ITP - 027: Teaching Couple Life in Ecuador, India, and Returning to the USA

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 an episode I hope you enjoy. It’s with my friend from a long time ago, Chantel. The great thing about Chantel is that she went overseas for several years in different countries. She has transitioned back to the States, and she’s our guest on from Chicago right now. Hi, Chantel.

Chantel: Oh, good morning.

Greg: Good morning. So can you tell us a little bit about your background and how you got into international teaching in the first place?

Chantel: Well, I was teaching in Beverly Hills, and one of my colleagues, who’s half Swedish, decided to go overseas. She had such a great experience that I thought, maybe I should try this. I’ve always wanted to learn Spanish, and I thought if I went to a Spanish-speaking country, I could become fluent.

Chantel: After she left and had a great experience in Singapore, I thought I’d try it and see what happens. And, you know, since I had two pets—a dog and a cat—I didn’t want to travel too far because I didn’t know what that would be like with animals on a plane. So I applied to the nearest Spanish-speaking countries, and I got a job offer in Honduras right before the school year started. So I thought, well, I’ll go there.

Chantel: I stayed for a year. It was a hard place for me to adjust to, so I only stayed a year. And then I went to Ecuador. I had a particular interest in Ecuador because my roommate in Honduras had visited and talked about what a great country it was, and my closest friend in Los Angeles had gone to a school in Ecuador. So I thought, yeah, I’d really like to go there. I’m going to target that specific school.

Chantel: And when I got a job offer, it was a no-brainer. So I was in Ecuador for five years, where I met my husband. He was a chemistry teacher at the time. We got married, and then we thought we’d try getting jobs overseas as a married couple because we had heard it was easier. And we found out it was actually really difficult.

Chantel: There were only a handful of chemistry positions internationally that also had an elementary position for me. So it was really frustrating, but we did get a job offer in India, so we went there and stayed for a couple of years. After that, we decided, okay, let’s look internationally again and see if it was just an off year in the job market. And at the same time, we applied to some schools in Chicago because we owned a small place there, so it would be easy to move back. And that was how we ended up in Chicago.

Greg: Let me ask you a quick question. You were overseas for a year in Honduras, then Ecuador for five, and then two or three in India?

Chantel: Yeah. And in between Honduras and Ecuador, I went back to Los Angeles for a few years.

Greg: Okay, okay. I was just trying to get the timeline for our listeners who might be thinking about going overseas. Usually, we keep our certification going. For example, I keep my Wisconsin certification active. Did you and your husband do the same so you could go back to the States and teach?

Chantel: Yes, we kept up with it. I always kept my certifications current. I have them in several states because when you go through Search or International School Services, they ask if you’re certified, and international schools prefer certified teachers. So we both had certifications. My husband didn’t have one in Illinois, although I did, but he got hired at a charter school that helped him get certified.

Greg: It’s different hearing it from someone else because I always preach that. I always say keep everything up to date—your driver’s license, your bills, your certification—just in case you have to go back. Because we all have family back home, right? I’ve never had to transition back like you have, and I can’t imagine going back and then having to rush through getting certified again or recertified. That would be tough.

Chantel: It depends on where you’re certified and the reciprocity between states. Illinois accepted my husband’s certification from Virginia, and California transfers easily too. So it really depends on the state you’re in and where you’re going.

Greg: I love that word—reciprocity. I always think of college credits transferring, but yeah, I guess it’s the same thing with teaching.

Greg: So when you transitioned back to Chicago, what was the number one thing you had to get used to?

Chantel: I think there were two things that were hardest for me. The first was the cost of healthcare. That was just shocking. I had some serious health challenges in India. I was in the hospital for five days, had a couple of procedures, and without insurance, the bill was $500—but insurance covered it. And, you know, an MRI in India was about $100.

Chantel: Here it’s around $6,000. Seeing a specialist there was about $10, and you could get an appointment sometimes the same day, but usually within a few days. A colonoscopy there was about $60. Here it ranges from $10,000 to $13,000. And my medication in India was about $8 a month. Here it’s $940 a month without insurance.

Greg: Wow. Wow, that’s a huge difference. That’s a massive difference. That’s a slap in the face when you come back. I mean, that’s just… yeah, that’s tough.

Chantel: It really is. And another difference is how doctors schedule appointments. In India and Ecuador, doctors often see patients in the evening because people are working during the day. You could even see doctors on weekends.

Greg: How were the facilities though? And the quality of care for what you were paying?

Chantel: The care was excellent. My gastroenterologist had trained in England and then came back. It’s kind of like the U.S.—if you go to a good doctor, you get really good care.

Greg: I see, yeah, that makes sense. And you’re not just going to some random clinic—you’re going to major hospitals, especially if you can afford it there. And I’m trying to be fair too because I don’t want listeners thinking something’s wrong with India. It’s just different.

Greg: There are a lot of people, and the systems are different, but there are great hospitals there.

Chantel: I remember when I first got there, I tried to make an appointment a few months in advance, and they said, “We don’t do that. You just come when you need to or call a day or two ahead.”

Greg: That’s wild. Because here, you call for a dental appointment and they’re like, “Okay, we’ve got something in May,” and it’s November. And then you try to work connections in the front office just to get in sooner. It becomes a whole thing of who you know.

Chantel: Ecuador was much cheaper than the U.S., though not as cheap as India. My husband always said you could take a zero off U.S. prices and that would be Ecuador pricing. And it really makes you wonder why healthcare and medications are so expensive in the U.S. when the rest of the world doesn’t pay those costs.

Greg: Yeah, I know people who go to Thailand just for medical tourism. They go get everything checked, procedures done, all of that, because it’s so much cheaper. And also, what I liked about India and Ecuador is you don’t always need prescriptions for things.

Greg: I actually have a story about that. When I was in Venezuela, a friend of mine had kidney issues, and I took her to a clinic. And they told me I had to go buy everything myself—like all the supplies. They wrote everything down on a piece of paper, and I went to a pharmacy and bought everything—even the IV bag.

Greg: I came back, and they said I needed more, so I had to go back again. And eventually I just asked the pharmacist, “Can I get like five days’ worth of everything?” and they just gave it to me. No questions, no prescription, nothing. And I remember thinking, this is crazy. I can’t imagine doing this without speaking Spanish.

Greg: So yeah, systems are very different around the world. Very, very different.

Greg: What would you say is the other big adjustment coming back to the U.S.?

Chantel: The other big one was communication—texting. When I left the U.S., texting wasn’t really a thing, but it was common in Europe. And when I came back after several years, everyone was texting. I didn’t understand when to text versus when to call.

Chantel: People don’t really leave voicemails anymore. It felt like you had to schedule calls instead of just calling someone.

Greg: Yeah, and that’s interesting because communication changes depending on where you are. In some countries, everything is done through apps. Like in China, people do everything on their phones—shopping, banking, appointments—but they don’t necessarily call each other. It’s all messaging.

Greg: And in the U.S., I thought it was generational too. Like older people email, middle groups text, younger people send long messages broken into little texts. Even my dad, who’s in his late seventies, texts me now, and I’m sitting there watching the typing dots for like five minutes waiting for the message.

Greg: So yeah, it’s not a minor thing. It’s actually a big adjustment. It’s almost like going to a new country again.

Chantel: Exactly. That’s what it felt like.

Greg: And it’s all those little things. I always say it’s like getting pecked to death by ducks. All the small things add up over time.

Greg: So do you have any stories from Ecuador or India? Any police or safety stories?

Chantel: Well, in Ecuador, the government decided not to prosecute crimes under $600. The idea was that people stealing small amounts were doing it out of necessity. But $600 was about three months’ salary, so crime increased quite a bit.

Chantel: And police officers were often asleep in their cars when we walked around.

Greg: Were they armed though?

Chantel: Yes, they had weapons, but often the ammunition was kept separate. And I love Ecuador—it’s like my second home—but most people I know were robbed at some point. Some experienced home invasions, and there were scams where people would try to trick their way into your house.

Chantel: Someone even tried to drug me once with powder on a piece of paper.

Greg: Yeah, I remember that being a real concern. People using substances to disorient you and then take your money. And it’s important to say, this isn’t just one place. This happens in different ways all over the world.

Greg: Even in Honduras, we had home invasions in our community. That’s when they started installing alarm systems. So safety really depends on where you are and how you live.

Greg: Let’s take a quick break for contact information.

Greg: You can find us at [internationalteacherpodcast@gmail.com](mailto:internationalteacherpodcast@gmail.com). Complaints can be addressed to Greg, the single guy. And we’re also on Instagram at ITPexpats.

Greg: Chantel, I had a question on another show about whether it’s safe for women to live overseas, and my answer was, it depends on the country, and honestly, you have to ask women who have lived there.

Chantel: That’s absolutely right. It depends on the country and how you behave in that country. For example, in India, I didn’t do enough research before I went. I went out for a run in shorts, and that drew a lot of attention. That was the last time I did that.

Chantel: Women aren’t always taken as seriously there, so I had to be much more assertive when my husband wasn’t around. And in some ways, being white gave advantages, but in other ways it made you stand out more and feel less safe. Safety is often about being in areas where you’re known and understood.

Chantel: We had a motor scooter in India, and I would ride on the back while my husband drove. We wanted to be more independent instead of always using drivers. But near the end of our time there, we got really tired of people trying to run us off the road.

Chantel: And one day, my husband yelled at a rickshaw driver, which turned out to be a really bad idea. The driver went and got his friends, and they cut us off on the road. They took a metal pipe and started beating my husband.

Greg: Oh my God. Wow.

Chantel: Yeah. If he had kept his helmet on, he might have been killed. I tried to defend him with my helmet. There were four of them, and they wouldn’t hit me, but I tried to keep them away from him.

Chantel: Eventually someone from the school showed up, but he was badly beaten and has some permanent nerve damage. The men were caught quickly, but then the police situation got complicated.

Chantel: When they found out we were leaving the country, they basically threatened us. We had to pay them off. My husband had to go with a police officer to another location, handle the payment, and then come back.

Greg: Wow. That’s… yeah, that’s a lot.

Greg: And that’s something people don’t always think about. You can do everything right, love your job, and then something happens completely out of your control. And suddenly you have to decide—do I stay or do I leave?

Greg: Safety is a huge factor, and it’s something people ask about all the time. And the answer is always—it depends. It depends on the country, the city, your situation, and sometimes just luck.

Greg: And I think it’s important to share these stories, not to scare people, but to give a realistic picture. Because it’s not all perfect out there.

Greg: And you also can’t always expect your school to step in and protect you. Some schools do, and some don’t. So when you’re interviewing, you really have to try to get a sense of that—whether the school would support you if something happened.

Greg: Because you don’t really know until something happens, and by then, it’s too late.

Chantel: Yeah, and I think now I would definitely ask more questions about that. I didn’t really think about it at the time.

Greg: Yeah, it’s one of those things you only really understand after you’ve been through it.

Greg: And earlier you mentioned how hard it was finding jobs as a teaching couple, which is interesting because there’s this idea that couples have an advantage.

Chantel: Yeah, that’s what we heard too, but it wasn’t our experience. It was actually really difficult, especially with our subject combination.

Greg: Yeah, it’s all about timing and fit. Schools are trying to build a puzzle, and everything has to line up just right.

Chantel: Exactly.

Greg: So if you were looking again now, would you keep overseas as an option? Do you still feel that draw to go back out there?

Chantel: I would definitely prefer to be overseas, but at this point in my life, with our parents getting older and, you know, change getting harder as you get older, I don’t know. I feel envious of my friends overseas, but then I think about the security I have now.

Chantel: I just got tenure at my job, and I’m not sure I want to give that up and start over again in a new country.

Greg: Yeah, those decisions get harder as we get older. I mean, for me, the only thing pulling me back to the States is family. If I needed to go back, I’d go back in a heartbeat, but it’s hard being away when everyone is getting older.

Greg: There’s a lot of give and take. Maybe later on, you’ll feel that pull again and head back overseas. Who knows?

Chantel: Yeah, maybe. I mean, we’ve talked about places like Japan. We’ve visited a couple of times, and it’s such a safe and beautiful place.

Greg: I’ve never been, but it’s definitely on my list. I’ve heard great things, especially about safety and the number of international schools there.

Chantel: If you want to go somewhere safe, Japan should be at the top of your list. It’s incredibly safe, and people are very welcoming to foreigners.

Greg: I love that. I’m putting that on my list for sure.

Greg: I’m still thinking about the teaching couple thing. It really comes down to timing and fit, doesn’t it?

Chantel: It does. And sometimes, if one person has a position and the other doesn’t, schools won’t take the risk. Or they expect one person to be a trailing spouse, which doesn’t always work out.

Greg: Yeah, and that’s tough. Schools are trying to solve a puzzle, and sometimes even great candidates don’t fit that puzzle at the right time.

Greg: All right, I know we’ve been talking for a while. Before we wrap up, I want to plug something quickly. I have a friend who just started a podcast called Across Oceans. It focuses on third culture kids—the kids who grow up overseas and develop their own unique identity.

Greg: It’s a really interesting perspective, especially for those of us who have taught those students over the years.

Chantel: That sounds really interesting. I’ll definitely check it out.

Greg: Yeah, I think our listeners would enjoy it too.

Greg: So how are things in Chicago now? Are you enjoying it?

Chantel: Yeah, we love our jobs. We have a great place, and things are going well. I’m teaching fifth grade, and my husband is teaching civil engineering, chemistry, and welding.

Greg: That’s awesome. Sounds like things worked out really well for you.

Greg: Any final thoughts or advice for teachers thinking about going overseas?

Chantel: I think your book is going to be really helpful for people. It’s something that’s been needed for a long time. And I think the biggest takeaway is that there are hardships wherever you are.

Chantel: Living overseas comes with challenges, but so does living in the U.S. It’s really about deciding which challenges you’re willing to take on. Life is always going to have difficulties no matter where you are.

Greg: That’s a perfect way to end it. Life is always going to have challenges—it just depends on where you choose to face them.

Greg: Chantel, thank you so much for joining us and sharing your experiences.

Chantel: Thank you for having me.

Greg: All right, everyone. Thanks for listening.