers.

• driving around to find a castle that is also a hotel and realizing we should’ve stayed there instead!

• traveling to a water tower that also doubled as an echo chamber. I wouldn’t have believed it until we got there. It was super amazing!

• driving by a huge outlet area and agreeing to stop and check it out. We bought some discounted clothes!

• driving off the beaten path a number of times on very dirt, bumpy roads. Super exciting and fun!

• taking in the view of the beautiful nature. Even though it was winter and very cold, the sunny days still made the views so wonderful.

• getting a bit of a snowstorm one night and waking up to everything covered in snow.

• making sure to buy some local bread at a fancy Swedish bakery to bring back home with us.

• stopping by the local mall for some shopping. We bought a pot of a Swedish knockoff of le Creuset.

• having the easiest pick up of a rental car….EVER!

• wondering why we went traveling for a week in small-town Sweden only to realize that it was super relaxed and cozy…just want needed.

• taking the free pass from the hotel to the local “spa/pool” and then seeing that it was overrun by small children!

• stopping by the IKEA museum and learning about the amazing history of this iconic store.

Currently, we have 14 international schools listed in Sweden on International School Community. 7 of them have had comments submitted on them. Here are a few of those schools:

Bladins International School of Malmo – 33 Comments
International School of Almhult – 141 Comments
International School of Helsingborg – 28 Comments
International School of the Gothenburg Region – 6 Comments
Stockholm International School – 11 Comments

If you are on a trip right now, away from your host country, write to us here 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!

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Discussion Topics

9 International Educators Share How Close the Beaches are to Their International Schools

June 6, 2021

Who wouldn’t want to live next to or very close to the beach? Better yet, a beautiful beach with amazing sand and turquoise water!

International school educators could only be so lucky!

But this actually does exist in the world of international schools. There are a number of international schools around the world that are very close to the beach.

Some are on islands and that life has its pluses and minuses, but other international schools are simply just located on the coast of their continent.

Either way, you could be listening to the crashing of the waves as you walk home from a day’s work at your future international school next to the beach!

After searching the keyword ‘beach‘ using our Comments Search function on our website (premium access required), we found 331 comments. Here are 9 of them that give some insight into the hospital experience in different countries around the world.

Al Sahwa Schools (40 total comments)

“The school has not changed their site since the comment. They are close to the beach and the school has a new building on each side plus a new astroturf pitch. The older buildings are in need of some upgrading…”

Qingdao Amerasia International School (56 total comments)

“The ample outdoor activities available within the comfortable confines of a modern city: 40km boardwalk, beaches, mountains – tons of opportunities for outdoors enthusiasts…”

American School of Recife (27 total comments)

“American School of Recife 10 minutes to the nearest mall. Uber taxi is the most popular transportation in Recife. You can hire Uber to get you to the nearest beach area i.e Paiva or Porto Galinha. Single teachers are housed in a fully-furnished flat (considered a hotel in the city). The flats are only a one-bedroom apartment with a nice view of the beach and 7-10 minute walk to the school. The flat is also nearby small groceries where you can get most the things you may need in terms of food…”

UWC Thailand (107 total comments)

“There are many awesome beaches for different tastes. Bang Tao and Layan are popular with the school community. They are within 30 min of driving from campus. Ao Yon and Karon in the south are also popular…”

Lucaya International School (30 total comments

“The relaxed vibe on the island, friendly people, and absolutely stunning beaches, on which you may not see another person. It’s like having your own private beach. If you love deserted, pristine beaches, you will enjoy living here…”

United Lisbon International School (12 total comments)

“Lisbon is near to the Algarve area which is a popular beach destination for Europeans. Once can get there by car in 2.5 hours and by train in 3 hours. Porto, the other large city in Lisbon is 3.5 hours away with train service as well. Then there are smaller cities all accessible by good roads and trains…”

International School of Western Australia (28 total comments)

“The school is in the lovely suburb of Doubleview. Not to far from the city and quite close to the beach. There are a few nice cafes nearby that are great and quick to get lunch for school. It is quite expensive to rent or buy near the school – most teachers live 15-20 minutes away and drive to work.”

The Codrington School (Int’l School of Barbados) (83 total comments)

“West and South Coast are great places to live and go out. Lots of restaurants, bars and beautiful beaches to enjoy after work and on weekends.”

Cayman International School (6 total comments)

“There is no housing allowance. Rent is extremely high if you intend to live on or near a beach. Traffic can really be a problem, especially if you live on the south end of the island. A two bedroom apartment will run about $2,000 away from Seven Mile beach, $3,000 on the beach.”

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Traveling Around

Traveling Around: Melbourne, Australia (The life of an international school teacher is good!)

December 26, 2019

Traveling Around: Melbourne, Australia

Can you relate?

• learning a bunch a new words that are just abbreviations of words you already know in English.

• eating out at restaurants and finding that there are all cuisines on offer in the city, so diverse!

• taking a day trip to Phillip Island to find those fairy penguins, but also enjoy the lovely summer day full of sunshine.

• having an encounter with a mob of 15 wild kangaroos by yourself with no one else around.

• being amazed by all the different kinds of animals in the wild that many countries don’t have.

• being shocked by how much the temperature can change from day to day, sometimes with a 20+C difference!

• thinking that the prices for food at restaurants look expensive, but after converting the price into my host country current, realizing it is kind cheap here.

• wanting to catch up with a local (a person I worked with at one of my past international schools) but finding out it wasn’t going to work out do to that person being too busy during the holiday season.

• meeting up with a friend who just moved there and finding out all the details about the pros and cons of living and working there.

• renting a car and finding it not that stressful to drive on the other side of the road.

• going to a restaurant of your partner’s home country cuisine and talking to the servers and owner who were also from that country.

• checking out places that you didn’t visit the first time that you were in Melbourne (Luna Park, the bathing houses, Flinders Station, etc.)

• walking into the National Library and being amazed by the architecture of the place.

• not buying one souvenir, but taking lots of pictures of all the unique buildings, both old and new.

• being disappointed when arriving at a favorited restaurant to realize it was closed for the holiday season, then checking ahead of time if the next restaurants were open for future meals.

• seeing a near crash between car and tram, ‘trams can’t swerve’ said the sign!

• loving that the trams in the CBD are free to use for everyone, every day!

Currently, we have 31 international schools listed in Oceania on International School Community. 8 of them have had comments submitted on them. Here are a few of those schools:

Kwajalein Senior High School – 24 Comments
Woodford International School – 12 Comments
International School Nadi – 9 Comments
Majuro Cooperative School – 8 Comments
Port Moresby International School – 8 Comments

If you are on a trip right now, away from your host country, write to us here 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!

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What Expats Must Endure

A visit to the immigration office

November 18, 2019

Last week I had to go and ask for a re-entry permit at a local immigration office. It is an integral part of life for most of expats to pay a visit to this place every now and then. The immigration office is usually the only governmental institution that we can turn to when we need a document or a service.

I had an appointment for the document that I needed to get, and I arrived on time for this appointment with all my application documents filled out correctly. And, of course, my non-expired passport with many blank pages for my re-entry permit.

The office looked nice and bright, and the wait was surprisingly not long at all. That made me feel like the government is taking care of me almost as good as of all the citizens of my host country. As soon as they called my number, I handed over the paperwork to the agent only to be told (to my great shock and disappointment) that I was in the wrong place!

The “right” place

As I was taking the metro across town to get to the other foreigners’ centre, I felt upset about wasting my time; especially because I was clearly following all the rules I found on the ministry’s website.

Finally, I arrived to the other immigration centre where I could get what I needed. This building looked nothing like the first one. It was in a dark alley, looking old and unpleasant. The air in it was stuffy and there were tons of people from all over the world and from all walks of life, including kids and babies that were watching cartoons in one corner (and other being rather loud!) of this big waiting room. Not a place you’d want to visit after a long day at work!

People seemed confused about what they should do, although the guards were trying to guide them through the ticketing and waiting system. The overall experience looked like pure agony not only for the clients, but for the employees of this place as well. I was thinking about what the clerks really thought of us (the immigrants in ‘their’ country). Did they take this job to help and support us or does this experience make them more anti-immigrant?

Why are expats so different?

After 45 minutes of wait, I finally got what I needed and walked out of this room. It was already dark outside, but I decided to walk home. I needed some fresh air after that stuffy, crowded place, not to mention the stress of all of this nonsense. I couldn’t help but wonder why does the government need to treat non-citizens so differently? Such is the case in probably many of our home countries as well.

Expats are just as hard-working, tax-paying and law-abiding members of society just like the actual citizens, so don’t they deserve the level of service that is just as high as everyone else? I can’t find a proper reason why would the governments constantly try to remind us that we are not equal to their citizens. Maybe it is just an issue of lack-of-funding, constantly changing immigration laws, or maybe the current politicians don’t care about us because we don’t have the right to vote.

What are your experiences that you must endure being an expat in your host country? Share your story by submitting an article for this blog series by contacting us here.

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