Expat Life

Daily Travel Podcast

Posted By: Rachel, , , , One comment

I had a crazy awesome experience a couple of weeks ago.  I was interviewed by Nathaniel Boyle of the Daily Travel Podcast.  To truly understand how all this went down we need to rewind a bit.  

rachel-johnson1For as long as I have loved to travel, I have loved reading about it!  I read about travel as a child with my Grandpa with only an Atlas and an Encyclopedia.  I would read travel journals, travel memoirs, touristy travel books, and most of all: travel blogs.  I have found there is no better way to read about a location, than through the words and first hand accounts of real unbiased people.  About a month ago, I was reading one of my all time favorite travel blogs called the Everywhereist. In one of her posts,  she very casually mentioned that she had been interviewed on a podcast called the Daily Travel Podcast.  As I clicked on the link I didn’t realize I was jumping down a rabbit hole of awesomeness!  On the website were interviews with amazing world travelers talking about their favorite places and best travel tips.  

The downside….there were only 5 interviews currently available on the site.  I was discovering this website in its first week of ever being on the air!  Needless to say, I was instantly a fan.  I listened to all 5 episodes in one sitting and patiently impatiently waited for the new episode to be released the next day.

In the months leading up to our move to Kuwait the Daily Travel Podcast became a daily part of my life.  I listened to it as I did the dishes, went for a walk, or while driving in my car.  It was truly the dose of daily inspiration I was needing to reassure me, that Mitch and I were making the right decision to move to the other side of the world.  

I became such a huge fan of the show that I did something I don’t normally do, I sent out fan mail!  I truly wanted to tell Nathaniel how helpful and amazing I thought his show was.  I never intended for Nathaniel to even write back but he did!   

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Nathaniel’s response to my fan mail!

After a few messages back-and-fourth, explaining to him our decision to move to the other side of the world, he asked if I would be interested in further discussing our move on Skype.  I was completely shocked and humbled by his offer and told him I would love to be a part of what he is creating.  

If you are interested in listening to my interview check it out here.  More than anything else though check out some of the other podcasts that Nathaniel has put together, it is an amazing wealth of advice and inspiration!  He has interviewed a ton of amazing travelers and it is extremely surreal to see my own picture amongst them.  

 

The Internet is Coming!

Posted By: Mitch, Leave a comment
We are so excited to announce that we are getting internet soon!
Perhaps the biggest adjustment that we have had to deal with thus far during our life in Kuwait, is not having high speed internet in our apartment!  Back home, we are so used to having the fastest possible internet at all times, streaming Netflix 24 hours a day at our fingertips wherever we are. When we see that little wheel spinning on our screen and the word “buffering”, we just cringe.
Since arriving in Kuwait, finding an internet provider has been mission #1 for us! We can live without cell phones, groceries, money, etc., but internet is non-negotiable. We have been constantly talking to veteran teachers and other Kuwaiti expats trying to get some insight on the best internet possibly. After all of our conversations, we have settled on a company called WiMD. Apparently it is the only high speed internet available in the county, and not everyone is able to get it. We were lucky enough to find out that we are eligible, because our apartment building is tall enough and already has a certain kind of satellite on top of it.  Some of the teachers in the apartment building next to us are not as fortunate, because there building isn’t tall enough.  Their building is only 6 stories tall, and is surrounded by buildings that are 15+ stories tall, so they cannot get a strong enough satellite reception because of all the buildings around it. We were super excited to find out that we were able to get WiMD at our apartment!
The interesting thing about WiMD is that you have to pay for a full year of service, UP-FRONT!  The price for a full year of internet with unlimited data is 375 KD (the local currency) which is about $1,200 US dollars. At first we thought that price was outrageous, but when we broke it down by month we realized that it really wasn’t that bad. Back home in the States, we paid about $90 a month for internet and cable, and since our internet here is also going to serve as our cable TV, we thought it was very comparable to the prices back home.
Once we have internet access in our apartment, things will be glorious! Not only will we have unlimited access to search for things around Kuwait, but we will also be able to connect with our friends and families through FaceTime, Skype, Email, etc. at all times of the day. Currently we have to walk over to the Game Room at our apartment complex and access the slowest possible internet ever, if it’s working! Once we have internet access in our apartment, we will also be able to update our blog more frequently. We can’t wait to share photos of our apartment, school, and the other sights around Kuwait.
Our days without internet our numbered, we can’t wait!

Where in the world is Carmen San Diego?

Posted By: Rachel, One comment

Anyone else play Where in the World is Carmen San Diego as a kid?  No, just me?  Did I just solidify that I was a 90’s child through and through?  Imagine an an 11 year old Rachel saddled up to the computer playing a quick game of Oregon Trail, once I killed off all my family and friends to either a rattlesnake bite or typhoid fever, I would grab the next floppy disk and try and find that ever elusive Carmen San Diego.  Unfortunately, you aren’t going to be chasing the lady in the red trench coat around this blog post, instead you are going to have me as your tour guide to learn Where in the World is Kuwait!  

Let’s start out nice and wide and zoom on in.Screen Shot 2014-08-14 at 10.03.23 PM Now let’s take it in a notch to just look at Europe, Africa & Asia.  Screen Shot 2014-08-14 at 10.03.52 PM…and even tighter now as we focus more clearly and narrow in on the Middle East.
Screen Shot 2014-08-14 at 10.04.43 PMNow we are getting our first glimpse at Kuwait.  Check out that little chunk of land tucked between Saudi Arabia, Iraq, and Iran…that’s our new home!
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We are hoping to get to explore quite a bit of the Middle Eastern region this year, especially Bahrain, Qatar, Oman, and Dubai & Abu Dhabi in the UAE. From this view you can check out how quick of a plane ride these trips would be.Screen Shot 2014-08-14 at 10.05.38 PM

Kuwait City is a coastal city…YAY!  Screen Shot 2014-08-14 at 10.06.07 PM We are hoping to get into scuba diving and snorkeling.Screen Shot 2014-08-14 at 10.06.43 PM We made it to the end of our tour; Kuwait City, Kuwait.  Home to 3 million people and for the next couple of years us.  Screen Shot 2014-08-14 at 10.07.11 PM

Landing an International Teaching Position

Posted By: Rachel, , Leave a comment

Moving overseas is an awesome adventure, but behind this awesome adventure came a ton of work, 14 months of work to be exact!  I thought it was an important enough part of this process that I needed to take a few moments to document what I learned along the way. Clearly I am not an expert, because this is only the first time I have received an overseas teaching job, but I made enough mistakes along the way to learn a few things.

  • The job hunting process starts early, really really early. This was a lesson I learned the hard way.  When trying to get an overseas teaching job you really need to start the process the fall prior to when you want to go.  What I mean is that I wanted to start a job overseas in August of 2014 so what that really meant is I needed to start the application process in October/November of 2013.  It feels crazy early but you have to start applying early.
  • Go to a job fair. I went to the University of Northern Iowa’s overseas recruitment fair, twice, and loved it!  I chose UNI’s job fair for two reasons 1.) I read that it is the largest overseas teaching fair in North America     2.) I live in Minnesota so it was super close and cost effective for me to get there.  Going to the job fair was truly an awesome experience.  Hundreds of administrators, representing schools from all over the world, gather at this job fair searching for candidates.   It is the only chance I would have had to speak face to face with that many administrators. Let’s be real, Skype interviews are weird and awkward so the more time you have face to face with administrators the better.
  • The more contact you make with schools before a job fair the better your chances of finding a job. Once you are signed up for the job fair you will have access to job postings and contact information for a zillion schools.  You will be able to look through the jobs (which change on a day to day basis) and make contact with administrators before the job fair begins.  This was a huge mistake I made the first year I went to the job fair.  I didn’t realize how much work needed to be done on the front end of the job fair. When I got to Iowa, I quickly realized how many interviews had been arranged prior to anyone arriving in Iowa.  This year when I arrived in Iowa, I had done at least 12 Skype interviews, had a couple of job offers, and had multiple first round and second round interviews scheduled for my time in Iowa.  The difference between the first year I went to the job fair and the second was night and day, and making contact with schools prior to the fair made all the difference.
  • Be open. The world is a big, big place.  Be open to living and working in a whole variety of places.
  • Take every interview that is offered to you.  I decided that I was going to use the job fair to connect with as many schools as possible and that meant some really long days of interviewing.  You never know where you might find the perfect job.
  • Talk to everyone. The job fair is a fantastic atmosphere.  It is a large group of people who love travel and exploring the world.  Some of my favorite moments were having lunch with complete strangers who had lived in amazing places like Turkey, Eqypt, Peru, and Taiwan!
  • Don’t give up. I didn’t get any job offers the first year I went to the job fair, but I used the opportunity as a learning experience and to develop a new strategy for the next year.  The second year I went I had multiple job offers, so my new plan must have worked!  It was so much fun to talk to Mitch and pull out a map and decide where we wanted to spend the next two years of our life.

Scared?

Posted By: Rachel, Leave a comment

In the last post I wrote about some of the questions we have gotten from family & friends since sharing with them that we were moving to the Middle East, however; I didn’t write about the one question that I have received more than any other: “Are you scared?”  I thought I would take a moment to answer that question.

Yes, I am very scared.

I think that most people are asking me this question thinking that I am scared of living and working in Kuwait, and at this point I feel really great about that decision. I am not scared of immersing myself into a new culture and learning about a new religion, I welcome that aspect of our move.  I am not scared of the current political situation in Kuwait.  Kuwait’s neighbors have been politically unstable for quite a long time but Kuwait itself has been doing great.  

All that said, I am scared.  I am deeply terrified of missing my family and friends.

I don’t know how you move 6,746 miles away from the people you love without being scared. 

As the days get closer I feel that pit in my stomach grow and grow. As I was telling Mitch about this fear the other day he looked at me and said “Home is always just a plane ride away.” and it made my pit shrink at least a tiny bit.  

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My nieces and nephew….wouldn’t you miss these cute little faces too?

FAQ’s

Posted By: Rachel, Leave a comment

Since telling our family and friends that we are moving to Kuwait we have gotten quite a few questions. Here are some of the most common & the answers:

1. Is it safe in Kuwait?

That is really a personal question.  From all the research and reading that we have done we feel that it is a safe decision for us.  It is however a big city, and just like I wouldn’t go walking around Minneapolis by myself at 3:00 a.m. I will not be walking around by myself in Kuwait at 3:00 a.m.

2. Why Kuwait?

Mitch and a I really targeted in on the Middle East for a variety of reasons but one of the biggest reasons was the travel opportunites.  The Middle East is called the middle for a reason it has such easy access to Africa, Europe, and Southeast Asia and we wanted to be able to explore all of those areas.  Once we nailed down that we wanted to be in the Middle East we started to look for countries that fit in what we were looking for.  It was important for me that women would have certain rights such as driving and wearing western clothes and we really needed to find a place that both of us could secure jobs, Kuwait just seemed to check all of those boxes.  

3. What will you be doing over there?

Mitch and I will both be working on an American school.  

4. Will you come home to visit?

Ummmmm, ya, I mean we just became an Aunt and Uncle to some super awesome triplets. It will be hard to keep us away from those babies.  The school we will be working for has a very typical American school schedule so we will be spending June, July, and August in Minnesota.  

5. What language do they speak there?

Arabic is the official language.  I spent time trying to learn Arabic and quickly realized that I am very glad that English is also very widely spoken.

6. Do women have to be covered?

As an American woman I do not need to be covered in Kuwait.  I of course will respect local customs and dress conservatively and cover my head if/when I tour a Mosque.  

7. Will you live on a compound?

Nope, we will live in an apartment complex with the other teachers from our school. 

8. Are you allowed to be open Christians?

Yes, Christianity is allowed and accepted.  We are interested to see if we find a church that fits our belief system while we are in Kuwait.  I don’t assume for a second that will be an easy feat as we struggle with that immensely in the US as well.