ITP - 020: Travel, Staycations, and Teacher Life

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: This is Greg, the single guy. I'm sitting in here with two different instances. The first part of this broadcast is going to be with Kent, the cat guy. We're sitting here in a classroom, having a little lunch. How you doing?

Kent: Hey, I'm doing great. I got myself a sandwich. I got myself a podcast. I couldn't ask for more.

Greg: I know. Believe it or not, we have a Subway in this country. It's not bad. What’d you think of the sandwich there?

Kent: I already ate my half. It was delicious. If we have to take a moment here in our podcast just to chew a little bit, it’s one of those things. We have to work and eat at the same time.

Greg: Well, when it comes to working and eating, I'm willing to put the work aside for the eating.

Kent: Absolutely. Let’s just do some eating. This isn’t work anyway. This is just fun.

Greg: And we're coming back off of a really heavy wait time since this last episode. Our faithful fans are thinking, what have we been up to? I think Matt and I agreed, and Kent agreed also, that we would like to share with you our vacation stories. Because as an international teacher, we have so many opportunities. Some of us might go home, some of us might not go anywhere, and some of us might actually just go anywhere in the world. We had different experiences, so each kind of vacation is a little different. COVID has hit us a little bit differently too, but we don’t even need to talk about that. We can just talk generally about travels over vacations.

Greg: All right, Kent, what do you think?

Kent: I think it's fantastic. How was your vacation? Where did you go?

Greg: I went back to the States this year.

Kent: Do you normally go back to the States in the situation you're in right now?

Greg: I don’t. This is the phase that I’m in right now. I’m in the phase of discovering my home country. In previous years, I’ve been all over the world, from Russia to France to Italy to the Czech Republic to Estonia, Finland, Sweden, all over the place. But this year I went to the States. I’ve been able to take out a map and just keep track of these places.

Greg: It sounds like you've been around the world. What made you choose home this year?

Kent: Well, I think you said in the introduction, it’s a COVID year. Europe was a little bit unknown for us in the wintertime, so we decided to go back to the States. We love discovering the States. I think every international teacher goes through a period where they travel the world and then get interested in their home country again. That’s exactly it for us. We were celebrating our anniversary. We went to Las Vegas, where we got married so many years ago, and we went and celebrated that.

Greg: And it’s just you and your wife because you don’t have kids, right?

Kent: No, we don’t have kids. We got a cat.

Greg: Did the cat go along?

Kent: No, the cat stayed. Cats can just sort of stay there. They’re like an app.

Greg: I guess I’m like you. Sorry to digress, but we had a little humor there. You went to Vegas. You left right away when school got out?

Kent: Yeah. My hometown is Bellingham, Washington, for any Washingtonians out there. It’s about a half hour south of the Canadian border from Vancouver on the west coast in Washington State. We spent about a week in our hometown of Bellingham.

Greg: We live next to the Bellingham airport. Now I’ve given you my exact location. We just hopped on a Southwest Airlines flight and three hours later, two and a half hours later, we were in Vegas. Very convenient and lots of fun. That will not be the last time we do that.

Greg: I’d like to address here for a second our school currently. We have Christmas vacation off like most schools in the States do. A lot of international schools have some kind of winter break. They may call it Christmas break, but they have a winter break. We have maybe two weeks off. Sometimes you have one week off. It depends on the school. Like we say every time, it depends on the school and the country, what kind of breaks you get. But a majority of them have winter vacation. They might have a Chinese holiday, they might have separate holidays for their country, and then they might have summertime off. So it’s very much like teaching in the States, that you have extended vacations, and that’s what we’re talking about—where we’re going.

Greg: So you went home. Did you go to Vegas right when school got out?

Kent: Yeah. We got out on a Thursday, and Friday night, Saturday morning, we were back in the States. We spent seven days in Bellingham, and then we were off to Vegas.

Kent: And we had a lovely time. Let me just tell you about Vegas for just a minute. For all those teachers out there who have Vegas on their list, it is a ton of fun. Lots of families, lots of young people and kids out on the streets, even until 10 or 11 o’clock at night. Shows are going. We went to the Gordon Ramsay restaurant. We went and did Cirque du Soleil.

Greg: I go to bed at nine o’clock.

Kent: On vacation, though, you can stay up till 10:30.

Greg: I’ve never been to Vegas. That’s great that you can afford to go as a teacher. There are a lot of things that are expensive there.

Kent: Some things are expensive, but some things aren’t as expensive. Vegas has turned into, like most places in the United States, pretty expensive. But one of the most important things about international teaching is that I think international teachers are a little bit more conscious about putting a little bit aside for their travel.

Greg: Right. I do the same thing. Even when I was making like $12,000 a year, I was setting aside money for big vacations.

Kent: That’s right. And for us, that’s the winter break and the summer break. There are options around spring break usually. And if you’re in the Middle East, there’s an Eid break around Ramadan. There are these pockets where you can travel.

Greg: You spent Christmas and New Year’s in Vegas?

Kent: We spent Christmas there. We avoided New Year’s. We came home just before the new year, but we did spend Christmas there. We had a great time. We went into a nice restaurant just outside the Strip, had a nice meal with a bottle of wine, and just celebrated. Everyone was friendly.

Kent: The thing about international teaching is you get to know people all over the place, so we actually had friends visit us—people we work overseas with—who popped in for a few days. We went out and did karaoke with them and had a great meal with them on a food tour. I can’t say enough about the nice time that we had.

Greg: Well, I’m glad you had such a good time. I mean, I had an even better time, but that’s another story.

Greg: Actually, it’s another story. You know, I’ll wrap up on my vacation. You can ask me a few more questions, and I’d love to hear about yours.

Greg: So let’s ask you some more questions. You fly there, you spend a little time at home. When you go home on vacation, you must always set aside a little time to see family and friends before you go off on your own little vacation too, like Christmas, right?

Kent: This year, my little brother and his wife are having a brand new baby, so they were wrapped up in that. And with the pandemic, we didn’t want to be spreading germs around a brand new family member. So we just talked on the phone.

Kent: Usually, we would stop in and say hi to parents, siblings, nieces, and nephews. That’s a big part of being overseas—you’re away from loved ones. But this year, it was just us doing our thing.

Kent: And we did something interesting. Our listeners might find this interesting. We don’t spend a lot of time in the United States because we’re overseas. When we got back, we actually went to a block party for our neighborhood.

Greg: You still live there? You’re still alive and back in the neighborhood?

Kent: That’s right. And you know, in the States, you don’t always get to know your neighbors, especially if you’re in and out. We discussed that we wanted to get to know our neighbors. So we bought food and beverages, went around to about 40 neighbors, passed out flyers, and invited them over.

Kent: We had about half a dozen to a dozen neighbors come hang out, and we had a great time getting to know them. They’re already excited for summertime when either we or another family does it again.

Greg: So let’s go back here for a second. You handed out 40 invitations and only got six?

Kent: You know, it’s funny. People are wary of their neighbors. I couldn’t believe how many people have cameras now on their doorsteps. These doorbells with cameras. I’ve lived overseas for almost a decade—I didn’t realize everybody’s got cameras now.

Kent: You’ve got to make an effort when you live overseas. Whether it’s family, friends, or neighbors, you’ve got to make the effort because they’re not always going to rush to see you.

Greg: I see how you’re doing it—Vegas and then a neighborhood party. That’s a great idea. I might take that idea back with me if I ever buy a house.

Kent: I think it’s important to know your neighbors nowadays—for community, for security, and just for fun. Especially during a pandemic when people are staying closer to home, maybe more people will let you in once they know you.

Greg: That’s right. And we also made sure to grab a few packages off the porch while we were there.

Kent: Of course.

Greg: So yeah, I had a lovely winter break. I don’t know if I’d choose another job over teaching overseas because the vacations—you always make the most of them. And I understand you made the most of yours.

Greg: Do you want to tell our listeners about your vacation this year?

Greg: As a world traveler that I am, and having lived overseas now for 20 years, I go back and forth. I’ll go home for one vacation, then travel on another. If I go home at Christmas, I won’t go home in summer, and vice versa. So I usually only show up once a year.

Greg: I always announce when I’m coming home now. Ten years ago, I showed up unannounced at my parents’ house. My dad picked me up and didn’t tell my mom. She came out to the car and almost had a heart attack when I jumped out. I can’t do that anymore.

Greg: I used to knock on my buddy Matt’s door and say, “Surprise, let’s go to the bar.” I don’t do that anymore. Now I tell people in advance so they can make plans. They want to see you, even if it’s just a couple of friends and family.

Greg: This Christmas, I decided to go on a dive trip again. And I’ve done this before.

Kent: When you say dive trip, do you mean a dive bar or actual diving?

Greg: No, not a dive bar. A scuba diving trip. I’m a big diver. When I’m not teaching, I’m usually underwater.

Greg: The Maldives is a small country off the east coast of Africa, just below India, right on the equator. I’ve been there six or seven times now. From the Middle East, it’s about a five-hour flight.

Greg: I landed in the capital, Male, waited for about four hours, then joined my group, got on the ship, took my shoes off, and three weeks later I put them back on.

Greg: I stayed on that ship for three full weeks of diving—three dives every day. About 60 dives total.

Kent: Wow.

Greg: Yeah. They call it a liveaboard. It’s more expensive because it’s a destination dive. My brother Jeff was supposed to come, but he got COVID right before the trip and couldn’t board the plane.

Greg: For a lot of single teachers, especially women, traveling alone can be intimidating. But for me, I’ve always just gotten up and gone. There are risks, sure, but I’ve had mostly wonderful trips.

Greg: This was one of the best trips of my life.

Greg: Now, for the dive vacation—what about above water? What was the boat like?

Greg: It cost about $250 a day, but you’re on a 100-foot yacht with a support dive boat. It’s like a five-star hotel floating between islands.

Greg: You eat three meals a day, sit on the deck overlooking a new island every morning, and dive three or four times a day. It’s sleep, dive, eat, repeat.

Kent: That sounds like a luxury cruise with diving.

Greg: That’s exactly what it is. And the best part—no kids. Everyone’s there for diving.

Greg: There are about 20 guests total. People from five to seven different countries. Multiple languages being spoken. I even met another international teacher—someone who’s taught in 14 different countries.

Greg: I want to get her on the podcast.

Greg: The trip cost me about $5,000, plus flights, but everything else is included. It’s expensive, but worth it. You don’t do it all the time.

Greg: The dive boat follows like a little puppy. You anchor, hop on the smaller boat, dive, come back, eat, nap, and do it again.

Greg: I did about 60 dives—around 60 hours underwater.

Greg: That’s my thing. I even write newsletters and share photos with my family since I don’t always go home.

Greg: There were people from all over the world on the boat. Different languages, different backgrounds. It was incredible.

Greg: One of the cool things about international teaching is these travel opportunities. But sometimes, like with COVID, plans get complicated.

Greg: I’ve had trips canceled, credits banked, and thousands of dollars tied up in travel.

Greg: But that’s part of the lifestyle. You learn to adapt.

Greg: Well, one of our coworkers spent over $10,000 on a New Zealand tour, and it’s still closed. She’s just sitting on that credit. And most teachers don’t have $10,000 lying around, but we’ve worked our way up to where we can afford some of these trips. That’s something we’ll talk about at another time—how we got here.

Greg: In earlier years, I couldn’t afford trips like this. I used to take staycations.

Kent: Yeah, same here. When I was in Yemen, I stayed there. Partly because we didn’t have the money to travel, but also because Yemen itself was incredible. It felt like a permanent vacation. I spent two years there and made the most of it.

Greg: I’ve got some advice for listeners, especially those going into international teaching. Stay at least one Christmas in your host country. Experience what it’s like. I did that in Venezuela—I stayed with a girlfriend’s family and experienced their traditions. It’s completely different from going home.

Greg: Instead of always leaving, take time to experience where you are.

Greg: Of course, I usually leave for New Year’s. I’ve had a rule since 2000—I spend New Year’s in a different country every year.

Kent: Have you kept that up?

Greg: Almost. I missed one year early on, but otherwise I’ve kept it going. Even when I went home for Christmas in 2015 for my parents’ anniversary, I still left the country for New Year’s. My buddy Joe called me up and said, “What are we doing?” and next thing you know, we drove up to Canada.

Greg: It wasn’t the most exciting place, but it didn’t matter. It’s not where you are, it’s who you’re with.

Kent: I’ve actually spent three New Year’s on airplanes over the last decade.

Greg: If I’m on a plane, wherever I land counts.

Greg: This year was tricky with COVID, but I found a workaround. The Maldives sits on the equator. Last year I was south of the equator, this year I was north. So technically, different hemisphere, different “country” in spirit.

Kent: Are there signs for the equator?

Greg: No, but there might as well be a whale shark waving you through.

Greg: The point is, international teaching gives you opportunities that most people don’t have. Back in the States, you might go ten miles away for Christmas. Now, it’s pull out your passport and go anywhere.

Kent: Exactly. It becomes normal for us.

Greg: So where do you want to go next?

Kent: I’ve got Japan on my list—Tokyo and Kyoto. Iceland too. And I want to go back to France, maybe the Bordeaux region.

Greg: I’ve been to about 65 or 75 countries. I’ve lost track.

Kent: I’m at 36, mostly in the last ten years.

Greg: There are about 200 countries in the world, so hitting 100 would be impressive.

Greg: COVID has slowed things down, but there are still opportunities. You don’t have to teach in English-speaking countries. You can go anywhere and teach in English while learning a new culture.

Kent: That’s one of the biggest misconceptions—you don’t need to speak another language to teach overseas.

Greg: Exactly. English is the language of instruction at international schools.

Greg: Now, Matt had a completely different experience this year—a staycation. So let’s bring him in.

Greg: On the line now, I’ve got none other than Matt Jedwalka. Welcome back to the show.

Matt: Greg, it’s really nice to be back. Ladies and gentlemen, don’t adjust your dial—it’s really me. Greg dragged me out of my study cave.

Greg: I told everyone you were playing golf.

Matt: Golf once a month, maybe. November was crazy. I was wrapping up three grad courses, running athletic programs, tournaments—it was nonstop work.

Greg: You’re up at all hours too, right?

Matt: Yeah. Some classes are at 3:30 in the morning. It’s brutal, but worth it.

Greg: So you did a staycation this year. Walk us through it.

Matt: Last year, we went to the Maldives. On day six, we found out our country had closed its borders. We were locked out.

Matt: We had to stay another week in the Maldives, then another week in Bahrain just to get home. It was incredibly expensive and stressful.

Matt: So this year, we stayed put. No travel, no stress. Just relaxed.

Matt: I read a lot—non-grad school books for once. Sports books, psychology books. Just enjoyed the time.

Matt: I did take a quick trip to Riyadh for an electronic dance music festival called Middle Beast. I booked it last minute and drove four hours to get there.

Matt: There were over 200,000 people there. Some of the biggest DJs in the world. I paid about $35 and walked right up to the front of the stage.

Matt: It was one of the coolest experiences I’ve ever had.

Matt: The next day, I tried to visit a place called the Edge of the World. It’s a massive cliff in the desert. No signs, no barriers, nothing.

Matt: I got lost trying to find it. Turns out they had blocked access because of a recent accident where a car went off the edge.

Matt: I didn’t find it that day, but I found the trailhead for next time.

Matt: Later, we took the kids out into the desert to look for shark tooth fossils. The area used to be underwater thousands of years ago. We actually found some.

Matt: It’s amazing how much there is to explore right here in our host country.

Matt: For Christmas, we stayed home. We decorated, put up multiple trees, lights everywhere. We even did a Skype call with Santa.

Matt: We actually do our Christmas shopping in the summer—clearance sales—and bring everything back with us.

Matt: New Year’s was low-key. The family went to bed early, and I DJed a small gathering.

Matt: Honestly, after last year’s chaos, this quiet holiday was perfect.

Greg: That’s three totally different vacations—travel, home visit, and staycation. That’s what international teaching offers.

Greg: Thanks for listening, everyone. If you have questions, you can reach us at [internationalteacherpodcast@gmail.com](mailto:internationalteacherpodcast@gmail.com) or on Instagram at ITPXPats.

Greg: This is Greg, the single guy.

Matt: And Matt, the family guy.

Greg: And Kent, the cat guy.

Greg: We’ll see you next time.