Already Decided

· by · in Expat. ·
Frisbee at Playa Mero

In June I’m going to have to say goodbye to my fellow frisbee playing beach teachers and goodbye to these gorgeous Caribbean waters

A week ago my school sent out an email to expat teachers basically asking us to put in our letter of resignation by today (October 7), if we already know, for sure, that we won’t be coming back.  Sure, I could have waited until the official “Letter of Intent” is sent out at the end of this month, but when I read that email I knew that five years in one country was the perfect amount of time for me.  So I told them on Tuesday that I wouldn’t be coming back for the next school year.

Telling someone goodbye is always hard, even when it is just your job.  Even when you still have eight months of the school year left! Teaching is never just a job.  You are saying goodbye to dozens of people, more if you count all the staff and students who you see in passing.  So I did feel like I was dragging my feet a bit because I love this place so much.

There is always hope that one year I will come back to Venezuela.  There are several staff members who left Venezuela for a couple of years to work elsewhere and then they returned later. In fact, there is a fifth-grade teacher who went back to teach in the US for a year and then returned to a classroom just down the hall from where he was before.  I could see myself doing that if the situation here improves.

All of this means that the job hunt is officially beginning.  I am going to look closely at all of those Wishful Wednesday posts that I’ve made over the years (sorry, I haven’t done one in a while!), sign up with Search Associates and TIE Online, and start asking around my network of international teachers.  If you are reading this and you are an international teacher at a great school, feel free to let me know if there is an elementary position opening up at your school.

My family might love it if I would move back to Portland, but I hope to find another country where I can stay for four or five years.  I am pretty open to location as long as it is a great school (integrated technology, smallish classes, ideally with assistants in elementary, nice PD, and diverse student/teacher population) that is not in the top twenty most dangerous countries since Venezuela is number 21. I would also like to avoid living in the top twenty of the most dangerous cities in the world list (Valencia is number 7). I think this minimalist take on safety will be my first priority. I am really looking forward to feeling safe walking down a street in broad daylight again!

17 responses to “Already Decided”

  1. Good luck on your search. I’m not looking forward to that challenge myself. LCS in Accra, Ghana is a great place to work and my family will be here for awhile. I’m pretty sure we’ll have at least one or two ES openings next year though.

    Like

    • Hi, Ryan. Welcome! Recruiting is a lot of work and part of me wants to stay just for that reason! The HR lady at school said to let her know if I change my mind, but I think five years in one country is really a perfect amount of time. Lincoln Community School is definitely on my radar! I’m sure I will be applying there in the coming weeks. Thanks for the heads up!

      Like

  2. I have not seen you blogging for ages! Nice to read from you again! Oh sad to leave a school you love but what wonderful memories you have made. I am sure you could get work in Guatemala, I worked at CAG, and they are often looking for elementary teachers. But Guate is a dangerous city to live in too, although my fellow American teachers managed very well. Some are still there! And I was there in 2008! Good luck with your decisions to move, I look forward to reading from you in the future. I have been blogging a lot lately, and lots of travels this year too, an article or two may take your fancy! 🙂

    Like

    • Hi Anita, thanks for stopping by! I haven’t been blogging as regularly as I have been for the past couple of years because my internet is excruciatingly slow most of the time in my apartment. I’m trying to make myself write more and post updates ahead of time when the internet is working, but I just haven’t gotten into my groove yet. My goal is to stay out of the top 20 most dangerous places… so Guatemala City is still on the list. I’ve been wanting to explore Central America for a while too!

      I will be sure to stop by your blog!

      Liked by 1 person

    • Hi Katie,

      Thanks! While I’m planning on registering with Search Associates for a fair, I’ve managed to avoid actually going to one during my seven years teaching internationally. I actually kind of want to go to a fair (I’m curious and I like meeting other intl. teachers), but the logistics of getting to one from Venezuela are kind of complicated (and very expensive) so I’m hoping to get hired via Skype.

      Like

    • Hi Alanna. Welcome! It seems like there are more and more Canadian teachers who are coming to my current school, so I believe you! There are places in my country that are having a teacher shortage… but those are not places that I want to work. hahaha. I’m planning on staying international for as long as I can!

      Like

  5. Hi Amanda, first of all, i love your posts! I think you should try Saudi Aramco in Dhahran as they were building a new elementary school when i left this past December. It is an outstanding place to work not to mention the highest salary/benefits you will earn anywhere in the world. The superintendent is John Cary and Nathan Walker is the new vice-superintendent. Nathan lived in South America for 15 years and knows so much about the schools there. He majored in Spanish and has a deep love for all things Spanish. The latin community is quite strong in Dhahran. I worked in Abqaiq as a single and recently left to be with aging parents but would work there again in a heartbeat. You could go over the causeway for salsa to Bahrain. You get 3-4 great vacations a year…summer repat, Eid in September, then winter break and break around Easter. Anyway, you could pay off remaining debt, then save a bundle for retirement and you’d still be only mid thirties if you wanted to move around after a few years!
    Good luck to you. Almost sorry to see you leave Venezuela but understand!

    Liked by 1 person

  6. Hey there! I really enjoy your blog. This is my first year at ASA in Paraguay and I know they’ll be elementary openings next year. I was at Seoul Foreign School prior to this which is an amazing school if you’re looking to go to Asia.

    Liked by 1 person

  7. Pingback: October Roundup | Teaching Wanderlust·

  8. Pingback: Top 10 Posts of 2016 | Teaching Wanderlust·

Leave a comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.