Decision Time: Phnom Penh or....?

It's that time of contract where we are having to decide: Do we stay in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, or do we move on? There are several things to consider:

Eating at an outside restaurant covered with arbors.

If we stay we have more stability for the kids, less moving expenses, and continuity of friendships we have taken the time to build this year.

If we go, there are more options for Ben's doctoral thesis topic, healthier places to raise the children, and "easier" places to live culturally.

Phnom Penh fountain from a tuktuk at night.

Since educators have to turn in a decision towards the beginning of their last school year  our time has come around. This divides things mentally: we either have about 8 and a half more months left, or, an indeterminate amount based on the contract that would be signed. This is the part of the cycle of international teaching that's a bit bittersweet, but also exciting. Do we stay in this place, or move on?

Outside of Phnom Penh city.

Of course, as a mom, I think about how Phnom Penh has impacted my children.

 

This will always be where Zoe was born.

Where Talia learned to fish in a muddy river

And experience Mondulkiri.

It is where Elias graduated from Kindergarten.

And Ezra frequented the hospital (thank God for $10 appointments) with bronchial trouble due to pollution.

And fell in love with his teacher "Mena".

It's where we've discovered tons of new-to-us fruit.

And Ben has had a wonderful opportunity to be a principal in a great school.

But is it a place we would want to stay in for longer?



That is the decision.

 

Third Culture Kids: Learning Hindi and Arabic

Where we live now, we have the unique opportunity for Talia to attend a school right behind our house where she can learn Hindi and Arabic in addition to normal subjects. With language-lover parents and an interest in learning languages herself, combined with the closeness and super reasonable fees, it was a great opportunity. Hindi and Arabic both use a different alphabet than English, and that is where they are starting.

Talia's first Hindi alphabet lesson

 Many times what can be gained by living in another culture is found within the context of community, a context that can be avoided to a large degree in a land full of many expats. Some tend to stick to communities of people just like themselves and re-create the country they left behind to the best of their abilities. And, of course, time spent with familiar people and languages is definitely refreshing in a sea of unfamiliar languages and customs. However, the unique thing about Abu Dhabi is the immense variety of different cultures that are co-existing with the indigenous one. Most of the time harmoniously.

 Something we have to balance with third-culture kids (children raised outside of their parent's culture where they  have neither the culture of their parents, nor the culture of the land they live in, but rather a combination of both) is providing them with a stable home base and familiarity with the culture from their home country, but also finding ways for them to experience the culture they are living in as well. What's the point of living abroad if you're only going to insulate yourself and re-create something that will never live up to the original in your mind?

It can be challenging, but many times it's mind-stretching, interesting and fun!

SagaUnscripted: The 3rd Chapter- Abu Dhabi

We now know where the next chapter in our saga will probably take place, as Ben has been hired to teach High School English in Abu Dhabi, in the United Arab Emirates. Here's a map:

The United Arab Emirates is a federation, or group of 7 state-like smaller governments that bind together for certain things but still have their own individual governments/supreme courts etc.

November-March seem to be the spring-like temperatures, around 70*-80* and then April-October are scorching 100+ temperatures. Since Ben will get there in January, he will get to experience some of the nicer temperatures.

Something Ben's been interested in since we left Guatemala to have the baby in Texas, besides learning Arabic, is the selection of fruits available in Abu Dhabi; he really misses the variety. He asked some of the teachers who are already there and this was their response:

"apples
pears
strawberries
oranges
lychee
breadfruit
durian
bananas
blueberries
raspberries
dragon fruit
kiwi
strawberries
watermelon
cantaloupe
honeydew
prickly pears
mangosteen
rhabutans
papaya
mango
guava
lemon grass
...and about twenty fruits I have no idea what they are called. The main thing that is hard to find is berries, so I stock up on frozen when I'm in the city."

And, yes, he was very excited to hear this!

I expect to learn a lot of new things about this part of the world and plan to blog about it as I go.

Narrowing International Teaching Options as an Expat Family

Knowing that there are always trade-offs with any international teaching position, with the multitude of options that are seemingly available, it helps us to have a way to narrow options. All of the following criteria does not have to be met, of course, but it does help serve as a filter! (So, in no particular order:)

1. Do they pay for everyone's flight, not just the person who will be teaching?

2. What other benefits are offered? (Summer flights home for the family, housing, insurance, etc.)

3. Is there enough religious freedom in that country that there is a church we could attend?

4. What does the culture have that would benefit our family or that we would find interesting? Languages, useful or easy to learn? future business opportunities?

5. Are fruits and vegetables readily available? How accessible is a healthy lifestyle?

6. How large is the expat and/or Spanish-speaking community? (If it is not a Spanish-speaking country.)

7. How does that country view child-rearing? Homeschooling?

8. Is there a supported midwife community? Is home-birth available or even legal?

9. Is freedom of speech and technology available? (Are certain sites blocked on the internet in that country? If so is there a way around it?)

10. What is the teaching position available and would the person applying for it enjoy it, or simply endure it for the experience in another country.

A Taste of Asia in Guatemala: Spring Rolls

When we moved to Guatemala, the last thing I expected to learn was any form of Asian cooking. However, there were several things I didn't know: 1) People from all over the world work at international schools, including people from Asia, and 2) There is a considerable Korean population in Guatemala, which means at least one good Asian market.

A friend who helped me on my journey towards fitness also introduced me to spring rolls. She learned from a teacher who had taught in China and got pointers on how to make the sesame/vinegar combo from another teacher who was Japanese. It's really amazing how many types of people come together in the international arena.

While I like trying new foods, I wasn't sure I would like spring rolls. I wouldn't eat many of the following things raw or in this combination normally:

This combination included the raw ingredients of cabbage, (you can use lettuce) carrot, cucumber, red pepper, mango, spinach, and sesame seeds. I was totally addicted after the first bite!



The first thing that we cooked was the vermicelli noodles:

The process is almost identical to regular pasta: boil water and then add the noodles. The exception is that they seem to be more delicate and easier to overcook.





Save the hot water from the noodles to help un-stiffen the rice paper wrappers:

The rice paper wrappers were the weirdest, funnest part of making spring rolls! To me, they start out looking like plastic, circular place mats. Once placed in the warm (not too hot or they'll crack!) water, they sort of "dissolve" into a wiggly sticky wrapper that I treat like Saran Wrap because it tends to stick together easily. However weird it sounds, it is quite delicious and one of the best textures that brings the whole spring roll (literally) together.

Once the wrapper has "dissolved" in the warm water, we let held it up and let the excess water drip off, then placed it on a waiting plate. There, we put a layer of lettuce or cabbage, grated carrot, cucumber strips, red pepper strips, mango strips, spinach, sesame seeds and a good helping of the noodles. This is also delicious with avocado inside... but in my opinion, anything is good with avocado. Wrapped up like a burrito, it now looked like this:

Next, we cut the spring rolls in half and added about a teaspoon full of what I'll call "special sauce" to the noodles to give them some flavor. I couldn't remember exactly how this part went, so I just added the sesame oil, white vinegar and soy in a combination that I thought would taste best together. If you have actual amounts, please comment. Otherwise, just experiment with the taste and see what you like best. We really liked how ours turned out.

What really added the crowning flavor for me to this entire concoction, however, were the following two sauces: sweet chili sauce and wasabi!

It doesn't take much of either of these two sauces, especially the spicy wasabi! A small amount is enough, though, to enhance all of the naturally delicious flavors that already exist.













To raw fruit and vegetables that taste delicious!

Do you have a favorite combination for spring roll ingredients or some pointers for this first time learner?

Final Teaching Thoughts 2010-2011

At the end of every teaching year, every teacher has some sort of self-evaluation. It's part of being a teacher. It's impossible not to worry that you could have done something better or to be excited about the successes you witnessed. Self-reflection encourages growth... and helps me stay sane! So here are some thoughts from my teaching experience this year:

1. I greatly prefer rotation to self-contained teaching. If I went back into the teaching arena, I would prefer to start with 6th grade if necessary so that I could be back on a rotation schedule. However, I stretched academically this year by teaching all subjects and I feel like I did a good job at it.

2. I still have a lot to learn. For some reason, this never changes. I think maybe it shouldn't.

3. Kids teach just as much as the teacher. Sometimes things that are more important.

4. Though I'm not naturally a social person, every relationship I have put effort into has always paid back exponentially.

5. I shouldn't be scared of parents.

6. The year will end. Show your students that you love them while you can.

7. We taught so much academic stuff! Sometimes I wonder how much social training we gave? So much teaching is intertwined with little "non-teaching" moments: on the playground, in out-of-class discussions, at the lockers in the hallways. How well did we teach there?

8. I will forever remember that ALT + 64 is another way to get the @ sign. (Spanish keyboard.)

9. Teaching Second-Language-Learners can be highly entertaining: One very naive girl wrote in a story that she was playing "high and sick" with her friends. Pronounced the Spanish way, it's easy to see that she meant "hide and seek." English is so much more complicated than Spanish. ;)

10. The people you work with can make or break a teaching position. I was blessed to work with an amazing, supportive community of educators. We all need a good community to do our best.

I am so proud of my students this year. They conquered things they didn't even think were possible! Adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing fractions really gave some of them trouble, but in the end they DID IT! Every single one of them advanced in reading comprehension, some above the 6th grade level! It's so exciting when a student gets something and then runs with it, learning even more with their interest.

If you can love the act of learning, you will never get "old."

Benefits of Working at an International School (part 1)

While there are many ways that teaching is a rewarding experience in whatever way you do it, I have found it particularly rewarding at an International School. Here are a few reasons why:

1) International schools not only attract the local people in the environment, but also a large number of international students who reside in that environment. Because of this, I have had the opportunity to not only learn about Guatemalan culture, but Korean, Hebrew, Arabic and Brazilian. I have students who offer to share their knowledge of foreign alphabets, foods, and customs. They love to switch roles and be my teacher and I really enjoy learning from them.

2)Guatemalan schools start in January. Particularly at this moment, I am grateful that I work in an International school where, in January, I am halfway through my school year!

3)I am constantly able to improve my Spanish vocabulary. With many local teachers more than happy to help me out with a word or phrase I don't understand, my Spanish has gotten much better since I began my job teaching in Guatemala. I appreciate having highly intelligent and bilingual people to learn from.

4) Teachers at International schools come from all over the world! Because of this I am constantly learning about new places and things I had limited knowledge of before. Not only do many teachers come from other places, but, after making new friends who were here last year, I now know people scattered in their new assignments all over the world. I get to read about current events in their countries and learn new things with them virtually. It's pretty amazing!

Have you ever attended or taught at an International school? What were your experiences? If not, would you like to?