Introduction

Jacqueline:
Welcome to another episode of the International Teacher Podcast. My name is Jacqueline from JP Mint Consulting, and I am joined here today with Greg the Single Guy. Hello, Greg.

Greg:
Hi everybody, I'm eating cheese. It's been a long day. Elementary school.

Jacqueline:
He’s just having some cheese. And we are joined today with Nick and Joy Owens, joining us from somewhere in the United States. We’re going to find out their stories right now. Hello, Nick and Joy.

Greg:
Hey buddy.

Nick:
Hello—hi. Thanks for having us.

Jacqueline:
Where are you guys?

Nick:
We are currently in Ringle, Georgia—where we hail from as our home now, for the last year.

Jacqueline:
Georgia—Georgia USA. Somewhere near Atlanta by any chance?

Nick:
Closer to Chattanooga.

Jacqueline:
So Nick and Joy, can you tell us a little bit about your international journey? What brought you overseas? And then we’ll talk about what brought you back home.

Greg:
Choo-choo!

Nick’s International Teaching Journey (Taiwan)

Nick:
We both have international stories—and we also met on an international story. My international story started in high school when I first traveled overseas and got excited about it.

As a teacher, I graduated and worked in the United States. During the 2008–2009 financial recession, I found myself unemployed in the middle of December after a reduction in force. I was trying to figure out what to do mid-year, and a former colleague asked if I’d ever considered teaching internationally. He connected me with a contact in Taiwan.

The job was English immersion. I’ll call it a “summer camp” model—it was fifth grade residential students from the Taipei metro area, Monday through Friday, all-English, 100% immersion. I did that for a full school year, and it was exhausting—summer camp every day for a year.

After that, I realized I liked Taiwan and wanted to stay. I met expats in Taipei who told me their school needed a science teacher. I connected with the principal, and they hired me. I stayed four years as head science teacher, started AP science classes, and led trips with students as well.

The school was unusual. Many foreign schools only accept students with foreign passports. Our school operated under a different licensing structure—a buxiban (cram school)—but we ran an American-style curriculum and enrolled students with both international and Taiwanese passports.

Joy’s International Teaching Journey (Zambia, Kenya, Honduras, Taiwan, Alaska)

Joy:
I grew up in Zambia and went to high school in Kenya. When I came back to the States, I did my undergrad in public relations. I remember meeting someone at a job fair who said, “I did public relations but now I’m a teacher,” and I thought that was strange—then a couple years later, that was me.

I was bored in the States and hadn’t traveled in a year. A friend was going to work at a bilingual school in Honduras, so I sent in my resume. They said positions were filled—but two weeks before school started, they called back and said they needed me. I went to Comayagua.

I had no teaching experience. The first semester felt rough, and then I learned classroom management. Things changed—my students’ grades improved and so did my teaching. I remember one student going from 20% to about 85% by the end of the year.

After that, I decided I needed education and training, so I earned my master’s in ESL. Then I went to Taiwan, where Nick and I met. I was there for two years.

After Taiwan, we moved to Alaska when Nick got a job there. It was a major culture shock. We went from affluent Taiwanese students to a very different socioeconomic environment, and motivation looked very different. Nick taught in a private school and I worked in public school. It was a challenging but valuable learning experience.

Returning to the U.S.: Certification, Praxis, and Licensure Maintenance

Joy:
We came back to the United States partly because they didn’t offer continuing education where we were, and my credentials were starting to lapse. I needed to re-up my credentials, continue education, and keep licenses current.

Greg:
A lot of teachers overseas need to realize early that you have to keep credentials up to date—renewals, driver’s license, banking, everything. If you let it lapse, you may have to re-test or re-do requirements.

Joy:
Nick actually had to redo the Praxis. The state didn’t have records from so long ago, so for an Alaska license he had to completely redo testing. I studied; he didn’t—and he scored higher.

Jacqueline:
This is where reciprocity and state-to-state credential transfer can matter, depending on where you’re licensed and where you’re applying.

From Alaska to Arizona to Georgia: Transitioning Out of the Classroom

Joy:
We stayed in Alaska eight years. When we had our second child, we moved to a warmer climate—Arizona—right after COVID. At that point, I was teaching online through an online university, and Nick was still in the classroom.

Post-COVID, the classroom experience changed a lot. Nick was coming home with headaches every day. We knew we needed an exit, but we still loved education.

That’s when we heard a friend was selling their travel agency, and we decided to buy it. We love travel, and the mission is helping schools and organizations with flights and group tours. It felt like a way to stay connected to education without being in the classroom every day.

Greg:
This is important for listeners: there is life after teaching, and there are ways to stay connected to education.

Study Tours and Experiential Learning: Taiwan to Zambia (and Peru)

Nick:
One reason we chose the travel agency route is that before we were even dating, we took students on a study tour. We brought a group from Taiwan to Zambia, where Joy grew up.

It was a month-long study tour—starting in Lusaka and surrounding areas, learning on a farm, and then visiting Victoria Falls. Students went rafting down the Zambezi River. We did wildlife experiences and spent about 10 days in a game park.

Students earned credit—environmental science—and we did field activities like identifying animal tracks and signs, including footprints and… identifying poop. They made footprint casts to take home.

We also built in creative writing—reading local African authors and writing based on what students were seeing and experiencing in villages and daily life.

Greg:
You had me at poop.

Jacqueline:
When I was in Tanzania, my guide told me to watch for herbivores—where there are herbivores, there are no carnivores—especially when you need to step away for a moment.

Why Travel Can Support Student Engagement

Nick:
We’ve seen travel deepen learning because students are processing the world constantly—it’s real-life, hands-on. You can’t help but learn.

I also had a few statistics noted: traveling was associated with improved grades for students, and higher motivation and engagement. (We also discussed possible socioeconomic factors in who can travel.)

Jacqueline:
It gives context. That’s the key.

Butler Travel: Custom, All-Inclusive Student Tours

Nick:
We do all-inclusive tours. Big tour companies can feel cookie-cutter. If a teacher wants to take students to Italy, Zambia, or Peru, they want something meaningful—and some control.

We build custom tours, and we quote them all-in: flights, food, tips, and everything included, so families see the full package price upfront. Teachers can say, “Yes, I want this,” or “No, I don’t,” and we handle the logistics.

Jacqueline:
Do you do hotels and homestays?

Nick:
Both. It depends on the trip. For example, Peru can include homestays for language and cultural immersion. DC is typically hotel-based.

Nick:
Trips don’t have to be a month long. They can be a spring break trip. And international teachers can run trips too—from their host country to the U.S. or elsewhere.

How to Contact Butler Travel + Trip Planning Guide

Greg:
Tell us the name of the company and how people can reach you.

Nick:
The company is Butler Travel. You can go to butlertravel.com. You can also email us—joy@butlertravel and nick@butlertravel.

We also have a “Rock Star Leader Blueprint,” a guide with steps for planning a trip. It’s at butlertravel.com/plan. You don’t have to use us—you can use the steps yourself—but if you want us to handle it, contact us through the site.

Logistics Challenges: COVID and Last-Flight Problem-Solving

Nick:
The hardest part is often flight logistics—when a flight gets canceled and you have to reroute 20–30 people.

One story we talked about: during COVID, a school group in Peru had one day to get out before borders closed. Butler Travel got them on one of the last flights out and changed tickets quickly, which prevented the group from being stuck.

Jacqueline:
So flexibility is key—for you and for the teacher organizing the trip.

“Police Stories” From Abroad (and Home)

Jacqueline:
Do you have a police story?

Nick:
In Taiwan, I got stopped on my scooter. The officer started speaking Chinese, then realized we were American and waved us on. A week later, I did an illegal U-turn and got a ticket—the officer called someone who spoke English so they could issue the ticket properly.

Joy:
Mine was in the U.S. I had just moved back for college and my boyfriend and I were making out in an abandoned warehouse. Police saw the cars, put us in the back seat, called the owner, and the owner told them to let us go.

What Do You Pack When You Move Abroad?

Greg:
Three things you take with you when you travel and live in a new country?

Nick:
An adapter plug. My shampoo. I used to bring a travel guidebook—now it’s on my phone. I also like to bring seasonings I’m used to. And—extra underwear. And my pillow.

Jacqueline:
I used to be a pillow traveler too. I take rugs instead.

Closing Thoughts

Nick:
We’re excited to help people plan trips and get students exploring other cultures. It’s valuable in many ways, and we enjoy still having a connection to education through these tours.

Jacqueline:
Thank you for coming on the show and sharing what’s possible with customized trips. It’s exciting, and I can see how valuable it is for students.

Greg:
Thank you to Nick and Joy from Butler Travel for joining us today. And Nick, can you repeat the stats you mentioned?

Nick:
Grades were higher for students who traveled; graduation rates were higher; and motivation, engagement, and intellectual curiosity were higher.

Jacqueline:
Thanks everybody.

Greg:
We miss Kent—he’s so good at these endings—but thank you for listening. We’ll sign off now until next episode.