ITP - 015: Teaching PE in Abu Dhabi and Dubai

Greg: Welcome to this episode of the International Teacher Podcast. We are joined by a PE teacher for elementary, and we’ll be talking about his experiences teaching in both Abu Dhabi and Dubai.

As a matter of note, Matt, the family guy, is on vacation on the golf links right now.

So Kent Armory is my co-host for this episode.

Welcome to the International Teacher Podcast with your host, Greg the single guy and Matt the family guy. We’re recording episodes from around the globe to tell you about the best-kept secret in education. That’s right—it’s teaching overseas. We’re glad to have you.

Okay, let’s do an introduction. Okay. Well, next up I’ll do it. Sorry.

All right, so welcome to this episode of the International Teacher Podcast. I am Greg, the single guy, and Matt, the family guy, is off on vacation this week. But I do have a special treat—you’ve met him before. In the desert studio with me today, I’ve got Kent Armory here. Good morning, Kent.

Kent: Hey, good morning, Greg. It’s great to be here. I’m now Kent, the cat guy.

Greg: Oh God. This is Greg, the single guy, Matt the family guy sitting out, but sitting in is Kent, the cat guy. But it’s not all about Kent. It’s not all about me this morning because in our studio we have a special guest. He’s going to talk about Abu Dhabi and life in Dubai teaching.

You’re going to meet Jim. Good morning, Jim. How are you?

Jim: Good morning. Thanks for joining us. I’m excited to be here.

Greg: He’s a little nervous. It’s his first time on the podcast. But I’ll tell you what—Jim’s got a face for TV. Out of the three of us, he’s the only one you’d want to see.

Kent: That’s true. Much better than me.

Greg: Kent always says he has a face for radio, but Jim is younger and probably more appealing to the ladies—we don’t know yet.

So anyway, Jim is our guest this morning. Jim, we just want to really talk to you about some fun stories. Before you went overseas, can you give us a little background on what you did before international teaching?

Jim: Before international, I was a student. No—don’t go back to the dinosaur age, man. And then after I graduated college, I did one semester of subbing and then went straight to Dubai.

Greg: So when did you get hired for Dubai? If you went straight from subbing, were you interviewed at a job fair?

Jim: No. Like everything in this world, it’s not what you know—it’s who you know. My brother had a crazy connection—something like his sister-in-law’s parents or something crazy. Anyway, he was offered the job in Dubai, turned it down, and said, “My brother needs a job.” A couple months later, I was on a plane.

Greg: I can’t make it, but I know a guy. That’s classic. I can tell this is going to be an interview with lots of laughter.

Kent: I’ll make myself laugh.

Greg: So you were on the plane a couple months after finishing subbing?

Jim: Pretty much. It was summer—August.

Greg: And how long did you stay there?

Jim: Three years in Dubai.

Greg: So three years in Dubai, and you went alone, right?

Jim: Yeah.

Greg: What did you take? Just a couple suitcases?

Jim: Two suitcases. That was it.

Greg: Sight unseen? Did you know anything about the school?

Jim: Not really. I arrived, and then a week later it was Ramadan.

Greg: So you did one interview and then you were there?

Jim: Yeah.

Greg: What made you interested in international teaching? Was it Dubai specifically, or just the job?

Jim: The job got me interested because I didn’t have one. I was subbing and working in a bar, so I needed something steady.

Greg: Did you know where Dubai was on a map?

Jim: After I heard about it, yeah.

Greg: When I got hired for Honduras, I had to go and look it up on the map. I knew it was somewhere in the Americas. But Dubai—that’s a long way away. We’ve all been there many times. Being in the Middle East, as we are in the desert studio, three years in Dubai is awesome. But you went alone.

And the reason I mention that is because you are also a family guy, sort of like Matt—not a cat guy though. There’s a story there.

This isn’t just about Dubai. It’s also about meeting your special someone while overseas. Is that your story, Jim?

Jim: Could be.

Greg: Sounds good. Did your wife work at the same school?

Jim: No, she didn’t. She was a business class flight attendant for Emirates.

Greg: Yeah, but you’re not exactly a business class kind of guy. So how did this happen?

Jim: It was random. It was a Friday—and as you know, in the Middle East that is your brunch day. So I had been out all day at brunch and let’s say we were a bit three sheets to the wind. I was with my ex-girlfriend’s brother and another guy. My ex-girlfriend’s brother hit on Claire’s friend, and we were left there.

We started talking. She didn’t like me, but I kept pestering her.

Greg: Oh, we’ve got to go back on this one. So you’re telling me you went to brunch—which is like the weekend in the Middle East, Friday—and you’re there with your ex-girlfriend’s brother and some other guy, and somehow you end up talking to Claire?

Jim: Yeah.

Greg: Not with your ex-girlfriend though?

Jim: No.

Greg: That would have been a better story. I’m trying to get you in trouble here.

Jim: Yeah, so we started talking and she took us to a bar in Dubai—Rock Bottom. And then she gave me the wrong phone number, but I kept pestering her.

Greg: Wait—how do you pester someone if they give you the wrong number?

Jim: I eventually got the right number.

Greg: You hunted her down. That’s commitment.

Jim: Yeah, she gave it to me at the bar, but when I called it, it didn’t ring. So I had to track her down again.

Greg: Once the restraining order was lifted, you could go see her again.

Jim: Exactly.

Greg: So what was she doing at the time?

Jim: She was a flight attendant for Emirates.

Greg: And what were you teaching?

Jim: Elementary PE for two years, and then my last year I moved up to middle school.

Greg: IB school?

Jim: Yeah, IB.

Greg: So early in the relationship, did you guys stay together the whole time?

Jim: No, it was more like we met at brunch and then later got together.

Greg: Got it. So when did things get serious?

Jim: Probably my second year there.

Greg: So you did three years in Dubai. Did you go to Abu Dhabi next?

Jim: No, not right away. There’s more to the story.

Greg: Of course there is. The plot thickens.

Jim: Claire is very Welsh—very Welsh. She wanted our son born in Wales.

Greg: For those who don’t know, Wales is part of Great Britain, but don’t call them English. Be very careful about that.

Jim: Exactly.

Greg: So did you get married in Dubai?

Jim: No, we left Dubai. We got married in England because her mom was living there. We stayed there for a while.

Greg: Were you teaching at the time?

Jim: Not really. I did some substitute teaching, but not much.

Greg: You can take time off as an international teacher if you’ve saved enough. That’s one of the perks—take a year, figure things out, travel, start a family.

So after that year in England, how did you end up in Abu Dhabi?

Jim: We applied through a recruiter in England, and they sent a job in Abu Dhabi.

Greg: And how was the interview?

Jim: About ten minutes long.

Greg: That should have been a red flag.

Jim: Yeah, in hindsight.

Greg: So you went through a recruiter. Would you recommend that route?

Jim: Not really. I feel like the recruiter was getting a kickback from the school and funneling people there as much as possible.

Greg: So not all recruiters are bad, but that experience wasn’t great.

Jim: Yeah, I still randomly look at some of their sites to see what’s happening, but I’d be more cautious.

Greg: What was the job supposed to be?

Jim: Middle school PE.

Greg: And what did it turn into?

Jim: Early elementary PE.

Greg: That’s a big switch.

Jim: Yeah, I found out two days into orientation.

Greg: So how was your experience overall as a PE teacher internationally?

Jim: I’ve only really done PE, but from what I observe, it appears that being a specialist is easier than classroom teaching.

Greg: That’s interesting.

So let’s talk about Dubai first. What was that like for you as a PE teacher?

Jim: It was great. I had a really easy schedule. Some days I was teaching one class and the rest I had off.

Greg: One class?

Jim: Yeah, some days just one.

Greg: How many students were at the school?

Jim: Over a thousand—about 68 different nationalities.

Greg: That’s a true international school.

Jim: Yeah.

Greg: And facilities?

Jim: Incredible. Tons of equipment, great resources. Dubai has money.

Greg: So life in Dubai—were you living well?

Jim: Yeah, comfortably. I traveled a lot—India, Thailand, Maldives, Oman.

Greg: Did you save money?

Jim: Not really. You spend it, especially on Fridays.

Greg: That’s the Dubai lifestyle—great life, but not huge savings.

All right, let’s shift to Abu Dhabi.

Greg: All right, let’s shift to Abu Dhabi. What was the biggest difference compared to Dubai?

Jim: It was very different. The school environment wasn’t as organized, and expectations weren’t always clear.

Greg: That’s a big shift from what you described in Dubai.

Jim: Yeah, in Dubai everything was structured. In Abu Dhabi, it felt more chaotic.

Greg: What about facilities?

Jim: Not nearly as good. We didn’t have the same level of resources.

Greg: And your schedule?

Jim: Much busier. I was teaching a lot more classes, and the age group change made it tougher.

Greg: Going from middle school to early elementary PE—that’s a completely different job.

Jim: Yeah, it’s not what I signed up for, but you adapt.

Greg: That’s kind of the theme of international teaching—you adapt.

Jim: Exactly.

Greg: What about life outside of school in Abu Dhabi?

Jim: It was still good. You can travel, you can enjoy yourself, but it didn’t have the same energy as Dubai.

Greg: Dubai is hard to beat in that sense.

Jim: Yeah.

Greg: Looking back, would you do anything differently with that move?

Jim: I would have done more research. I trusted the recruiter too much.

Greg: That’s a big takeaway for listeners—do your homework.

Jim: Definitely.

Greg: So overall, you’ve had two very different international teaching experiences.

Jim: Yeah, completely different.

Greg: And now you’ve got a family as part of that journey.

Jim: Yeah.

Greg: That’s something a lot of people don’t think about—how your personal life evolves while you’re overseas.

Jim: It changes everything.

Greg: All right, we’ll keep going from here.

Greg: So if someone is listening and thinking about going into PE as an international teacher, what would you tell them?

Jim: I’d say it’s a great way in. Being a specialist gives you flexibility, and schools are always looking for PE teachers who are willing to do more than just classes.

Greg: Like coaching, activities, after-school stuff.

Jim: Exactly. If you’re willing to run clubs, coach teams, be involved, it makes you more valuable.

Greg: That goes back to what we always say—it’s not just about the classroom.

Jim: Yeah, it’s about the whole school experience.

Greg: And culturally, working in places like Dubai and Abu Dhabi, did you have to adjust much?

Jim: Definitely. There are cultural expectations, especially around things like dress, behavior, and how you interact with students and families.

Greg: Anything that stood out to you early on?

Jim: Just being aware of your surroundings. What’s acceptable in one place isn’t always acceptable somewhere else.

Greg: That’s a big learning curve for a lot of people.

Jim: Yeah, but you figure it out pretty quickly.

Greg: So looking at your full journey—Dubai, England, Abu Dhabi—what’s been the biggest takeaway?

Jim: Be flexible. Things don’t always go the way you expect, but if you can adapt, you’ll be fine.

Greg: That’s probably the best advice anyone can give about international teaching.

Jim: Yeah.

Greg: Kent, anything to add before we wrap this one up?

Kent: I think it just reinforces what we’ve talked about before. Every experience is different, every school is different, and you’ve got to be ready for anything.

Greg: That’s a good place to end it.

Jim, thanks for joining us today. We appreciate you sharing your story.

Jim: Thanks for having me.

Greg: And to everyone listening, thanks for tuning in to the International Teacher Podcast.

If you want to reach out, you can email us at [internationalteacherpodcast@gmail.com](mailto:internationalteacherpodcast@gmail.com) or find us on Instagram at ITPexpats.

We’ll see you next time.

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