It seems like one of the most important things to start this blog with is how we ended up here. But first I must say this: I want this blog to be genuine and honest. I want to share as much as possible. However, I also have to remember where I am and that "Big Brother" is always watching. So, I have to be careful. I hope you enjoy this blog!
My husband and I have lived in the US (in the south, but I won't say exactly where) since we got married. He actually has lived there his whole life, but I was fortunate to live in Europe as a child because my dad was in the military. We were both teachers in one of the lowest paid states and hadn't had a raise in 5 years. We were struggling with regular bills and medical bills from child birth and my son's epilepsy. We love to travel, but didn't have the finances to do it after we had children.
Last fall, a non-profit organization called "Invisible Children" came to my school and mentioned a teacher exchange program they had. I could go to Uganda for 6 weeks during the summer and they would send a teacher to my school for 6 weeks in the winter. Sounded awesome...except for the part about leaving my kids for 6 weeks and the $4000 price tag. I realized I would never be able to do that.
Fast forward to January 2014 when a colleague in my county emailed me and said she was moving to Singapore. I immediately responded and asked if she would be teaching there. She said her husband's job was moving them there, but she would try to find a teaching job. I was so curious! Back in high school I'd had a math teacher from Singapore and had been intrigued by the culture. So safe and clean! I started doing some research about teaching there and found that the educational system is excellent. I mentioned it to my husband and he seemed semi-interested.
I started doing more research about teaching in Europe. I asked him what he thought about teaching overseas. His words exactly: "I'll go anywhere but the Middle East".
Within a week, there was a professional development session at school about doing seminars in class. The activity was modeled using a photocopy of a piece of art called "Mobius Strip" which shows an infinity symbol with ants on it. We talked about what the piece symbolized and I heard things like "we do the same thing day in and out" and "they will never leave the strip". I started thinking about my life and how I wanted something different. I had been at the same school for 7 years. I taught from 7:15 am until 2:15 pm and then I put on my athletic training hat. I covered sports until 5 or 6 Mondays through Wednesdays and then had games on Thursdays and Fridays. I hardly ever saw my family. I was tired of being overworked and underpaid. I can honestly say that the Möbius strip really inspired this decision.
We started looking at schools in Europe. I made a spreadsheet of schools with openings and what we needed to send. We spruced up our resumes and started asking for recommendation letters. It was A LOT of work. But after a week or so, we hadn't heard anything from anyone. We started looking at
recruiting companies that didn't charge a fee. We registered with one called Teach Away and found a posting for a school in Dubai and it had a job for both of us. We started researching Dubai...it was in the Middle East...but it was BEAUTIFUL and MODERN and everything we read said that it was safe. We were invited to go to Chicago for job interviews, so we decided to take a chance.
In February, we made arrangements to miss school. We drove half way to stay with my best friend, got to Chicago (it was freezing cold there!), interviewed and saw a few things, and then did the whole trip in reverse. We both thought the interviews went well...and we were convinced that we'd be offered the jobs. On the way home we talked excitedly about what it was going to be like living in Dubai, what we needed to get done before we moved, and what we were going to do with all the money we were going to make. For the first time we would be working at the same school! And living in the richest city in the world!
You already know what happened. We found out a few days later that they had selected others for the jobs. We were heartbroken. We felt rejected. I dare say we felt a tad bit depressed. Robert was ready to quit the international job search. I, on the other hand, was not. I felt this was just a stumbling block and within a week, I was searching again. The job listings were getting fewer by the day. I started looking at other countries...mostly China and Korea. They seemed exciting and had lots of opportunities. We even had an interview with a school in Korea. However, the more research we did and the more we talked to a recruiter (who only deals with Asia), we decided that it wouldn't be a good fit for our family.
In April, I had moved on to a few other recruiting companies, including Footprints, and had found that ADEC (Abu Dhabi Education Council) was actually hiring PE teachers this year. I had read about ADEC before...and had found quite a few negative things about them from several years ago. However, on Facebook I had found a group for teachers who were trying to get hired with them. Everyone seemed so excited...and the money would be more than double what I made at home! It seemed like a great opportunity, so I submitted paperwork, did a phone interview, and was invited to go to NYC for an interview in early May. Once again, we scrounged up the money, took time off of work, and this time flew to the Big Apple. We actually stayed with Robert's cousin and rode the subway to save money...it was a nice little trip.
Within a day, I received the job offer. I couldn't believe it! We had the opportunity to move to a completely different continent! After some serious discussion and lots of prayer, we decided that we were going to do it.
So that's kind of the short version of how we got here. I've now been here for 6 weeks and I have lots of blog posts in my head. Please, if you have any questions, feel free to ask! Like I said, I will try my best to be as honest as possible.
