ITP - 114: The Reality of Going Home After Teaching Abroad

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.

You got it.

International teaching.

Welcome to the show.

Greg:
All right, this is Greg the Single Guy coming in with ITP, the International Teacher Podcast. Welcome back again. Kent the Cat Guy is coming in from Saudi.

Kent The Cat Guy:
Hello, buddy.

Hi, great to be here.

Greg:
And JP Mint, as always, is down there in Mexico. How is everything in Mexico?

JPMint:
Wonderful, beautiful, nice and cold at 12°C. I love it.

Greg:
Wow. OK, well, I'd rather have a little colder. But anyway, our special guest on this episode is Amy Perry Moran, and she's calling in from Houston, Texas. Hello, Amy.

Amy Perry Moran:
Hi, thank you for having me today.

Greg:
No problem. Hey, Amy, can you give us the elevator version of education, where you fit in, and maybe where you've taught before or what you're doing now? Just give us a little bit of background.

Amy Perry Moran:
So pretty much in a few words, I would say that I love international teaching. I started out in public school systems and I always wanted to teach abroad. So I felt like that was my calling.

So I went overseas and I worked at different international schools in different parts of the world. I got to work with diverse students, so that was one of those things that mainly made me want to stick with teaching, the perspectives and the cultures that the schools have within the student body.

And I came back here, I'm still a teacher, and that's in probably one of the most diverse schools I've actually taught at. So this is a great opportunity to have here.

I get to work with students from all over. And part of my title is cultural acclimation specialist, so I get to work with students from different parts of the world, especially new ones. So it's really cool.

Greg:
Can you say that again? You're the cultural...

Amy Perry Moran:
Acclimation specialist.

Greg:
I love that. The CAS, yeah. Capital. So tell us, I've never heard of that position. What is your job like?

Amy Perry Moran:
So it's quite a new title, and our admin decided on this position because we have so many students that come from everywhere around the world, Brazil, Saudi Arabia, many parts in Europe, Asia.

They felt like we have a lot of these students that come here and they don't know where to start or how to acclimate. America is huge and there are so many different ways we do things.

I'm here to help the students make the transition easier for them. I created a program for students that is led by my fourth grade students who've been at the school for a long time.

They lead peer support groups to help these students feel like they're at home. They are exposed to learning different languages, get to share their languages and cultures, traditions, and build that support system.

So it's about making them feel like they belong and that they're included in my school.

Greg:
Wow. It sounds like you have the best of both worlds. You still have that international bubble, but within a familiar home country. That is impressive.

Can we dive into your international experience just a little bit? We'd love to hear how you got overseas and how you learned about it.

Amy Perry Moran:
A long story short, I was married previously, and the person I was with at the time didn't want to live abroad. And I was like, I really want to live abroad. I want to go somewhere. I just want to get out of this country because I feel like there's something else out there for me.

So long story short, we didn't make it. I got on a plane and left and never looked back.

I had an interview through a recruitment agency called the International Educator, and that's how I started finding jobs. I got a few callbacks, and one was from China in Shanghai.

I was speaking to the head of school upstairs during the interview while living with my parents. I came downstairs after the interview and said, I'm moving to China.

Just like that. I'm leaving in six months. I have to get everything together. I hadn't thought about visas or anything like that.

So that's another story, all the fun international stuff that you learn as you go.

Then I moved abroad. I taught in Shanghai for a few years, and I wanted to continue my teaching experience. Then I got a job in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.

Kent The Cat Guy:
HCMC.

Amy Perry Moran:
Yeah, for the cool kids. It's one of my favorite places I've ever lived. If I could go back, I would in a heartbeat.

And about two months later, I met my now husband on Tinder. He had just moved there about a month after I arrived.

I remember someone telling me the dating pool was really hard and I wouldn't find anyone. And then, of course, I did.

Greg:
Sorry, Rick is getting a phone call. Everyone Greg knows is online with him. Who's calling you?

Greg:
I only get called when I'm online in an interview. Always.

I'm sorry for the interruption. But hey, I have a question. So you met your husband in Vietnam. Did you guys go teach somewhere together after that?

Amy Perry Moran:
We did. We decided to part ways with Ho Chi Minh City and find another job where we could go together. We ended up in Cairo, Egypt.

He worked at one international school, and I worked at another. Then a year later, he moved to my school and we worked at the same place.

Greg:
Did you teach at CAC?

Amy Perry Moran:
I didn't, but I worked at an ESOL school.

Greg:
I taught in Cairo for a year as well. I lived in Maadi next to CAC. This was back in 2004 to 2005, before they moved campuses.

Small world. I even have a friend, Dolly, who works at CAC.

Amy Perry Moran:
I don't know Dolly, but it's such a small world.

Greg:
What years were you in Egypt?

Amy Perry Moran:
2018 to 2021.

Kent The Cat Guy:
So we're talking about seven years overseas?

Amy Perry Moran:
Yeah, about seven years.

Greg:
And I was supposed to move back to Shanghai, but COVID happened and I could not get a visa at the time. And my husband, you know, dependent at the time, couldn’t go in. So we got married in 2021 hoping that I would get a visa and bring him with me to China.

And unfortunately, due to restrictions, they were unable to get me a visa and I had to depart and break that contract. I had to find a job, and I was jobless from about May to July of 2021.

And then I got a job in Houston, so that’s how I ended up in Houston.

JPMint:
Wow. You had been looking to move back home, so to speak, from the international circuit?

Amy Perry Moran:
I was planning not to move back. I was hoping to continue my international journey. But with COVID, things happened, and we decided to move back to the U.S. It felt safer at that moment.

And getting his visa to come into the U.S. was a little bit easier than trying to be in two different countries and not knowing when we would see each other.

That was a big struggle and a big decision point for us.

Kent The Cat Guy:
Amy, did you grow up in Houston?

Amy Perry Moran:
I did not. So when people ask where I’m from, it’s kind of hard to answer. I grew up in Pennsylvania, then moved to North Carolina, then abroad to different places. My parents moved to Florida, so I visit them there, and now I’m in Houston.

So it’s hard to say I’m from one place.

Greg:
That’s like international school kids. They don’t have a single home base.

Kent The Cat Guy:
Yeah, that third culture kid experience.

Amy Perry Moran:
Exactly. I feel like I’m a third culture adult. I don’t feel like I have one specific home. I have roots in different places.

Greg:
That’s a new one. Third culture adult.

JPMint:
We’re coining terms here.

Greg:
Let’s talk about your repatriation experience. What made you choose Houston when you came back?

Amy Perry Moran:
The director I spoke with explained that Houston, and specifically the school I work at, feels like an international bubble. It feels like you’re overseas, but you’re not.

There’s a strong community where people understand you. That’s what drew me to Houston. I wanted something familiar but still connected to the international experience.

And the food is very diverse, which I love.

Greg:
So did you get the job before you moved back, or after?

Amy Perry Moran:
Funny story. When I had to leave my contract in May, I didn’t have a job. My parents told us to come back to Florida and stay with them for a few months.

We booked tickets to Florida and planned to figure things out from there. But in early July, I got an interview for Houston, and within a week I got the job.

So I had about two weeks in Florida to figure out everything, housing, a car, everything, before driving to Houston.

It was a whirlwind. I don’t remember much except the stress of getting everything done.

Kent The Cat Guy:
That sounds way harder than people think repatriation would be.

Greg:
Yeah, you’d think going home would be easy, but it’s not.

Amy Perry Moran:
Exactly. It felt harder in some ways than moving between countries overseas.

And my husband, being Canadian, had additional stress with visas and paperwork. There was even concern he might not be allowed into the U.S., which added another layer of stress.

Kent The Cat Guy:
That fear is real.

Amy Perry Moran:
It really is. People were telling us he might be denied entry, and that kind of fear just builds. But we trusted the process and moved forward.

JPMint:
Amy, for listeners who are considering coming back to their home country after years abroad, what would you tell them to expect emotionally?

Amy Perry Moran:
I would say give yourself grace. It’s not as easy as people think. You assume you’re going home and everything will feel normal again, but it doesn’t. You’ve changed.

There are things you miss about being abroad, the lifestyle, the travel, the community. And sometimes people back home don’t fully understand that experience.

So you kind of feel like you’re in between worlds for a while.

Greg:
That’s real. Reverse culture shock is a thing.

Kent The Cat Guy:
It hits people harder than they expect.

Amy Perry Moran:
It really does. Even simple things like grocery stores or driving can feel overwhelming again. And socially, it can be hard to connect because your experiences are just different now.

JPMint:
Did your school in Houston help with that transition?

Amy Perry Moran:
Yes, and that’s one of the reasons I’m grateful to be where I am. The staff understands international teaching. Many of them have lived abroad.

So when I talk about missing certain things or adjusting, they get it. That support system is huge.

Greg:
That sounds like a soft landing compared to what it could have been.

Amy Perry Moran:
Absolutely. I think if I had gone somewhere without that international mindset, it would have been a lot harder.

Kent The Cat Guy:
Do you see yourself going back overseas?

Amy Perry Moran:
I do. I don’t think I’m done with international teaching. I think I needed this time to reset and be closer to family, especially after everything that happened with COVID.

But the desire to go back is still there.

Greg:
Once it’s in your blood, it’s hard to let it go.

Amy Perry Moran:
Exactly.

JPMint:
We ask all of our guests a couple of questions at the end. The first one is: what are three things you need to feel at home? And we don’t count people or pets.

Amy Perry Moran:
Okay. I would say definitely music. Music is huge for me. It helps me feel grounded no matter where I am.

I would also say my journal. I like to write and reflect, especially when I’m going through transitions.

And probably something from home, like a personal item that reminds me of where I come from.

Kent The Cat Guy:
Second question. Have you ever had a run-in with the police?

Amy Perry Moran:
No, I have not.

Greg:
That’s always a relief.

Kent The Cat Guy:
We’ve had some interesting answers to that one.

Greg:
Let’s wrap it up. Final thoughts, JP?

JPMint:
I loved this conversation. Amy’s journey is such a great example of persistence and following your intuition.

Greg:
Kent?

Kent The Cat Guy:
I agree. And I think the repatriation piece is something people don’t talk about enough. That was really valuable.

Greg:
Amy, final thoughts?

Amy Perry Moran:
If you’re thinking about going abroad, just do it. Don’t let fear stop you. It might not be perfect, but it will be worth it.

Greg:
That’s a great way to end it.

Kent The Cat Guy:
Thanks to our guest Amy Perry Moran, and to my co-hosts Greg and JP Mint. We’ll see you next time.

Greg:
Thanks, Amy.

JPMint:
Thank you.

Kent The Cat Guy:
And I'm Kent the Cat Guy. As always, we’ll see you next time.

Greg:
This was a great one.

JPMint:
So good.

[End of transcript]