ITP - 104: Pets Overseas, Animal Rescue, and Life in Morocco

Greg: Welcome to the International Teacher Podcast with your host Matt the Family Guy, Kent the Cat Guy, Jacqueline from JP Mint, and Greg the Single Guy bringing you episodes from around the world about the best kept secret in education.

Greg: You got it. International teaching. Welcome to the show. Welcome to the 101st episode of the ITP. This is our first episode we're actually going to record on video, so you can see I'm waving hello.

Greg: I'm Greg, the Single Guy, and I am here, of course, with JP Mint. How you doing, JP?

Matt: Hello from Canada, just on holidays here in Canada. And we have Kent the Cat Guy. How you doing, Kent?

Kent: I'm great. I was singing the Canadian National anthem earlier in honor of JP Mint's visit to Canada.

Greg: All right, well, this show is not about you, Kent. It's not about JP, it's not about me. This one is our guest, Giselle. And Giselle is coming to us from Spain currently, but she lives and teaches in or she works teaches in Morocco.

Greg: So welcome to the show, Giselle.

Giselle: Thank you. Thank you for having me. I'm really excited that you asked me to be on the show.

Greg: So we usually get started here, Giselle, on the show. Just give us a little elevator version of your journey into the international and where it fits in with you. How about that?

Giselle: OK, I'm a New England girl and I had been living in Boston for about 14 years when I decided I needed to change my life. On a whim, in my own personal story, I decided to move to the Dominican Republic and fulfill a lifelong dream of learning another language and living in another country.

Giselle: I had this idea because I had been a designer and a design manager for many years, and I also had a lot of fine artists in my life, that I was going to have a gallery or a gallery presence and go to different art shows.

Giselle: I soon discovered that I'm not very good as a business person on my own. I found myself distracted. I got involved. I was living in an area of Santo Domingo where there was kind of a poor area right behind the apartment where I was living.

Giselle: I got sort of involved in some children's lives and I started advocating for them. As they were teaching me Spanish, I was teaching them the alphabet and how to read.

Giselle: Before long, people that I met through my travels in Santo Domingo suggested that I apply to one of the American schools there.

Giselle: I don't know if I'm allowed to say names, but at the—

Greg: Carol Morgan.

Matt: You're one there.

Giselle: Yes, at Carol Morgan. I applied for a job there and as luck would have it, they were looking for a part-time art teacher.

Giselle: I had never taught before in my life other than this experience with these kids, and it seemed like a perfect fit. I'm a native English speaker, surprisingly, and I had an art background from working as a designer and design manager for a long time.

Giselle: Once I started working there, my principal at the time came to me and said, you know, this seems to be a really good fit, but I have to tell you, you kind of don't have a future as a part-time local hire.

Giselle: So think about it. He mentored me and advised me on what to do, and I got my certification online.

Greg: Because I think a lot of our listeners would like to hear how you did that, get your certification.

Giselle: Good question. OK, so at the time my father was in Florida and I went online a little bit. This is going back like 14 years ago now, but I went through the Florida Department of Education.

Giselle: I think it's FLDOE, and I found a state university that offered an online program. Because I was interested in teaching in the subject area that my bachelor's degree was already in, which was art, it was pretty seamless for me.

Giselle: If I had wanted to be a social studies teacher, it would have been a different story. I would have had to maybe go back and get a degree.

Giselle: But because my degree was in art, it was fairly straightforward. Because I was already teaching at a school while I was getting my certification, the program allowed me to ask one of the teachers there to be my cooperating teacher or sponsoring teacher so that she could oversee lessons and that sort of thing.

Greg: So does that make sense?

Matt: Yeah, yeah. That's great.

Giselle: I think it probably varies state to state, but since then I've known other people who have done similar things.

Matt: Did you have to be online live with the students and an instructor while you did those classes? Could you do them at your own pace? How did that work out for you?

Giselle: Most of them were, we're going back a while now, but it was called Teach First. That was the name of the program. I'm not sure if it's still around or not.

Giselle: From what I remember, it was at our own pace, but we did have to interact with other people in our cohort. We had to communicate with our cohort and with teachers.

Giselle: I have kind of this funny memory. I remember communicating with a teacher via email and having had a background in graphic design and doing a lot of communications in email communications with marketing.

Giselle: Typically it's really common to use all caps and to bold and to use colors to call attention to certain things. It's just a way to have clearer communication.

Giselle: At this time, I had written something to one of the instructors in all caps, bold, and red, and she said, I find your way of communicating very aggressive.

Giselle: I was like, oh, I actually wanted it to be easier to understand. But anyway, that's just kind of a funny memory.

Greg: How dare you on the tone, Giselle.

Giselle: I know, scary.

Greg: So you ultimately moved on from the DR, is that right?

Giselle: I did. I did kind of reluctantly because I really loved it there, but there was just no way to make that transition from being a local hire to an expat status to get the different benefits.

Giselle: It wasn't even full time. So I moved on. I remember calling Search Associates and John Magana picked up the phone and was just wonderful and fatherly, and spent about an hour and a half on the phone giving me really great advice.

Giselle: I had it in my head that I really wanted to stay in Latin America because I had just learned Spanish. I was really excited about that.

Giselle: He told me to keep an open mind. This was going to be my first official post, so not to get stuck on the idea that it had to be in Latin America or in a Spanish-speaking country.

Giselle: I let go of that and ended up accepting a job in Morocco and I never left.

Greg: Wow.

Giselle: Yeah, so I've been in Morocco. I'm going into my 13th year.

Greg: What school in Morocco can you say?

Giselle: Yes, sure. I'm at Casablanca American School.

Matt: Are you studying Arabic while you're there?

Giselle: Studying, no. I'm attempting. I actually got my French up to speed pretty fast because it's a francophone country, and that was easier for me.

Giselle: I had a little bit of knowledge of French already, and speaking Spanish helped me learn enough French to get by. In Morocco they speak Darija, which is the local dialect, and there's a lot of French mixed in with it.

Giselle: I do know some words in Darija, but I don't master it. It's embarrassing. Even my husband is more francophone. He speaks more French than Arabic.

Matt: Morocco has always fascinated me because of that blend. As a Canadian, it reminds me of French and English being mixed all the time.

Giselle: It's very much like that. And if you go to the north of Morocco where there's more Spanish influence, the dialect there is different and influenced by Spanish.

Giselle: I was watching a movie recently where Moroccan people in Spain were speaking Moroccan Arabic mixed with Spanish. I didn't hear any French words.

Giselle: And now the younger generation all want to learn English. If you try to speak Arabic or French, they often just switch to English.

Greg: There's a lot of interesting things I'd love to hear more about, including Morocco and your pet rescue projects. But I understand you have some questions for us.

Giselle: Yes, I do. I was given some advice when I first got my job at Carol Morgan. A friend told me it would be tempting to just hang out with American teachers because it feels comfortable.

Giselle: But she said I would be doing myself a disservice if I didn't get to know the local hires. She said I would have a richer experience and learn more about the culture.

Giselle: I've always shared that advice with new teachers. So how has that been for all of you?

Matt: I'll take a shot at that. At our current school, it's predominantly North American staff, and we're just starting to get more local hires.

Matt: From my experience, when you get to know local colleagues, you discover how talented they are and how rich their lives are. If you don't take the time, you miss that.

Greg: I was thinking about the different countries I've worked in. Only in two of them did I really form strong friendships with local staff—Turkey and China.

Greg: In other places, it was harder. I think sometimes there's foreigner fatigue because people come and go every couple of years.

Greg: In Turkey, the school blended locals and expats in orientation, which helped build friendships. In China, I worked closely with local staff in boarding, which helped as well.

Greg: I would recommend connecting with local staff, but also understanding their perspective and hesitations.

Giselle: That makes sense. I even find myself doing that after so many years—waiting to see if people stay before investing in friendships.

Kent: It took me seven years to warm up to Greg.

Greg: I have a very different experience. In most schools, I've made a strong effort to integrate with local staff.

Greg: Venezuela was the highlight. I knew almost every maintenance staff member and local teacher. It led to something we called Goyo Fest.

Greg: It started when I noticed maintenance staff didn't have drinks at a Christmas gathering. I went and bought beer and sat with them.

Greg: That led to inviting them to a big birthday barbecue. Over time, it grew into a huge event with 60 to 80 people.

Greg: It became an annual celebration. Those relationships turned into lifelong friendships.

Greg: I think engaging with local staff creates deeper experiences and connections.

Giselle: Thank you for that. I'm glad I asked that question.

Kent: Let's take a moment for a little commercial.

Kent: You can find us at [www.itpexpat.com](http://www.itpexpat.com) or email us at [internationalteacherpodcast@gmail.com](mailto:internationalteacherpodcast@gmail.com).

Kent: We also have a Facebook group and Instagram at ITP Expat. Thank you to our listeners in over 100 countries.

Kent: Let's get back to the show.

Kent: One thing that makes me angry is when people adopt pets and then abandon them when they leave a country.

Kent: I know you’re passionate about animal rescue. Can you tell us about that?

Giselle: Well, some men trap their women into staying in a country with things like golden handcuffs or having children. My husband just let me bring in more animals. That's why I can't leave.

Giselle: I have two dogs and seven cats. There is a huge homeless animal situation in Morocco. Most animals are born in the street, but some are abandoned after being bought.

Giselle: Sometimes animals are dumped near the school because people know there are people there who will take care of them.

Giselle: I run an after-school program called Art and Animals. We do fundraising like bake sales and selling Valentines to support sterilization, vaccinations, and food for animal colonies.

Giselle: There is a security guard named Akram who is incredible. He works long hours and then spends his time feeding animals and helping sick ones.

Giselle: With Morocco hosting the World Cup, there is now pressure to remove animals from the streets, including mass extermination.

Giselle: It is really difficult to fight against, but we try to help as much as we can.

Kent: If people want to help, can they donate?

Giselle: Yes, I have a GoFundMe, and people can also donate directly to veterinarians I work with.

Greg: Where are the vets trained?

Giselle: One trained in Spain and another in France. One of them has worked with me for many years.

Greg: How many animals do you have now?

Giselle: Nine. We moved to a house when my father came to live with us.

Giselle: He could no longer live independently, so we brought him to Morocco and arranged full-time care for him.

Giselle: He now has a better quality of life than he would have had in assisted living in the US.

Matt: That’s something many international teachers face with aging parents.

Giselle: Yes, and it’s important to think about finances, healthcare, and support when making that decision.

Kent: What are three things you always take with you when you move?

Giselle: Jewelry, a wooden spoon from my grandmother, pictures of my mom, and my teddy bear.

Kent: Have you ever had a run-in with authorities?

Giselle: When I was 10, my family was detained in Colombia because my father looked suspicious.

Giselle: They searched everything and held us for hours before letting us go.

Greg: That sounds like a movie.

Matt: Final thoughts?

Matt: Thank you, Giselle, for joining us.

Giselle: Thank you. This was really fun.

Greg: I’m still processing.

Matt: Thank you to everyone for listening.

Kent: I’m Kent the Cat Guy. We’ll keep the light on for you.

Greg: Don’t be angry, but when I leave, I’m going to leave Kent.

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