Chapter 18: That\u2019s MALI. With an M. And no\u00a0AW.<\/strong><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n \u201cBali, not Mali.<\/p>\n A year ago we signed a contract to teach in Mali, an African country that nobody had heard of before. People assumed we said Bali, even though it\u2019s not a country and nowhere near Africa. But it does rhyme.<\/p>\n Or they thought we were heading to Malawi<\/a>. It was also an obscure African nation, well, until Madonna adopted David Banda and Chifundo there and it was featured on E Entertainment News and in scholarly magazines like People, Us, and Star (whose current cover screams \u201cIt\u2019s Demi! Cougar Goes Wild in Mexico: THE SEX WAS VERY LOUD<\/a>\u201d).<\/p>\n Then people would ask US, \u201cWhat\u2019s Mali close to?\u201d And we would mention neighboring countries such as Burkina Faso, C\u00f4te d\u2019Ivoire, Guinea, and Mauritania. And they would do that nod-without-actually-understanding-what was just-said thing\u2026\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n It is sometimes a challenge for your home country friends and family to completely understand your life abroad, especially if you are living in a country that nobody has even heard of before (or maybe heard of once on a tv news channel maybe). \u00a0For another interesting article related to this topic, check our our own blog article called “<\/em>Going home for the holidays: No one cares about your international life!<\/a>“.<\/p>\n Chapter 29: I\u2019d Rather Get a Root Canal in Mali Than Teach in the\u00a0U.S.<\/strong><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n “<\/span>Last year, during a severe sugar craving bout, \u00a0I found an old piece of hard candy in my desk at school. Despite the fact that this red sticky thing was probably manufactured back when Mali became a country in 1960, I still popped it into my mouth. Then it got stuck on my lower molars, and upon disengaging it I also yanked off a crown.<\/p>\n This is not a good situation to be in when you live in a developing country where some<\/p>\n \n<\/div>\n dental work occurs roadside. But lo and behold, I discovered a Lebanese dentist (raised in Senegal) who operated a modern, dental practice in an actual building near our school, and he had a number of our students as patients. So off I went to have him reattach the old crown which I was sure would take ten minutes. Except the old crown was cracked and he needed to make a new one. And then he discovered that a root canal had not been done on that old tooth (thank you crappy Florida dentist).<\/p>\n So long story short, he did the root canal (even finding a 4th root which he said was rare)…\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Having a medical emergency while living abroad can be an\u00a0international\u00a0school teacher’s worst nightmare come true. Though most often than not, you will be able to figure out a plan to get your medical situation resolved, the process in doing so will most likely be stressful.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n Check out some of our submitted comments regarding health benefits and experiences using the host country health care system in one of our our past surveys called\u00a0“<\/span><\/em>How is your experience using your health insurance and medical benefits?<\/a><\/strong>”\u00a0<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n ************************************ Kampala International School <\/a>(Kampala, Uganda)<\/span> – 50 Comments<\/strong><\/p>\n American International School of Lusaka <\/a>(Lusaka, Zambia)<\/span> – 45 Comments<\/strong><\/p>\n The School of St. Jude <\/a>(Arusha, Tanzania)<\/span> – 18 Comments<\/strong><\/p>\n International School of Tanganyika <\/a>(Dar es salaam, Tanzania)<\/span> – 143 Comments<\/strong><\/p>\n Khartoum American School <\/a>(Khartoum, Sudan)<\/span> – 23 Comments<\/strong><\/p>\n Khartoum International Community School <\/a>(Khartoum, Sudan)<\/span> – 65 Comments<\/strong><\/p>\n The International School of Dakar <\/a>(Dakar, Senegal)<\/span> – 44 Comments<\/strong><\/p>\n International School of Seychelles <\/a>(Victoria, Seychelles)<\/span> – 18 Comments<\/strong><\/p>\n TLC International School <\/a>(Nouakchott, Mauritania)<\/span> – 43 Comments<\/strong><\/p>\n American International School of Mozambique <\/a>(Maputo, Mozambique)<\/span> – 32 Comments<\/strong><\/p>\n Saint Andrews International High School <\/a>(Blantyre, Malawi)<\/span> – 41 Comments<\/strong><\/p>\n International School of Kenya <\/a>(Nairobi, Kenya)<\/span> – 46 Comments<\/strong><\/p>\n International Community School Addis Ababa <\/a>(Addis Ababa, Ethiopia)<\/span> – 61 Comments<\/strong><\/p>\n The American School of Yaounde <\/a>(Yaounde, Cameroon)<\/span> – 26 Comments<\/strong><\/p>\n The American School of Kinshasa <\/a>(Kinshasa, Congo (DRC))<\/span> – 59 Comments<\/strong><\/p>\n Additionally, there are a number of\u00a0International School Community members who currently live in Sub-Saharan Africa. Check out which ones and where they work\u00a0here<\/a><\/strong>. \u00a0Feel free to go ahead and contact them with any questions that you might have as well; nice to get first hand information about what it is like to live and work there!<\/p>\n * If you are an international school teacher and would like your blog highlighted on\u00a0International School Community<\/a>\u00a0contact us\u00a0here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Are you inspired to start-up a blog about your adventures living abroad and working at an international school? Our 45th blog that we would like to highlight is called “2seetheglobe”\u00a0 Check out the blog entries of this international school educator who works at American International School Bamako\u00a0in Bamako, Mali. A few entries that we would […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5569,"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":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[8],"tags":[2282,1294,186,32,614,1141,60,1774,2281,104],"class_list":["post-5568","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blogs-of-international-teachers","tag-bamako","tag-blogs-of-international-school-teachers","tag-international-school-teacher","tag-international-schools","tag-life-abroad","tag-sub-saharan-africa","tag-teaching-abroad","tag-teaching-blogger","tag-teaching-in-mali","tag-teaching-overseas"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/Screenshot-2016-07-13-09.41.47.png?fit=500%2C168&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2flVT-1rO","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":2495,"url":"https:\/\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/next-highlighted-blog-httplaymanstermsblog-com\/","url_meta":{"origin":5568,"position":0},"title":"Blogs of international school teachers: \u201cLiving in Laymans’ Terms\u201d (An international school teacher at American International School of Kuwait)","author":"ISCommunity","date":"February 9, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Are you inspired to start up a blog about your adventures living abroad? Our 35th blog that we would like to highlight is called\u00a0\u201cLiving in Laymans' Terms\u201d\u00a0 Check out the blog entries of this international school educator who currently works at\u00a0American International School of Kuwait\u00a0(29 Total Comments on our website)\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Blogs of International Teachers"","block_context":{"text":"Blogs of International Teachers","link":"https:\/\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/category\/blogs-of-international-teachers\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/Screen-Shot-2014-02-09-at-11.36.07-PM.png?fit=600%2C231&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/Screen-Shot-2014-02-09-at-11.36.07-PM.png?fit=600%2C231&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/Screen-Shot-2014-02-09-at-11.36.07-PM.png?fit=600%2C231&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":307,"url":"https:\/\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/blogs-of-international-school-teachers-viewpoints\/","url_meta":{"origin":5568,"position":1},"title":"Blogs of international school teachers: \u201cViewpoints\u201d","author":"ISCommunity","date":"September 18, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Are you inspired to start up a blog about your adventures living abroad? Check out the experiences of another international school teacher who starting their international school teaching career later in their life. Our 7th blog that we would like to highlight is called \u201cViewpoints.\u201d\u00a0 This teaching couple seem to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Blogs of International Teachers"","block_context":{"text":"Blogs of International Teachers","link":"https:\/\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/category\/blogs-of-international-teachers\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/internationalschoolcommunity.files.wordpress.com\/2011\/09\/screen-shot-2011-09-17-at-4-43-44-pm.png?w=350&h=200&crop=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/internationalschoolcommunity.files.wordpress.com\/2011\/09\/screen-shot-2011-09-17-at-4-43-44-pm.png?w=350&h=200&crop=1 1x, https:\/\/internationalschoolcommunity.files.wordpress.com\/2011\/09\/screen-shot-2011-09-17-at-4-43-44-pm.png?w=525&h=300&crop=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3080,"url":"https:\/\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/blog-httpbanyangloballearning-wordpress-com201212185-tips-teaching-abroad\/","url_meta":{"origin":5568,"position":2},"title":"Blogs for international school teachers: \u201cBanyan Global Learning\u201d (Provider of educational services to K-12 schools in Asia)","author":"ISCommunity","date":"April 12, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Our 36th blog that we would like to highlight is called\u00a0\u201cBanyan Global Learning\u201d\u00a0 Check out the blog entries of this organization that currently works with a variety of schools in Asia (e.g. Taiwan). A few entries that we would like to highlight: 5\u00a0Tips for Teachers Abroad \u201cI would have parents\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Blogs of International Teachers"","block_context":{"text":"Blogs of International Teachers","link":"https:\/\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/category\/blogs-of-international-teachers\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Screen Shot 2014-04-12 at 10.04.11 AM","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/Screen-Shot-2014-04-12-at-10.04.11-AM-300x56.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":326,"url":"https:\/\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/blogs-of-international-school-teachers-follow-that-elephant\/","url_meta":{"origin":5568,"position":3},"title":"Blogs of international school teachers: \u201cFollow That Elephant!\u201d","author":"ISCommunity","date":"August 31, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Are you inspired to start up a blog about your adventures living abroad? Check out the experiences of another international school teacher from the moment they signed the contract to what they are writing about after a few years working abroad. Our 6th blog that we would like to highlight\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Blogs of International Teachers"","block_context":{"text":"Blogs of International Teachers","link":"https:\/\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/category\/blogs-of-international-teachers\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/internationalschoolcommunity.files.wordpress.com\/2011\/08\/screen-shot-2011-08-31-at-10-29-41-pm.png?w=350&h=200&crop=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/internationalschoolcommunity.files.wordpress.com\/2011\/08\/screen-shot-2011-08-31-at-10-29-41-pm.png?w=350&h=200&crop=1 1x, https:\/\/internationalschoolcommunity.files.wordpress.com\/2011\/08\/screen-shot-2011-08-31-at-10-29-41-pm.png?w=525&h=300&crop=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1413,"url":"https:\/\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/blogs-of-international-school-teachers-all-you-need-to-know-about-teaching-overseas\/","url_meta":{"origin":5568,"position":4},"title":"Blogs of international school teachers: \u201cAll you need to know about teaching overseas.\u201d","author":"ISCommunity","date":"September 30, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Are you inspired to start up a blog about your adventures living abroad? Our 23rd blog that we would like to highlight is called\u00a0\u201cAll you need to know about teaching overseas.\u201d\u00a0 Check out the wealth of information in the blog entries of this international school teacher who has worked at\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Blogs of International Teachers"","block_context":{"text":"Blogs of International Teachers","link":"https:\/\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/category\/blogs-of-international-teachers\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/internationalschoolcommunity.files.wordpress.com\/2012\/09\/screen-shot-2012-09-30-at-5-48-30-pm.png?w=350&h=200&crop=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1897,"url":"https:\/\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/blogs-of-international-school-teachers-a-veteran-intl-educator-at\/","url_meta":{"origin":5568,"position":5},"title":"Blogs of international school teachers: \u201cLife in Kunshan, China\u201d (An international school PARENT at Kunshan International School)","author":"ISCommunity","date":"April 30, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Are you inspired to start up a blog about your adventures living abroad? 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\n<\/a>A few entries that we would like to highlight:<\/p>\n
\n<\/a><\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>
\nWant to work for an international school in China\u00a0like this blogger?\u00a0 Currently, we have 162<\/strong>\u00a0international schools listed in this country. 58<\/strong>\u00a0have had comments submitted on them. Here are just a few:<\/p>\n