{"id":41,"date":"2012-02-04T23:14:00","date_gmt":"2012-02-04T23:14:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/?p=41"},"modified":"2012-10-14T20:34:59","modified_gmt":"2012-10-14T20:34:59","slug":"the-taxi-lives-of-international-school-teachers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/the-taxi-lives-of-international-school-teachers\/","title":{"rendered":"The Taxi-Lives of International School Teachers"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

I imagine it\u2019s raining. There are way too many substances in my blood, and I can\u2019t separate my alterations. One moment I\u2019m high as a kite flying on happy bliss, the next I\u2019m weary and tetchy. Did I mention it\u2019s raining? I\u2019m just hardly on my feet \u2013 is it true that a giraffe\u2019s offspring learns to walk just hours after it\u2019s born? \u2013 If so, I haven\u2019t advanced past my fetus state. It\u2019s colder than yesterday when it was the coldest since the day before; I see where this is going. Then my savior is there. Just two steps away. And inside, relaxed on the backseat, the taxi drives away. The city and all its shining lights merge, as Amsterdam disappears in the background. There\u2019s too much laughter, too many dogs barking, too much purple prose, women in barely nothing, and the men that haunt them. There\u2019s the man selling Chinese proverbs, the woman selling flowers, selling madrigals, selling good time. I usually never take a taxi home, but sometimes nightlife just creeps under your skin, and you just need to get away, get somewhere, and get home. Shake off the cold, the night, the many impressions, the stale smell of balcony smokers, men in Nixon masks, and the women that admire them. And as the taxi stops right outside my door. I swear, next time I\u2019ll take a bus. I won\u2019t drink so much, and when I see the receipt from Taxi Company on my credit card statement, I won\u2019t even remember the taxi ride home.<\/p>\n

\u201cI find the great thing in this world is, not so much where we stand, as in the direction we are moving.\u201d Goethe.<\/strong><\/p>\n

I imagine it\u2019s early morning. I\u2019m in my newly ironed suit; my tie matches my polished shoes that match the brief case. There\u2019s a taxi right in front of my compound. I get in, quietly give the driver my destination in English (though he doesn\u2019t speak English very well at all), lean back, and start reading the newspaper. It\u2019s mainly the financials, but I discretely smile at the candor of the comic strip. I never speak to the driver; he\u2019s just here to get me from one destination to the next, smoothly with no major interruptions. It\u2019s the easiest way to get around Shanghai. I sometimes take notion of the skylines, the people on the street, and the people in other taxis, but mostly I just read the paper. When I arrive at the international school that I work at, the driver opens my door, nods, and drives away. During the day there are several meetings around town, several of new taxi encounters, but the same customary every time.<\/p>\n

\u201cLife is like a taxi. The meter just keeps a-ticking whether you are getting somewhere or just standing still.\u201d Lou Erickson.<\/strong><\/p>\n

I imagine I\u2019m late again. I\u2019ll just tell my friends, \u201cI took a cab.\u201d He\u2019s Armenian; his mother\u2019s mother was an immigrant, who used to live in the Bronx, where she opened a small bakery. His dad was a son of a gun. It\u2019s right next to the Guggenheim. I order a martini and soup. Next stop: my publisher somewhere on Manhattan. Some gypsy cab tries to convince me he\u2019s cheaper, but I know better. She\u2019s from Kansas, not much of a talker, her sign says Ada Mae. She tries to hard to hide the fact she\u2019s not a New Yorker, but I know better. There\u2019s a party tonight at some loft in Soho, \u201cit\u2019s better than New Year, it\u2019s close to the metro, but just take a cab, it\u2019s safer.\u201d It\u2019s the pre-release-party, but some bookstore in Brooklyn has already started selling the book, so I take a cab there, just to see my book in the window. I ask the driver to hold, but he\u2019s very impatient. I eat half a cupcake I buy in some small coffee shop, the d\u00e9cor is very vintage, and I get the address to this flea market in Greenwich Village. If I hail a cab quickly, I can make it before I go home and get dressed for the party. The driver driving me to Soho is from Iraq, I don\u2019t remember his name, but he quoted Mahatma Ghandi, something about happiness and harmony. I only have a few drinks, small talk with an architect who\u2019s designing a new super mall in New Jersey, the florist who did the decoration, my publisher\u2019s ex-wife who just shared a cab with Meryl Streep (they were apparently going in the same direction) and a woman I think I\u2019ve dated a couple years ago. We share a taxi home.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd a big yellow taxi took away my old man. Don\u2019t it always seem to go that you don\u2019t know what you\u2019ve got \u2018til it\u2019s gone. They paved paradise and put up a parking lot.\u201d Joni Mitchell.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Go ahead and send a private message regarding \u201ctransportation and the taxi-life\u201d to one of our members that is currently living in one of the many different cities around the world represented on our website. International School Community\u2019s current members<\/a> work at or have worked at 100 international schools! Check out which schools here<\/a> and start networking today!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I imagine it\u2019s raining. There are way too many substances in my blood, and I can\u2019t separate my alterations. One moment I\u2019m high as a kite flying on happy bliss, the next I\u2019m weary and tetchy. Did I mention it\u2019s raining? I\u2019m just hardly on my feet \u2013 is it true that a giraffe\u2019s offspring […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[9],"tags":[42,56,29,57,140,141,142,143,144,60,104],"class_list":["post-41","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-discussion-topics","tag-expat-life","tag-international-educators","tag-international-school","tag-international-teacher","tag-lifestyle","tag-lives-of-international-educators","tag-taxi","tag-taxi-life","tag-taxis","tag-teaching-abroad","tag-teaching-overseas"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2flVT-F","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":7825,"url":"https:\/\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/9-international-educators-share-their-hospital-visit-experiences-from-around-the-world\/","url_meta":{"origin":41,"position":0},"title":"9 International Educators Share their Hospital Visit Experiences from Around the World","author":"ISCommunity","date":"March 18, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"One time in Bangkok, I was walking around the streets by myself in the heat of the summer. By accident, I tripped and fell down on the sidewalk. After I got myself up, something felt extremely wrong. I walked around for a bit, but I didn't know what was wrong\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Discussion Topics"","block_context":{"text":"Discussion Topics","link":"https:\/\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/category\/discussion-topics\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/hospital-1802679_1280.jpg?fit=1200%2C794&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/hospital-1802679_1280.jpg?fit=1200%2C794&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/hospital-1802679_1280.jpg?fit=1200%2C794&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/hospital-1802679_1280.jpg?fit=1200%2C794&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/hospital-1802679_1280.jpg?fit=1200%2C794&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":8392,"url":"https:\/\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/9-international-educators-share-how-close-the-beach-is-to-their-international-schools\/","url_meta":{"origin":41,"position":1},"title":"9 International Educators Share How Close the Beaches are to Their International Schools","author":"ISCommunity","date":"June 6, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"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\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Discussion Topics"","block_context":{"text":"Discussion Topics","link":"https:\/\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/category\/discussion-topics\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/beach-1751455_1280.jpg?fit=1200%2C798&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/beach-1751455_1280.jpg?fit=1200%2C798&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/beach-1751455_1280.jpg?fit=1200%2C798&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/beach-1751455_1280.jpg?fit=1200%2C798&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/beach-1751455_1280.jpg?fit=1200%2C798&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1702,"url":"https:\/\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/traveling-around-abu-dhabi-united-arab-emirates-the-life-of-an-international-school-teacher-is-good\/","url_meta":{"origin":41,"position":2},"title":"Traveling Around: Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (The life of an international school teacher is good!)","author":"ISCommunity","date":"March 7, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Traveling Around: Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates Can you relate? \u2022 Realizing that the expat life there can be very, very nice! \u2022 Enjoying the Middle Eastern cuisine and wishing it was the cuisine where I live. \u2022 Going to mall after mall after mall after mall. \u2022 Feeling jealous\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Traveling Around"","block_context":{"text":"Traveling Around","link":"https:\/\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/category\/traveling-around\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"DSC_2224","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/03\/DSC_2224-300x126.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":94,"url":"https:\/\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/video-highlight-rick-steves-the-value-of-travel-tedxrainier\/","url_meta":{"origin":41,"position":3},"title":"Video Highlight \u2013 Rick Steves: The Value of Travel (TEDxRainier)","author":"ISCommunity","date":"January 18, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"After spending 4 months a year for the last 30 years living out of a suitcase, Rick Steves reflects on the value of thoughtful travel. Sharing lessons learned from Iran to El Salvador and from India to Denmark, Steves tells why spending all that time and money away from home\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Video Highlight"","block_context":{"text":"Video Highlight","link":"https:\/\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/category\/video-highlight\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":8923,"url":"https:\/\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/selecting-an-international-school-tip-2-is-the-school-conveniently-located\/","url_meta":{"origin":41,"position":4},"title":"Selecting an International School Tip #2: Is the School Conveniently Located?","author":"ISCommunity","date":"October 30, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"What reasons do parents think about when selecting a school for their children when they move abroad? Are they similar reasons why teachers choose to work at a school abroad as well?\u00a0 Many international school teachers are in teaching couples that have children.\u00a0 There are also international school teachers that\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "12 Tips for Selecting an Int'l School"","block_context":{"text":"12 Tips for Selecting an Int'l School","link":"https:\/\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/category\/12-tips-for-selecting-an-intl-school\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/Screen-Shot-2022-10-30-at-11.11.38-1.png?fit=1162%2C1026&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/Screen-Shot-2022-10-30-at-11.11.38-1.png?fit=1162%2C1026&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/Screen-Shot-2022-10-30-at-11.11.38-1.png?fit=1162%2C1026&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/Screen-Shot-2022-10-30-at-11.11.38-1.png?fit=1162%2C1026&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/Screen-Shot-2022-10-30-at-11.11.38-1.png?fit=1162%2C1026&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":192,"url":"https:\/\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/educators-overseas-an-agency-that-places-teachers-at-international-and-english-schools-around-the-world\/","url_meta":{"origin":41,"position":5},"title":"Educators Overseas \u2013 An agency that places teachers at international and English schools around the world","author":"ISCommunity","date":"November 30, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"The Educators Overseas website has some excellent information and resources on it for teachers interested in teaching overseas.\u00a0 They have information about traveling abroad and things to know before you go.\u00a0 There is also information about working in different regions in the world.\u00a0 They have many pages with different teaching-related\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Great Resource"","block_context":{"text":"Great Resource","link":"https:\/\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/category\/great-resource\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/internationalschoolcommunity.files.wordpress.com\/2011\/11\/screen-shot-2011-11-29-at-10-36-02-pm.png?w=350&h=200&crop=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/internationalschoolcommunity.files.wordpress.com\/2011\/11\/screen-shot-2011-11-29-at-10-36-02-pm.png?w=350&h=200&crop=1 1x, https:\/\/internationalschoolcommunity.files.wordpress.com\/2011\/11\/screen-shot-2011-11-29-at-10-36-02-pm.png?w=525&h=300&crop=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=41"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=41"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=41"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}