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My Expat Teacher BLOG Foreword: There are two aspects of working (teaching) overseas. (1) the life outside the school, and (2) work at the school. I honestly and truthfully convey my experience about both aspects. Wroclaw, Poland
2006-2007 Wroclaw, Poland October 31, 2006: The other day (I think it was Saturday, Oct. 27, 2006), my son and I were
playing catch in the nearby park during evening twilight. The sky was covered
with clouds, which made the sky darker than it would normally be. Then, when I
looked up to see the ball that Titus had tossed me, I noticed that the already
dark sky was now speckled with black, moving (flying) animals, hundreds of them.
I'd estimate that the breadth of the procession was fifty head, spead out about
one animal distance apart from each other. If each animal was a foot (which
seems about right), then the procession was 100 feet wide. The length thereof
can only be measured in time. Titus and I stood looking up for at least ten
minutes. It seemed like the procession would never end. At first, I thought that
they might be birds, but their wings were webbed, like.... gulp! BATS!!!!!!!!!!! The first thing that went through my mind was, "What if these were
vampire bats?" "Isn't Transylvania near Poland?" "Maybe I
can run faster than they can fly." But, they didn't seem interested in
anything on the ground. It seemed that they were in a hurry to get somewhere
special. When we got home, I decided to google "Wroclaw Bats". I found some
interesting information about bats in Poland. Evidently, when the Germans
occupied Poland during WWII, they built some extensive underground
fortifications, which the bats now use as winter hibernation grounds. No one
seems to really know exactly when the bats first inhabited the caverns. After
the German Nazis were defeated, the Russian forces occupied the fortifications
(but perhaps not all). After the Russians left in 1993, scavengers (humans) have
been searching the man-made caverns for burried treasures. Somehow, throughout
it all, the bats have managed to survive there, and recently, the part with the
most bats has been made into a nature preserve. Evidently, every year about this
time, bats come from Czech, Germany and other parts of Poland to hibernation in
the caverns. The bats that we saw, must have been on their way to the Nietoperek
(Bat Preserve) at Miedzyrzecz Fortified Region. By my calculations (based
upon the setting of the sun in the west, the bats were traveling North by
Northwest, which is exactly the way to Nietoperek from here. October - November, 2006 While the Poles all know of Halloween, it is not celebrated in Poland. As what I would call Halloween approached, I noticed whole aisles in the hypermarkets were devoted to candles. I found out that they are not for Halloween. Rather, they are for a national holiday in Poland. On November 1st (a day off of work) the Poles celebrate All Saints Day. (For more detailed info on all saints day, see Leon's Halloween Page). Then, on November 6th (also a day off of work) the Poles celebrate their Independence Day. On a side note, my wife left us on November 17th, 2006. (I remember the date, because it was a very sad day for my son and me).
December 21, 2006: The beggars in Poland are funny. I write "funny", because they are honest. They will come up to you and ask for money for beer. I am told that it works. I guess, sometimes honesty is rewarded. The banks in Poland do not exchange money, with the exception of Euros (but you may have to have an account in order to get Euros from a bank in Poland). If you want to exchange money in Poland, you have to go to a "Kantor", which sounds like the name of an evil troll, such as the one in Ernest's Halloween movie: "Ernest Scared Stupid". Actually, I've deciphered the meaning of the word; It means: branch office (akin to the German word: kontor). Evidently, the full title of an 'exchange [branch] office' is: Kantor Wymiany Walnut, but the only word you will see is Kantor. Don't worry, there are Kantors all over the place [I should qualify this: downtown in BIG cities, Kantors are all over the place. I would not expect to find them in the more rural areas, nor in the smaller towns]. But, be aware that only certain currencies are exchanged there. Sterling (the Pound) is accepted, but paper only. Japanese money is accepted, but not Chinese or Korean. (Korean money is not traded on the open market, but Chinese money is; so, I was disappointed that they wouldn't accept my Chinese bills). Euros are, of course, accepted, even coins. U.S. and Canadian money is accepted, but no coins. [At least, I think Canadian money is also accepted.]
December 22, 2006 Nearly everyone in this city (Wroclaw, Poland) has a dog. (Or so it would seem). In fact, it seemed like everyone and his dog had a dog. These signs are all around my neighborhood. Even if you DO see these signs, watch your step in Poland. People are supposed to pick up after their dogs, but as you can imagine, that doesn't always happen.
The December Holidays in Poland: In Poland, Santa Claus is most known as Święty Mikołaj (Saint Nicholas). As 90% of all Poles are Catholic, Christmas is a big holiday in Poland. Leaving Poland: The school that I worked for did not help with family visas, so when we finally left Poland, my son was detained at the airport for not having the proper documentation (i.e., no visa). As we were being detained, I was getting worried that we would miss our flight. So, I told the officer that my company refused to help me process the visa for my son and I didn't know how to do it. She started making a plethora of phone calls. She was frustrated. She had never dealt with a problem like this before. I had never dealt with a country like this before. Everybody was getting flustered and frustrated. She yelled at me, "Why didn't you get the documents?" I yelled back, "What are you going to do, take my son away from me?" She yelled back, "NO, I'm not going to take your son away from you." And she let us go. It was a clear case of bureaucracy having inane rules and people following those inane rules for no logical reason except that they are the rules. When the woman finally realized that the rules didn't make any sense, she let us go. We barely made our flight. But, I will NEVER fly Lufthansa again; out flight was delayed, all our connecting flights were almost missed, and half our luggage got lost. Eventually it was found and delivered to my home in America, but it was very unsettling. FACT: The school that I worked for did not help with family visas. OPINION: Not a family-oriented organization. If you are single or a working couple, then it would be a great school for you to work at. In general, the Poles were not fond of Americans for some reason.
Tarsus, Turkey
2008-2009: Tarsus, Turkey Life in Tarsus, Turkey: Tarsus, Turkey was great! The locals were very down-to-earth, honest, and lovely people. Never had an attempted pick-pocket. Never had a vendor cheat me on the price. I could hold out my hand with a wad of money and the vendors would only take the proper amount. (It's the only country that I have been to where the merchants were all completely honest and I was never pick-pocketed). I would love to go back and live there. Such a nice place to live! History of Tarsus, Turkey: Tarsus, Turkey is so full of history. I was so impressed with the history of the city. From Daniel's Tomb, to St. Paul's Cathedral, to the battle with the snake people at the royal bathhouse, I think you will be impressed as well. Of course, there are Roman ruins all over the place, but unfortunately, I don't have any photos of those. Let's start with my favorite: Daniel's Tomb. The building behind my son is not the tomb. It was built later. You are not allowed to enter the building, but you can look through the windows, the tomb is way down deep in the Earth (and has been excavated). There is a plaque outside the building designating it as Daniel's Tomb in three languages: Turkish, Arabic, and English. The building is mosque-like in design, designating it as a holy place, but it's not a mosque where people congregate to worship. I did some research online and apparently there are three countries that claim to have the tomb of Daniel, but I'm inclined to believe that this was the actual tomb, because near (maybe 30-minute drive away), there is a giant pit in the ground which was a lion's den (used for punishment), and that sealed it for me. That must have been the lion's den that Daniel was thrown into. And, then there was St. Paul who claimed Tarsus has his hometown. There is an old well, which the city of Tarsus claims is St. Paul's well. They've built a replica of a homestead around the well, which gives one a picture of how the affluent may have lived 2000 years ago. I'm not convinced that it actually was St. Paul's home, but it was cool to see. Then, there was St. Paul's cathedral...
St. Paul's Cathedral was open to the public. There was no one there. I just walked right in. There was a plaque that identified it as St. Paul's Cathedral. It was clearly not in use. There was debris on the floor. The doors were wide open (and kept open at all times). It was not in existence during Paul's time. It was built perhaps centuries later. I was kind of shocked that the Paul's Well (and alleged dwelling) was well preserved and had many tourists, but almost nobody went to see St. Paul's cathedral. It was run down, and in disrepair. If it were fixed up it would be very beautiful, and worthy of preservation and shown off to tourists. I don't know. I don't get it. Not even Daniel's tomb had visitors. I just happened to walk by it and read the plaque, then looked in the window. Same thing with St. Paul's cathedral. I was just walking around town nearby my neighborhood and there it was. And apparently, people just park their tractors on the street when not in use. But, now... to the snake people! Yep. You read that right--the snake people of Tarsus, Turkey...
I saw this statue on the outskirts of town, while on walk-about, and had to take a photo (the above photo is not mine; I lost my photo, which had my son standing next to the statue). Then, I started enquiring about the statue and I was told of the legend of the snake people who once inhabited Tarsus. Apparently, thousands of years ago, the snake people lived in complete harmony with the human people in Tarsus, and they engaged in trade. Well, one day the prince of the snake people (or some versions say king of the snake people) fell in love with the princess of the human people. [You can see where this story is going, can't you...]
Well, this very bathhouse, which still stands today and is used as a public bathhouse, where the story occurs. One day the prince of the snake people fell in love with the princess of the human people. Overpowered by his secret desire, he did the forbidden. One day, while the princess was bathing, the prince climbed up to the top of the dome where there is/was a window (to allow light in) at the very top of the dome; and he spied on her while she was bathing. Well, it just so happened that the princess looked up and saw the face of a snake person spying on her and she screamed. Her scream alerted the royal guards, who then saw the prince on the dome and chopped his head off right there. The blood stain remains as the dark spot on the highest dome to this day. That started a war between the two peoples, which ended with the snake people being driven out to sea (note: Tarsus is on the Mediterranean coast). But, legend has it that one day the snake people will return to take their revenge on the humans of Tarsus. [Learn more about the samerhan and sirens and merfolk on Leon's cryptids page]. By the way, my son and I bathed in that bathhouse.
Teaching FACTs: The salaries were very competitive. The school (Tarsus American School) took good care of its teachers. They had smart boards in every classroom and each teacher was loaned a laptop. The staff were always very helpful and all spoke English. FACT: Students were from the upper class of society and generally lacked discipline. OPINIONs: Tarsus American School had its good points and bad points, as any school, I suppose. I wouldn't go back to work there, though. Loved living in Turkey, but the students were rough.
Hanoi, Vietnam
2009-2010: Vietnam I lived in Vietnam for a year. I lived in Hanoi, and I worked at an Singapore International School. Life in Vietnam: Generally, the people were nice. Not many people speak English. Vendors almost always jack up prices for foreigners (multiple times the normal price). There were several pick-pocket attempts on me. The food was superb. Cost of living was cheap, except housing and what I mean by that is if you want the same standards of housing that we have in the West, housing is expensive. Cost of electricity is astronomical. I paid $200/month for electricity and yes, I had air-conditioning. I don't know how you can live without it in Vietnam. It was HOT! Winter was cold enough for a sweater, except in the mountains, where you needed a jacket. But, for 9 months of the year, it was HOT! ...and HUMID! Mosquitoes and geckoes were a nuisance.
Overall, I enjoyed my experience in Vietnam. Most people were nice. The food was fantastic! I was sad to leave. Teaching The reason I left was because I had always (since living in Korea) wanted to go to Mongolia to see if the Koreans were right (i.e., that their ancestors came from Mongolia). [I explored the origin of the Korean people on my Korean Origins page -- very interesting conclusions that I came to]. I went to Mongolia and loved it so much that I spent five years there. See my Blog titled "Mongol Meaderings" (linked below). I loved Vietnam overall. But, I didn't like teaching at Singapore International School. They think that their (Singapore's) education system is the best in the world, but I totally disagree. It's good. But it's definitely NOT the best. FACTs: Salaries were competitive. Many teachers stay for a long time.
But wait! There's more!
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