ITP - 002: How to Start Teaching Overseas

Greg: In this episode, I am Greg, and I am interviewing my co-host so you can get to know him a little bit better. He’s been overseas for at least five years, and now he’s been here almost eight years in the Middle East. So I’d like to introduce Matt, the family guy, to our show.

Greg: Actually, if we could just settle on a name, we’ll go with Expat Matt, the family guy.

Matt: All right, I’ll go with that. Expat Matt, the family guy.

Greg: There we go. Good to have you on the show here, Matt. This episode is focusing on you and how you became the podcaster and why people should listen to you when they want to learn about overseas.

Matt: That’s a lot of pressure, Greg.

Greg: There’s no format. This is just straight up Matt.

Matt: That’s right. Just us talking.

Greg: You were teaching in Minnesota. How did this even start?

Matt: Stacy had done student teaching in Costa Rica. One night after a terrible day teaching fourth grade in Woodbury, Minnesota, I was ready to quit. Burned out from testing, merit pay, all of it.

Matt: She stopped me and said, “What about teaching overseas?”

Matt: It had never crossed my mind. I hadn’t even been to Florida. Maybe Mexico a couple times.

Matt: But we started looking into it instead of quitting. That was November 2008.

Matt: We researched international schools and found the University of Northern Iowa job fair, held Super Bowl weekend in Waterloo.

Matt: Freezing, windy, cornfields everywhere. And somehow international schools from all over the world show up there.

Matt: Schools review your file and request interviews. We had interviews with Venezuela, China, Cyprus, Greece.

Matt: Before interviews, there’s a big meet-and-greet where you basically try to impress administrators, which they secretly hate.

Matt: I had two rules. Two places I would never work. Venezuela was one. The other is where I live now.

Matt: Of course, I ended up in both.

Matt: I actually declined the Venezuela interview… but when I walked up, something told me to listen. I pulled the paper back and talked to the guy.

Matt: It didn’t feel like an interview. Felt like talking to someone you’d known forever.

Matt: We interviewed. It went great. That’s how we got hired.

Matt: We weren’t married yet, but it was coming. Got engaged, married in June, and three weeks later we were on a plane.

Matt: Me, Stacy, and our 115-pound chocolate lab, Guzman.

Matt: First real travel experience. Minneapolis to Miami, out into the city during a layover, then into Caracas at midnight.

Matt: I had barely flown before that.

Greg: You hated flying.

Matt: Yeah, not great.

Matt: We lived in Venezuela five years, even though it was supposed to be two.

Matt: First kid was born in the U.S., but we joke he was “made in socialism.” Venezuelans loved that.

Matt: After five years, political changes pushed us to look elsewhere. Back to UNI job fair in 2013.

Matt: Interviewed globally, landed in the Middle East, one of my “never” countries.

Matt: Moved August 2013. Been here ever since.

Matt: Now we have four kids. One, then twins in 2014, then another in 2017.

Greg: That escalated.

Matt: Fast.

Matt: Travel from Venezuela was brutal. Should be 6–7 hours, turned into 20–36 hour trips.

Matt: In the Middle East, we tried Christmas travel once. Never again. Only summers now.

Matt: COVID hit. Haven’t been home since August 2019.

Matt: Kids now define home as both the Middle East and the U.S. We work hard to keep that connection.

Greg: That’s a whole episode.

Matt: Definitely.

Greg: Favorite travel?

Matt: Maldives and Munich stand out. But going home matters just as much.

Matt: Two places ground me. A golf course from my childhood in Minnesota, and Wrigley Field in Chicago.

Matt: Those places reset me.

Greg: Panama Canal story.

Matt: Massive place. You watch a film about how the French failed because of disease and conditions, then the Americans came in and helped complete it before handing it over.

Matt: End of film says “100% Panamanian.”

Matt: We walked around saying “you’re welcome.”

Matt: That did not go well.

Greg: Shocking.

Matt: No idea why Americans get that reputation.

Greg: What else do you do?

Matt: Coached soccer, hockey, softball, golf, even roller hockey in Venezuela.

Matt: Now athletic director. Also working on a Professional Master’s in Sports Administration at Ohio University.

Matt: Goal is front office in pro sports.

Matt: Also got into scuba diving overseas. Caribbean, Florida Keys, Middle East.

Greg: Best dive?

Matt: Georgia Aquarium. $375, 40 feet deep, hammerheads, whale sharks. Unreal experience.

Matt: Showed up with no gear, they threw me in a wetsuit, and suddenly I’m face-to-face with sharks.

Matt: Probably the coolest dive I’ve ever done.

Matt: Living overseas gives kids insane opportunities. Different cultures, travel, sports.

Matt: Totally different childhood.

Greg: Final thoughts?

Matt: I don’t take myself seriously. Hope people enjoy it and learn something.

Greg: That’s Matt. Next episode, he interviews me.

Greg: Thanks for listening. We’ll see you next episode.

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