ITP - 003: From Army Brat to International Teacher

Matt: Let’s do this.

Matt: Hey, ladies and gentlemen, family, friends, people lost in the banana republics, and anyone out there traveling and bored enough to need a podcast—this is Greg and Matt coming at you. We are the International Teacher Podcast, and this is Matt. I am the family guy.

Matt: You can also refer to me as Expat Matt. And today—I’m taking over the show.

I’m hijacking it, because I get to interview my buddy, Greg the single guy. You might also hear me call him Goyo, so if that happens—you’re in the right place.

Matt: Goyo, how are you doing today?

Greg: I’m doing great. Glad to be here once again with you, Matt—and in the ears of all our listeners.

Matt: Absolutely. Greg, a lot has happened in the last five or six days since we released our first couple of episodes.

Matt: We had some surprising things happen—people actually listened.

We’ve gotten a lot of positive feedback so far.

Matt: I think we’re up to around 70-something on Spotify. iTunes might not even have us up yet, but we’re on iHeartRadio, and people can find us in a few different places now.

Greg: Yeah, and the relative lack of hate mail we’ve received so far must be a testament to the job we’re doing.

Although it’s probably just immediate family and friends listening at this point—so there’s still time for that.

Greg: I really thought it was going to be my mom again—like my newsletter or my website.

Matt: She’s your number one critic.

Greg: Yeah, she gave me a full rundown after listening. She was upset.

Matt: Why was she upset?

Greg: She said, “Greg, you were talking about your listeners, and you didn’t include families. Families care about you too.”

Matt: That sounds about right.

Greg: And you’re not doing her any service talking like that—your version of her voice is way off.

Matt: That’s fair.

Greg: It’s more like, “Greg, why aren’t you talking to families about this?”

Matt: I’m going to cut that whole section out.

Greg: Yeah—just make her voice deeper next time.

Matt: Noted.

Greg: But honestly, I’ve had people reach out—parents whose kids are in college looking into international teaching.

It’s started some really cool conversations with people I haven’t talked to in years.

Matt: Yeah, it’s been a great way to reconnect.

Matt: And your mom’s right—we should talk more about the family perspective. She’d actually be a great guest, given that she’s lived the expat lifestyle too.

Greg: Maybe some dialogue—not sure about a full interview.

Matt: Fair.

Matt: So, quick reminder—if you’ve got ideas, questions, or even complaints—complaints go to Greg—you can reach us at internationalteacherpodcast@gmail.com.

Greg: That does sound exactly like the name of our podcast.

Matt: Funny how that works.

Greg: I’ve been working on my commentary skills.

Matt: It shows.

Matt: So today, I’m flipping the script. Greg introduced me last time—now it’s my turn.

We’re going to give our audience a chance to get to know Greg—where he comes from, his background, and how he got into all of this.

Matt: But before we get into that—quick story.

Matt: Greg, do you remember when we were diving in Nassau in the Bahamas?

Greg: Oh no…

Matt: We were diving with Stuart Cove’s—big shark dive operation—and we got off the boat and just… didn’t change.

Greg: Yeah—we just walked through town in our dive gear.

Matt: Full suits. You in a full skin suit, me in a sweatshirt and a bright orange Fleet Farm winter hat—probably 85 degrees out.

Greg: I thought I had camouflage on.

Matt: No—just a bright orange hat.

Greg: That sounds about right.

Matt: That popped up in my memories today—ten years ago.

Greg: That’s a good one.

Matt: Not many people walking around the Bahamas like that—but hey, we’re spreading Midwestern culture.

Greg: That’s what we do.

Matt: All right—let’s get into it.

Matt: Greg, a lot of people don’t realize this, but you were actually an international student before becoming an international teacher.

You want to talk about that?

Greg: Yeah—this goes way back. Late ’80s.

I went overseas as an exchange student. I think I was one of maybe five students in that program that year.

My parents let me go live with another family overseas for a year—and that really reignited the travel bug.

Greg: Before that, I had been an army brat. We moved around a lot—different states, Germany when I was younger.

But then we stayed in one place for a while, and I kind of lost that movement.

Greg: Going to Berlin for that year brought it all back.

Matt: And you finished high school there?

Greg: Yeah—well, sort of.

My friends graduated without me. I came back and redid my senior year—mostly because I had too much fun.

Matt: That checks out.

Greg: Yeah, no regrets.

Matt: So let me get this straight—you lived overseas as a kid, came back to the U.S. for several years, then went back overseas again for a year in high school.

Greg: That’s about it.

Matt: Do you think that played a role in you becoming an international teacher later on?

Greg: Once I found out international teaching was a thing—absolutely.

Before that, I had no idea it even existed.

Matt: Same here.

Greg: But once I knew—you could travel and teach—it was immediate. That was it.

Matt: Two birds, one stone.

Greg: Exactly.

Matt: So let’s shift a bit—tell me about your experience teaching in the U.S.

Greg: I didn’t really teach in the U.S. in the traditional sense. I did my student teaching—first grade in Appleton, Wisconsin—for a couple of weeks.

And I remember my big lesson observation. My university supervisor was coming in, so this was supposed to be the big moment.

We were doing a lesson on distance—like, is it farther from home to the post office or from home to school—and how do you measure that.

Greg: I didn’t have a great plan. I looked around my apartment and thought, what do I have? I had a bunch of pennies.

So I gave each kid a pile of pennies and told them to use them as measurement units.

Matt: That sounds like a disaster already.

Greg: Oh, it was.

Within minutes, kids were throwing pennies at each other—hitting each other in the head. Total chaos.

The classroom teacher stands up to calm them down—gets hit with a penny.

My supervisor stands up—same thing. Absolute disaster.

Greg: I mean—kids everywhere, pennies everywhere, me trying to get control, nobody listening. It was my first real moment of “okay, this is teaching.”

Matt: That’s incredible.

Greg: I survived it—but yeah, that was about it for my U.S. teaching experience.

Matt: So you didn’t really have a full teaching career in the States before going overseas.

Greg: No—I had a whole different career before that.

Matt: What were you doing?

Greg: I was a manager for Warner Bros. Studio Stores—you know, like the Disney Stores, but with Bugs Bunny and all that.

I worked in malls for years—like, a long time.

Greg: But the big takeaway from that job was realizing I loved teaching people—training staff, helping people learn.

That’s when I knew I wanted to be a teacher.

Matt: So you went back to school as an adult.

Greg: Yeah—full Rodney Dangerfield, back to school.

And I took it seriously. I really wanted to learn how to teach well.

Greg: Teaching was kind of in the family too—my mom, my grandparents, my grandfather was a principal.

So it wasn’t completely out of nowhere.

Matt: I didn’t even know your mom was a teacher.

Greg: I don’t think she taught long-term. She did all the prep work and then supported the family while my dad went through dental school.

Matt: Smart move.

Greg: Yeah—she might have dodged a bullet there.

Matt: So how did you actually find out about international teaching?

Greg: One of my favorite stories.

I was at a Christmas party around 2000, had a few drinks, talking to some random guy.

He says, “You want to teach and travel? Go to Iowa.”

Matt: Iowa.

Greg: Iowa.

Matt: All roads lead to Iowa.

Greg: Apparently.

Greg: He tells me about this job fair—University of Northern Iowa—where international schools recruit teachers.

So I go home, look it up, and a month later I’m at a job fair.

Matt: And you didn’t really know what you were doing.

Greg: Not at all. I had no clue.

Matt: Where did you end up?

Greg: Honduras.

I met a principal—Debbie—who was willing to take a chance on me.

I had one other option, got rejected by several schools—but Honduras worked out.

Matt: And you didn’t even have your full certification yet.

Greg: Nope.

Matt: That’s wild.

Greg: I was in the middle of student teaching, went to a TESOL conference in St. Louis, then flew to Iowa for the job fair—all in the same stretch.

Matt: That’s chaos.

Greg: Total chaos.

Matt: And then you finished school and left.

Greg: Yeah—I went back knowing I had a job already.

So the rest of the year was just finishing up, getting good grades, and preparing to go.

Matt: That must have felt pretty good.

Greg: It did.

Matt: So Honduras was your first international stop. Where else have you been?

Greg: Honduras for three years, Egypt for one, Kuwait for two, Cambodia for two, Venezuela with you guys, then Switzerland for three, and now the Middle East since 2016.

Seven countries, seven schools.

Matt: That’s a run.

Greg: Yeah—it adds up.

Matt: Favorite?

Greg: Venezuela stands out.

The mix of teaching and tech—supporting teachers, working with all grade levels—it was everything at once.

Greg: Three-year-olds learning a mouse, tenth graders editing video, staff development—it was a lot, but it was fun.

Matt: You had us doing stuff years ago that people are just figuring out now.

Greg: We were early.

Matt: Way early.

Matt: All right—travel.

Greg: Tanzania.

Safari. Six days.

Greg: We’re in trucks, radios going, someone spots a lion pride feeding—everyone moves in.

We pull up—maybe 20 feet away.

Flies, vultures, everything.

Then the alpha male comes down the hill—takes over.

Just like The Lion King.

Brutal—but unbelievable.

Matt: That’s insane.

Greg: It sticks with you.

Greg: Cambodia too—Angkor Wat, jungle, and then the heavy side—the genocide sites, the Killing Fields.

Greg: Taking people through that—it changes how you see things.

Matt: Yeah, that’s not something you forget.

Greg: Not at all.

Matt: What’s still on your list?

Greg: China—Great Wall, long train across the country.

Greg: And honestly—more of the U.S. I haven’t seen Hawaii, Mount Rushmore—lots left.

Matt: Same.

Greg: The bucket list never shrinks—it just evolves.

Matt: Always.

Matt: When you go home—how do you reconnect?

Greg: Family first.

Parents, brothers.

Greg: My younger brother’s house feels like home now—“gemütlich”—that feeling of being completely at ease.

Greg: Then friends—cabins, lakes, just sitting and talking.

Greg: Even a couple hours with my dad—that’s enough to carry me for months.

Matt: That’s real.

Greg: It’s about quality, not quantity.

Matt: What do you miss overseas?

Greg: Depends—Middle East: beer and bacon.

Greg: But honestly—not much anymore.

Greg: Give me ice, mobility, and some help around the house—I’m good anywhere.

Matt: Survival checklist.

Greg: Exactly.

Matt: What do you miss when you’re back home?

Greg: Travel.

Language shifts, culture shifts—that constant change.

Greg: Being the outsider—that feeling becomes normal.

Matt: Until you experience it, it’s hard to explain.

Greg: Exactly.

Greg: I remember being in Switzerland—everyone speaking Swiss German, I couldn’t follow. They switched for me, then drifted back.

I’m sitting there thinking—I’m not really in this conversation.

Matt: That’s a strange space to be in.

Greg: It is—but it’s part of it.

Matt: People are still welcoming though.

Greg: Always. Even trying a few words—they appreciate it.

Matt: Effort matters.

Greg: It really does.

Matt: Five years from now?

Greg: No idea.

Matt: Honest.

Greg: I’ve got fifteen plans.

Greg: Probably still overseas. Not settling back home anytime soon.

Matt: Not your style.

Greg: Not my style.

Matt: Final question—what should people know about you?

Greg: I can’t imagine doing anything else.

Teaching overseas—that’s it.

Matt: That’s a wrap.

Matt: Greg, thanks for sharing your story.

Greg: Thanks for having me.

Matt: And to everyone listening—reach out with questions or ideas at internationalteacherpodcast@gmail.com.

Greg: We’ll expand platforms if people want it.

Matt: I’m Matt, the family guy.

Greg: I’m Greg, the single guy.

Matt: And this is the International Teacher Podcast.

Matt: We’ll see you next time.