ITP - 017: Returning to Work in the Middle East: Expat Summer Recap

Greg: 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.

Greg: Okay, let’s do this. Are we recording? All right, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, friends, neighbors, cats, dogs, teachers, international teachers, non-international teachers, people thinking about becoming international teachers—this is the International Teacher Podcast.

Matt: And we are getting the band back together after a long, well-deserved summer break. This is Matt, the family guy, and Greg the single guy. It sounds so buttery when you say that.

Greg: Working on your DJ voice?

Matt: I sing all summer. Everybody, this is the teacher—welcome.

Greg: Sorry, we’re going to be a little… I’ll tell you, every radio show, I have my own radio show at like 4 a.m. It’s one of those early morning shows. “You’re listening to the sounds of the—”

Matt: Are you kidding?

Greg: “This is live at the Acropolis, coming at you at 4:15 a.m. Smooth Night Stalker coming at you…”

Matt: This isn’t a nightmare. This is beautiful.

Greg: A wake-up call. Obviously, I feel good.

Greg: Anyway, for those of you who want to get a hold of us, remember you can always write to us at [internationalteacherpodcast@gmail.com](mailto:internationalteacherpodcast@gmail.com). We wanted to make sure we had the longest handle possible for a podcast email address. You can also find us on Instagram at ITPexpats.

Matt: That’s ITP exp-8-0s on Instagram.

Greg: And we have a Twitter account, but I’m not sure we’ve ever tweeted.

Matt: Yeah, we don’t really have a lot of profound things to say there. Not to bash Twitter, but I just don’t use it much. Maybe it’s my age. I just don’t interact with it much, except maybe for sports updates.

Greg: Same here. I get stuck on the past tense—like, did I tweet? Did I twitted?

Matt: I don’t even know what the word is.

Greg: It all sounds inappropriate.

Matt: This is a family show.

Greg: We will now lower the levels. It’s great to have you back, Matt. It’s been a long summer without you. I know we’ll get into more of that, but it’s good to have you back.

Matt: It’s good to be back.

Greg: Now we have more advertising.

Matt: I like how you started the episode with advertising.

Greg: We need sponsors. We need to build this into a global brand.

Matt: Brought to you by Ahmed, who washes your bike.

Greg: Somewhere. You’ve got to love guys like Ahmed—they’ve got their hustle. They do things we don’t want to do, and we pay them for it.

Matt: We’ve talked before about all the people you end up knowing overseas.

Greg: Right, like having help.

Matt: Yeah, we’ve got a gardener.

Greg: We don’t even have a garden.

Matt: He just sprays down the sidewalk and breaks up leaves.

Greg: We don’t talk much about the present Middle East, but maybe that’s for another episode. So, Greg—what do you want our topic to be today?

Matt: What do you want listeners to know? I was missing you. I only went back to the States for about 20 days, but you were back for the full summer. You went fishing and all that good stuff. I think the audience would like to know what an international teacher does over the summer, and you and I are very different in what we do.

Greg: Oh yeah.

Matt: The family guy and the single guy.

Greg: That’s true.

Matt: You definitely have more travel flexibility. It’s funny—when you travel for a while, you realize how small the world becomes and how interconnected everything is. When I was telling friends back home about our flights, they were shocked.

We flew through Doha, Qatar. Qatar Airways—by far my favorite airline. Hamad International Airport is huge, clean, and just a great place. From Doha, it was a 15 hour, 40 minute flight to Chicago.

Back home in Minnesota, people think a four-hour flight to Cancun is long. So when you say 15 hours, people just can’t process it. And that’s gate to gate—in the air. It’s like doing 45-minute flights over and over again.

On our flight out of our host country into Doha, it was packed. A lot of people were from Afghanistan. And then there was our family with four kids—it stood out.

We got to Doha, boarded for Chicago, and we were excited. Then we got to our seats. Bathroom row. Non-reclining seats, right by the bathrooms. My smile disappeared pretty quickly. Sixteen hours next to the toilet.

They did recline slightly—maybe 10 percent. So I told myself we’d make the best of it. Positive attitude. Nobody’s going to stink up the bathroom.

Right away, I had to use the restroom. A woman came out, and she had thrown up everywhere. The plane hadn’t even taken off yet. I didn’t say anything—I figured maybe she was nervous or sick. I told the flight attendant, and they cleaned it up quickly. Smell gone, problem solved.

And honestly, we were just happy to be going home. So we settled in for the flight. We watched movies, the kids stayed up the whole time playing games—don’t judge us.

The food was actually great for airline food. We had curry chicken. I ate my meal and the boys’ meals. I think I had four dinners on that flight.

So we’re coming into Chicago, and you can see the city in the distance. Then the pilot comes on and says they’re shutting everything down because of storms and we’re almost out of gas, so we’re diverting to Minneapolis. Everyone on the plane is groaning, and I’m laughing, because we were going to drive there anyway.

We land in Minneapolis, sit on the runway for two and a half hours in the dark, not allowed off the plane. At that point, we’re pushing close to 20 hours of travel, sitting in the bathroom row.

Then we fly back to Chicago, sit while everyone slowly gets off the plane, and then wait an hour and a half for bags. Door to door, it was about 25 and a half hours. The boys were exhausted. My dad and brother met us. My oldest was ready to go, but everyone else was passed out.

Greg: You’re going to hate me. Mine was the complete opposite. Traveling alone—I flew out through Qatar as well. Same long flight, about 15 hours. I sat in the back row by the toilets too, but I chose it.

I had my own row in the middle—four seats. Nobody sat next to me. I just laid down and slept for six hours straight. I don’t like eating airplane food, so I skipped meals and just relaxed. I think I slept almost the entire flight—15 hours.

I landed in Chicago, grabbed my bags, had breakfast, got my PCR test, picked up a rental car, and left. I stopped at a hotel near the Wisconsin border. All I wanted was a beer, bratwurst, and cheese curds. That was the start of my trip.

I have to say, Matt—you’ve become a great traveler. The first times we traveled together, you were a train wreck. You’d medicate yourself, say prayers, do everything possible not to think about the plane crashing. Now you’re laughing about being stuck on a plane for 20 hours.

Matt: That’s the old me. When you’ve got four kids, you just roll with it. I was just happy to be getting home.

Honestly, sitting by the bathroom didn’t bother me. I didn’t care. The fact that my kids weren’t climbing all over me for 15 hours—that was a win.

They’re old enough now to go to the bathroom themselves, walk around the plane—it makes a huge difference.

Although I did see something disgusting. This guy was walking around the plane in his dress socks, leaving wet footprints from the bathroom. Put your shoes on, man.

Greg: Yeah, you’ve got to have shoes on for the bathroom.

Matt: So we finally landed, got picked up, and drove to our lake house in Wisconsin. One of my favorite moments was the drive with my dad. The kids were sleeping, and we just talked the whole way. It was pouring rain, everything was green—it was incredible.

When we got home, my youngest didn’t even remember what it looked like. He got out of the car and just started running around—“There’s a lake! There’s grass!” His mind was blown.

I have this ritual. When I leave, I go down to the dock, take off my shoes, step into the lake, and just stand there. So when we got back, that’s the first thing I did. I walked into the lake, stood there, and just took it in. Then I went inside, laid on the floor, and just had a moment.

Greg: That’s a pretty good reset. All right, let’s keep going.

Greg: So what did you actually do for the rest of the summer? Because I know you didn’t just sit on the dock the whole time.

Matt: No, although that sounds pretty good. We spent a lot of time with family. That’s the biggest thing when you go back—just reconnecting. The kids got to see cousins, grandparents, aunts, uncles. That’s something they don’t get during the year.

We did some travel too. We went down to Florida for a bit, which was a completely different experience—hot, humid, busy. But it’s interesting seeing the contrast between places when you’ve been living overseas.

Greg: Yeah, that reverse culture shock is real. What stood out to you the most being back in the States?

Matt: Honestly, just how easy everything is. You forget that when you’re overseas. Everything is familiar. You know how things work. You can read everything. You understand the systems without thinking about it.

But at the same time, it almost feels a little strange because you’re so used to being in a different environment.

Greg: Yeah, that’s always a weird feeling—being “home” but also not quite feeling like it anymore.

Matt: Exactly. And then, of course, there’s the food. You forget how much variety there is, and also how big everything is—portions, stores, everything.

Greg: That’s always a shock coming back.

Greg: So for me, my summer was a bit different. Traveling solo, I had a lot more flexibility. I bounced around a bit—visited friends, did some road trips, just kind of went where I wanted when I wanted. It’s a completely different experience compared to traveling with a family.

Matt: Yeah, no kidding.

Greg: But that’s kind of the point—we always talk about this—the single guy versus the family guy. There’s no right or wrong way to do it. It’s just different.

Matt: And that’s something people should understand if they’re thinking about going overseas. Your experience is going to depend a lot on your situation.

Greg: Exactly.

Greg: You know, that’s something people don’t always think about before they go overseas. They think about the job, the location, maybe the salary—but they don’t always think about what their life is going to look like outside of school.

Greg: Summer is a huge part of that. It’s your time to reset, reconnect, travel, or just do nothing.

Matt: And it looks different for everyone. For families, it’s often about going home, seeing relatives, letting kids reconnect with their culture and extended family. That’s really important.

Greg: And for single teachers, it can be a lot more flexible. You can travel, explore, visit different countries, or just bounce around. But either way, it’s part of the lifestyle.

Matt: And I think that’s something people need to understand—this isn’t just a job overseas. It’s a lifestyle change. Your summers, your breaks, your travel—it all becomes part of the experience.

Greg: Exactly. And honestly, that’s one of the biggest perks. You get these long breaks that you can actually use in meaningful ways.

Matt: But it also comes with challenges. Long travel days, jet lag, cost of flights—especially with a family. It’s not always easy.

Greg: Yeah, that 25-hour travel day you had—that’s not for everyone.

Matt: No, it’s not. But at the same time, when you get there, it’s worth it.

Greg: So I guess the takeaway is—there’s no one right way to do summer as an international teacher. It depends on your situation, your priorities, and what you want out of the experience.

Matt: Exactly.

Greg: All right, I think that’s a good place to wrap it up.

Matt: Sounds good.

Greg: Thanks for joining us, everyone.

Matt: And we’ll see you next time.

Greg: Did you hit record?

Greg: Well, let’s not actually wrap yet, because there’s clearly a lot more that happened over the summer. You had way more going on than just lake life.

Matt: Yeah, it was a whirlwind. Honestly, it felt like we were there for about four hours. We were home from June 24th until August 10th, and it just disappeared.

We had two years’ worth of life to catch up on—family, friends, house stuff. We had plans to go see people, but it ended up being more like people coming to us.

We were home for 41 days, and I think we had people at the house for 36 of those days. Which is amazing—we love it—but at the same time, you’re trying to recharge, and that part can be tough.

You have to be intentional about carving out a little time for yourself, even though you want to see everyone. That balance is hard.

But honestly, we barely left the house. We didn’t go out much. A couple Jimmy John’s runs, a couple Subway runs, but mostly we stayed at the lake. It was just too good to leave.

We did get out to a few St. Paul Saints games and a couple Twins games, which was great. The Saints games are honestly more fun than the Twins games. They’ve done an incredible job with that experience.

And then the boys did a baseball camp at the University of Minnesota. That was fantastic—really well run, tons of value.

But yeah, most of it was just being there, being outside, being together.

Greg: That sounds like exactly what summer should be.

Matt: Yeah, and the funny thing is, my favorite day wasn’t anything big. It was just a bunch of little moments stacked together.

I got up early, went golfing—walked 18 holes. Came back, played baseball in the yard with the boys. We’ve got a pitching machine set up, nets, the whole thing. It gets competitive.

Then the boys wanted to go fishing at noon in 90-degree heat. I thought there was no chance we’d catch anything.

We get out there, start trolling—boom, fish on within seconds. Walker brings in a big walleye. Then Kuru hooks a huge northern and brings it in himself.

After that, we packed up, went back, cleaned the fish, jumped in the car, and drove to Duluth to get hockey gear. Hung out by Lake Superior, grabbed food, just relaxed.

It wasn’t anything crazy. But it was perfect.

Greg: That’s what it’s about—those small moments.

Greg: My trip was a bit more chaotic. I bounced around a lot.

I went from Green Bay to Minnesota, then down through Kansas City, Springfield, and all the way to Naples, Florida, and Miami—all in about 21 days.

Most of that happened in the first 10 days.

Matt: You packed it in.

Greg: Yeah, but the highlight for me was time with my parents. I hadn’t spent that much uninterrupted time with them in years.

My mom’s not doing great, so being there mattered. We didn’t do anything fancy—just sat, talked, played games. That time was priceless.

I also spent a full day at the Snook Inn in Florida. Just sat there for hours, people-watching, having a beer, writing. It was perfect.

Matt: That’s your version of the lake.

Greg: Exactly.

Matt: So then the question becomes—what didn’t you get to do?

Greg: Honestly, there’s never enough time. You go in with big plans, and then reality hits. Travel takes time, family takes time, everything takes time.

Matt: Same for us. You think you’ve got all this time, and then it’s gone.

Greg: And then comes the return.

Matt: Yeah, packing up to come back overseas is a whole process. We had ten hockey bags this time—down from fifteen. Trying to streamline.

We had to get PCR tests at the airport—$200 each. Took about 18 minutes to get results, which is insane.

Greg: That’s the new travel reality.

Matt: But the actual flight back? Easy. After doing 15+ hour flights, everything else feels short.

Greg: That’s the thing—international teachers become professional travelers.

Greg: We don’t think twice about long flights, layovers, extra costs, backup plans.

Matt: Exactly. You learn quickly—what routes to take, what airports to avoid, what credit cards to use, how much cash to carry.

Greg: If I wasn’t an international teacher and I wanted to travel, I’d ask one.

Matt: 100 percent.

Greg: All right, now we can wrap it up.

Matt: Now we can actually wrap it up.

Greg: Thanks for listening to our summer recap.

Matt: It’s good to be back.

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

Matt: And we’ll catch you next time.

Greg: I’m Greg, the single guy.

Matt: And I’m Matt, the family guy.

Greg: See you next episode.