ITP - 72: Teaching Abroad from Panama to Kuwait

Kent: I will bring us in today. Hey, welcome to the International Teacher Podcast. I'm Cat the Cat Guy and with me here today is Greg the Single Guy.

Good morning, Greg. And that was Greg, ladies.

And with us also is JP Mint. Good early morning.

Jacqueline: Good early morning, 2:00 AM, but I am dedicated because I'm so excited. Again, I keep saying it, but I really am. I'm getting all my friends to come on to the show and this is my brother from another mother, so I could not miss this one.

Kent: Yeah, we don't have friends. That's why Kent and I don't have friends, so we have to have you, in fact your friends, on. Greg's got one friend. I've got none.

So I would like to bring in our very special guest and give a very warm welcome to our friend from Kuwait. I give you Ricardo.

Ricardo: Hello. Hello, everyone.

Kent: All right. Good morning, Ricardo. How are you?

Ricardo: Good morning. Good morning. I'm doing great. You know, it's sunny like every other day.

Kent: We would love to hear a little bit about your journey—where you've been, how you got to where you are today. Just give our audience a chance to get to know you just a little bit, Ricardo.

Ricardo: OK. I'm originally from Panama in Central America. I was born and raised there. I was lucky enough that my parents used to work for what used to be called the Chiquita Land Company, which is a subsidiary of the United Fruit Company.

So it was all connected to the bananas—quite possibly the world's perfect food.

Kent: A little commercial there. You slipped that in.

Greg: Sponsored by bananas. Company. Get yourself a banana today.

Kent: Don't interrupt him. Let him speak, Greg.

Ricardo: No, no, thanks. Thanks to them, I was able to get this international education. I did my whole elementary school at this school that the company brought, so all our teachers were from the US.

The only one that perhaps was somewhat from a different country was my first grade teacher. She was from the UK, but she was married to a Panamanian doctor and that's why she was there.

Right after that, after finishing high school in Panama, I started university and then went to North Carolina in the United States to pursue a master's degree.

And while there, one of my professors actually persuaded me into staying and changing careers to go into teaching Spanish or even English as a second language.

So I ended up staying there for six years in the northeastern part of North Carolina in a small town or county called Gates County, although most of my friends call it the Boondocks.

But the good thing is that it was really close to the Outer Banks and to Norfolk in Virginia.

So right after that, I was able to get another teaching job internationally. I was able to meet a teacher when I was still in North Carolina, a Filipino teacher. She was a biology teacher, and she was the one who actually introduced me to the idea of working abroad.

She said, why don't you just, rather than staying here in the US, go and pursue working abroad? And I had never thought of that at all.

Then she introduced me to one of the search engines out there for getting teaching jobs abroad, and next thing I knew I landed in the Sultanate of Oman.

And long before I accepted that job, I really had to go into the map and say, where is this place called Oman?

Greg: I did the exact same thing. I thought it was the place where Michael Jackson went because of the word Sultanate, and then I realized, oh wait, no, that's Brunei. That's on the other side of the planet.

Ricardo: Yes, yes, yes. And that's where I actually met JP Mint. We were there together for almost seven years, working side by side in this wonderful language department.

From there, an opening came up and I was able to go back to the US. I got a teaching job at an international school in New York City.

Jacqueline: I remember. I was in an RV on a tour of the US and I had to pull over because one of your references or one of your schools was going to call me as a reference. So I pulled over and had to turn off the diesel engine so we could hear each other.

I was somewhere between New Orleans and Tennessee, and I was just talking you up. I said, this is the best Spanish teacher I've ever met. You've got to hire him.

Ricardo: Yes, I do recall that very, very well. So thanks to her, I was able to be in New York City.

Kent: Do you want to tell our listeners what school in New York?

Ricardo: Yes, it was the United Nations International School.

Kent: So you were in New York, and then what happened?

Ricardo: So I left right before COVID. On my way out, I was able to get a job in China, in Shanghai.

Jacqueline: Right before COVID, I'd like to point that out to our listeners.

Ricardo: Right before COVID, yes. I got stuck in Panama for almost a year because of lockdowns. That was my first lockdown experience.

I was working online during that time, teaching part time. My classes were around 2:00 AM and 5:00 AM my time, so I slept during the day.

Finally, I was able to enter China on December 30th and stayed there for about two and a half years before making my way to Kuwait.

Jacqueline: I was shocked when I saw you posting from Kuwait. I thought you were just traveling like usual.

Kent: Can you tell us a little bit about how you're finding these jobs? Are you going to job fairs, using networks, or reaching out directly?

Ricardo: I'm registered with ISS and TIE Online, so I check their openings. I also used the Gulf Recruiting Collaborative when I was in Oman.

Beyond that, I also contact schools directly. I know they get a lot of applications, but I still try to reach out one-on-one.

And networking is very helpful. Knowing teachers who have worked at a school can help get your name in front of the right people.

Kent: Can I ask, so GRC—I remember, because I think we went the same year, right? We went that first year, 2016, and because it was really close, you know, we just had to drive there.

Did you have any luck? Did you get any—I mean, you probably got lots of interviews—but did you get any offers at the GRC?

Ricardo: At that point it was only with Dubai, the American School in Dubai. I made it all the way. They took me to the school. I interviewed with the superintendent. They gave me a whole tour of the school and everything.

But it was because the teacher was still deciding whether to stay or leave. So they were making sure I was fully invested in their school, and they wanted to show that they were also interested.

But then at the end, the teacher decided to stay.

Kent: Who does that?

Greg: A teacher at ASD, that’s who.

Kent: That’s exactly—yeah, that’s a really good school.

Ricardo: It is, yes. I was so close.

Kent: So you were using ISS, you were using TIE Online, you were using GRC as best you could, and then also using your network and targeting schools.

Ricardo: Exactly. I targeted the schools directly as well. I know that some of them say they get a lot of emails and applications from everybody, but I thought I would just give it a try and contact them individually, one-on-one, to see what they say.

Some of them did respond. Others I never heard from. But it was still an approach—a bold approach—to try to make my way in.

Kent: And so now this is your first year there in Kuwait?

Ricardo: Yes, this is my first year here.

Kent: Do you want to tell us a little bit about Kuwait and your school there?

Ricardo: Yes. So right now I’m at the Universal American School. One of the reasons I accepted the job here is because they have been authorized by CIS and other accreditation organizations.

That was a big plus because I have also been an accreditor and worked for these organizations before. So in order to get back into that process, I had to be part of a school that was a member of CIS.

The school has been very helpful. They follow the AP curriculum, so it’s like being in a school in the US. I am very thankful for all they did to bring me here.

They were very detailed and very supportive. Even when I got to the airport, they had somebody there waiting for me who walked me all the way from the gate and took me to the front of the line at customs and immigration.

Kent: That’s the VIP treatment.

Ricardo: Yes, it was VIP from end to end. The good thing is that they have this huge building right in front of the school. It’s like a ten-story building, and this is where they house all the teachers.

There are about four apartments per floor, and usually four teachers per floor. Most of the singles are here, and we hang out together.

In the basement, we have a whole food area, laundry room, a game space, and an entertainment center. So I guess they don’t want us to leave the building.

Kent: Are you within walking distance of the school?

Ricardo: Yes, yes. The school is literally three minutes away.

Kent: Good, because otherwise you have to find a car.

Jacqueline: When I lived there back 100 years ago, I’ll never forget the first time I landed. I had been coming from Egypt, and I thought I knew a little bit of Arabic.

But we got into a taxi—my friend Mario and I—and then we forgot how to get back. We went out into the city the first night, and it’s like 30 minutes on the highway through all the traffic cams.

On the way back, we couldn’t tell the taxi where we were because we had just landed that morning. And I couldn’t speak Egyptian Arabic to him because he was speaking Gulf Arabic.

We didn’t know how to get back. It took us an hour driving around looking for the building, and they all look the same.

Ricardo: They do. They do.

Jacqueline: My advice is when you leave your house the first week, turn around and memorize what it looks like so you can find it again.

Kent: Take a photo. Now you can map it on your phone.

Ricardo: True, true. But again, I was very lucky. I had full service from the moment I landed.

They took me to a Zain store so I could get a SIM card and get connected. Then they brought me to my apartment, walked me around, and had groceries waiting for me—enough for two or three days while I got settled.

Kent: We usually bring this up at the end, but I really want to know this now. What are the three things you bring that make your place feel like home?

Ricardo: One of them is definitely a framed photo of my siblings and my parents. I keep that in my bedroom.

The other thing is photos of my friends that I usually put on the fridge. I haven’t been able to find magnets yet, but that’s another way I feel connected.

And the third, that might be tough. I think those might be the main ones—just pictures of family and friends.

Kent: You arrived with two suitcases.

Ricardo: Yes, I just arrived with two suitcases. All my life is in those two suitcases.

Kent: Did you sign a two-year contract?

Ricardo: Yes, I did. After that, you can renew for one year or go for another two-year contract.

Kent: And the Kuwaiti dinar—what’s that like?

Ricardo: Yes, it fluctuates, but it’s usually around 3.5 to 3.75 to the US dollar.

Greg: It’s strange because you think you’re paying a small amount, but it’s actually much more when converted.

Ricardo: Yes, at first I converted everything, but they advised us to think in dinars. Otherwise everything feels expensive.

Kent: It’s wild how that currency plays with your brain.

Ricardo: Yes, exactly. At first you convert everything and you think everything is expensive, but then once you start thinking in dinars, it becomes more normal.

Greg: So what’s the day-to-day like there? Are you getting out, exploring, or are you mostly around the school area?

Ricardo: I try to get out when I can. The good thing is that everything is relatively close, but you do need transportation if you want to explore more of the city.

The school community is very tight, though, because we all live in the same building, so there’s always something happening.

Kent: That’s a big deal for first-year teachers, especially—having that built-in community.

Ricardo: Yes, it really helps with the transition. You’re not alone. There’s always someone you can talk to or go out with.

Jacqueline: That’s one of the things I loved about living in compounds or shared housing situations. You just walk down the hall and someone’s there.

Greg: Or someone’s knocking on your door asking if you want to grab dinner.

Ricardo: Exactly. That happens all the time.

Kent: So what about the students? What’s the student population like?

Ricardo: It’s very diverse. We have students from many different nationalities, but a large portion are local students.

They’re very respectful, very eager to learn. I’ve been really impressed so far.

Greg: That’s always good to hear.

Ricardo: Yes, it makes the experience much more enjoyable when the students are engaged.

Kent: So looking back at your journey—from Panama to North Carolina to Oman, New York, China, and now Kuwait—what would you say to someone thinking about going international for the first time?

Ricardo: I would say just do it. Don’t be afraid. It’s one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.

It opens your mind, you meet incredible people, and you grow both professionally and personally.

Jacqueline: And you end up with friends all over the world.

Ricardo: Exactly. That’s one of the best parts.

Greg: And stories you can’t make up.

Kent: That’s what this podcast is all about.

Ricardo: Yes, absolutely.

Kent: All right, I think that’s a good place to start wrapping up.

Greg: Thanks so much for coming on, Ricardo. Really appreciate it.

Jacqueline: Yes, thank you. I’m so glad you came on.

Ricardo: Thank you for having me. It was a pleasure.

Kent: And to our listeners, thanks again for tuning in. We’ll see you next time on the International Teacher Podcast.