Chrisby Post 1
Another guest writer to tell us of her expat teaching experience has done for her and her family!
I met Chrisby in the US in August 1999, in the hotel that we were staying in Tar Heels country. This woman was making a huge change in her life at the age of 40 and reality had struck her....she asked for a hug...made me do it...and a friendship has endured ever since. She's a trooper this gal and I do hope that this is her first but not last post. Her story is inspiring for all those who want to make changes their lives!
How did being an International Teacher change my life?
I had the dream to be an international teacher for 25 years, starting when I was a teenager and
experienced having international teachers in the schools I attended. To a young student it was
exciting to hear stories of other countries and to have cultural experiences provided by the teachers.
Then, life happened.
When I was turning 40 I decided it was time to realize the dream and ‘voila’, up came the
opportunity so off I went…family in tow.
Having a family experience in the International context was great. Also having a friendship group of other international teachers was important, we were all having a new experience together and
needed each other for support but also for fun. All of the special occasions, holidays, cultural
celebrations were a time where you might become lonely but with family and friends there was no chance of this.
How international teaching changed my life is that it got ‘under my skin’. I was constantly
confronted by questions about my profession that didn’t occur when I was in my country, my
professional culture and context of origin and I really liked being confronted by these questions.
I wanted to find the answers and so I continued to sign the next contract! I was able to explore
educational ideology in ways I hadn’t considered before and I learnt a lot, developed a skill set I had not developed previously.
What this lead to was the next stage of my career, many of the career goals I had were achieved due to the professional stimulation of my international teaching experience.
HB: AND THEN WHAT HAPPENED?????
Chrisby leaves me hanging there and I want the next instalment, what was the next stage? What did it lead to? Oh Roomie.....make sure there's a Post 2!
Cheers,
HB
