ITP - 32: Summer Break and Back to School

Greg: Welcome back to ITP. We’ve had a little bit of a break over the summer of July, and we’re coming to you live here from a country we shall not name. And this is Kent the Cat Guy and Greg the Single Guy.

Kent: Thank you very much.

Greg: We’re not in sync yet, but I was just making sure—you didn’t get married or elope over the summer?

Kent: No, I didn’t. I didn’t at all. I think Matt’s still married. He’s with his four kids back in Wisconsin fishing somewhere, I think.

Greg: So what did you do with yours? That’s what we’re going to talk about. We’re going to talk about what we did over the summer and other past summer breaks, maybe a little bit, just to give you an idea what it’s like to be an international teacher—to go maybe home or go somewhere else during the summertime, right? Because we all do different things, and we’ve talked about this a little bit before.

Greg: So let’s go ahead and get started with this. You already asked me a question—can you ask me again? What did you do this summer?

Kent: Funny you should ask.

Greg: Well, you know, Kent, I already went home around May for a wedding, so I didn’t have to go home again for my repatriation, or repat, which is what we call it, right? You leave, and a lot of schools let you go back to your home in the summertime. They fly you back, and they fly you back to school—so a return ticket to your place of origin, right?

Kent: Right.

Greg: So the table is set there. I take my money to go home, and I actually went somewhere else. It’s summer, so just to make it clear for our listener, they give you money to return home, but you don’t have to return home. You’ve just got to go somewhere.

Greg: As long as you leave. This is our school—it’s not every school like this—but using our school as an example, I decided to travel somewhere close by. Since we’re close to Dubai, I can fly anywhere from there, which is amazing.

Greg: So I jumped on Emirates and flew all the way to Indonesia. I went from here—about 45 minutes to Dubai—and then I sat around there for a while, had a drink, bought a new phone, stuff like that. Then it was about a nine-and-a-half-hour trip from Dubai to Bali, Indonesia.

Greg: I think a lot of people have heard of Bali. It’s one of those places that people hear about—it sounds exotic—and it really is. What I did was, for about three weeks, I went diving on two separate liveaboard dive trips.

Kent: Now that’s fantastic. Do our listeners know about your passion for diving?

Greg: I don’t really talk about diving too much on here. Matt and I are both divers. He dives every once in a while, and I have no responsibilities whatsoever, so I can dive whenever I want.

Kent: I’m a water guy myself. As a matter of fact, I took a nap in the bathtub last night.

Greg: Did you wear your full scuba gear?

Kent: It comes and goes.

Greg: Maybe we shouldn’t talk about that on the air. You might want to share that with a therapist.

Kent: This is the podcast, not my therapy session.

Greg: Anyway, that’s my passion—diving. They call it the Coral Triangle, from the Philippines all the way to Papua New Guinea and Indonesia, and a little bit of Malaysia. There’s so much biodiversity there, which means there’s a huge variety of underwater life.

Greg: Actually, go ahead, Kent. Ask me what kind of ship I was on.

Kent: What kind of ship were you on, Greg?

Greg: Funny you should ask. It was like a pirate ship. I swear—it was about a hundred-foot, double-masted wooden vessel. They had sails, but they only put them up for pictures. If National Geographic shows up or they’re making a brochure, they’ll raise the sails. Otherwise, you’re just cruising along with a motor.

Greg: I spent about 12 days on that boat diving. Then I got off and stayed overnight in Komodo, where the Komodo dragons are. I stayed there for one night—cuddled up with a Komodo dragon.

Kent: They do look cuddly.

Greg: Then the next day, I got on another ship. This one was more like a science vessel—a 130-foot yacht specifically for diving.

Greg: The first boat was called the Tiaré, and the second one was called the Blue Manta 2. If anyone wants more information, you can reach out to us at [internationalteacherpodcast@gmail.com](mailto:internationalteacherpodcast@gmail.com). I won’t go into too much detail because this is about international teaching, not just diving—but that’s what I did for almost three full weeks in Indonesia.

Kent: You’d be surprised how many of our students are into diving. They come back from summer break and talk about their trips, and as a diver, you can relate to them.

Greg: But there’s one problem—I still feel like I’m on vacation, even though we’re back at work early before the students arrive. Before I hear about your summer, that’s something we should talk about—getting ready for the new year. We’re still technically on break, but we’re also one foot into the new school year.

Greg: But I don’t want to talk about students yet. I still hate kids right now. It’s summer. I have the right to hate kids—except for family and friends’ kids. I just don’t want to see a kid for weeks on end, and it’s worked out pretty well so far.

Kent: I think it’s better for the kids too. It’s better for them to have a refreshed teacher.

Greg: Exactly. That’s my recharge time. I don’t want to teach anybody anything during the summer. What I do is travel somewhere. It doesn’t matter where I’m teaching in the world—I usually go somewhere nearby. I might go home briefly, then tack on another trip on the way back.

Greg: It’s important to see family, especially as you get older. But I also want to travel and explore.

Greg: Ask me what I saw this summer.

Kent: What did you see this summer?

Greg: The most amazing thing I saw was a pair of Harlequin shrimp—bright, crazy colors, about one to two inches long. They look like aliens. I also saw a Mandarin fish. If you look those up, they’re unbelievable—colors you wouldn’t expect underwater.

Greg: There’s just so much biodiversity in that region where the Pacific and Indian Oceans meet. I could talk about it for hours. I travel alone, but when I get there, I’m with other divers, so you instantly have a community.

Kent: I saw some shrimp too this summer—at Long John Silver’s.

Greg: So you must have gone home. Did you go home to Washington?

Kent: I did. And I flew out of Dubai where I hung out at the Prosecco bar. My flight to Seattle was 13 hours and 47 minutes, so I have you beat by a few hours. I spent my summer in the Pacific Northwest—the most beautiful weather of the year in June and July.

Kent: My wife and I did the things that we love to do. We went to a few minor league baseball games. We also went glamping. It was a huge tent with a double bed and a little kitchen setup. One morning, I didn’t feel like making the walk to the bathroom, so I stepped behind a tree. I looked up and saw a deer staring at me with two fawns. She looked shocked, like I didn’t belong there.

Greg: That’s fantastic.

Kent: We also threw a neighborhood block party again. Not many people came, but it was a great time. As international teachers, it’s important to build relationships with neighbors so they can keep an eye on your place.

Greg: For me, I travel around and visit different friends and family. I stay with one brother, then another, and see different people across the state. I try to spend quality time with each person.

Greg: My mom—every year, when I tell her I’m heading back overseas, she asks where I’m going. It’s like she forgets I live overseas.

Kent: That’s amazing.

Greg: All right, let’s get serious for a second. When you go back, what do you bring back with you?

Kent: My wife. And stretchy pants. Also a flute, a MIDI controller, glasses, and clothes.

Greg: Everyone has their thing—technology, food, clothes. But you don’t really know what you need until you’ve lived there. Once you’ve been there a year, you’ll know exactly what to bring back next time.

Greg: One of the other things I always bring back is a stockpile of over-the-counter medications—things you can’t easily get overseas or that are different brands.

Greg: Let’s talk about getting back into the school year. We’re here early, before the students arrive. I usually get into my classroom, get organized, and also work on professional development. This year I’ve been working on coding—Python and LaTeX—trying to improve my tech skills.

Greg: Those first weeks are a whirlwind. You need to get organized, clear your head, and choose your attitude. You can’t control everything, but you can control how you approach it.

Kent: I’m focusing more on tech this year—helping staff, working on infrastructure, and doing a bit less teaching.

Greg: International teaching gives you flexibility. Sometimes you’re asked to do things outside your comfort zone. You have to be adaptable.

Kent: If you’re new, don’t try to do everything at once. Be flexible, ask questions, and learn as you go.

Greg: Before we wrap up, reach out to us. Email, Instagram, Twitter—we want more guests and more stories.

Kent: We’ve had listeners from 95 countries and thousands of downloads. We want to grow that.

Greg: Thanks for listening. Give us ideas, topics, and feedback.

Kent: We need a better closing line.

Greg: Yeah, we’ll work on that.

Kent: You’re dismissed.

Greg: Thanks for listening to the International Teacher Podcast.