Changing to China???

       So the other week, I shared my story with y'all. I shared how I became a Traveling Teacher and a few places about where I have been. So far my traveling and teaching have mainly been in the Middle East and in Europe. I had originally planned to move back to the states this summer, but God had something else in mind for me that I was not even expecting. When my original plans changed, I was scrambling like mad applying to different schools in Texas until I realized that I really did not want to move back to the states. I wanted to continue to teach overseas. I then started to apply to several schools throughout Europe and the Middle East. China was not even on my mind (actually I said I did not want to go there)

I have yet to go to East Asia (minus Thailand as a kid) and never really had a desire to go. Several of our teachers have taught in China, Japan, or South Korea before and have had so many wonderful things to say about it. I had talked to several teachers at my school who have told me to apply to China but I just kept denying it and pushing it back. I even went as far as saying that I would teach anywhere but in South East Asia. Then I went to the Compassion Summit with my school for a week and everything changed.

During the week at the Summit, I spent time talking to coaches from schools around the Middle East. I talked to them about the positives and negatives of their schools and asked them to talk to the admins at their school about me. I even attended an online job fair and talked to a school I applied for. With all of that being said, I had not heard from any of the schools that I had applied to. I was getting frustrated with everything and stressed that God was taking his sweet time in showing me what was next for my life. Then one night everything changed.

I went home and had a nice long talk (let's be honest... a cry) about what was next with me. I finally told God that I was done saying I would go anywhere but SEA. I also told Him that if that is where He wanted me to go then He was going to have to make it happen because I was not going to apply on my own free will. I woke up the next day to an email from a school in China asking me if I was still looking for a job for the next year. Shocked, I responded saying that I was and then we set up an interview. Once I had my interview set up, I began praying and asking God to show me if this is what He wanted me to do. 

When I had the interview, I had all my questions and concerns answered and more. The principal was very honest about the school and the direction the school was headed. He wanted me to talk to some teachers to get their feel on the school before I made my decision. So getting off the interview, I emailed all the teachers asking my questions and they responded and answered the questions that I did not even think about at that time.

God has a way of basically shaking your shoulders saying “listen here chick, this is what I want you to do”. He showed me through people, devotionals and by changing my heart that this is what He wanted me to do. Famous last words y’all. Do not ever tell God you will do anything but _____ because he will almost always send you there. Where I am moving in China is full of mystery, excitement, history, and tons of snow. So this gal is trading in her sandals for some snow boots. I know that China will not be easy but I know it will be a blast and a great new adventure so stay tuned!

Oh, The Places I Went

      Boy, oh Boy what a fast two years it has been in the Middle East. The days left of school are dwindling down to a mere 35 and I take a look back on my past two years teaching abroad. Being back “home” for me has been wonderful. I feel so comfortable and connected with the culture and the people. I felt at ease going into the school year and meeting all of my colleagues. I also started my Master program which quickly kicked my butt into gear. I have been able to travel to so many wonderful places. 

I love to travel. I love flying on airplanes, seeing historic sites, going shopping, and of course eating traditional food. Since moving abroad, I have been to about 13 countries and have loved every second of my travels. Don’t get me wrong I have had my bad days when traveling (which you will read about soon) but I like to focus on the positives. I am going to tell you a little bit about some of my favorite places I went during my first two years abroad. 

When first moving to the Middle East, my family, friend and I went to Egypt over a short holiday and I was finally able to see the pyramids. Okay, I am going to be honest here, I was expecting them to all be massive but some of them were as tall as a two-story building. It really needed to be able to go inside some of the pyramids and see where people were buried as well as the hieroglyphics on the walls. I was also able to see the famous sphinx unclose and personal.  During our short three days, we were also able to see the newly renovated Choir Historical Museum. Inside the museum, there were a TON of mummies (young and old), old ruins from building throughout the year, and many more awesome things. Our group was also able to get dressed up and take a boat cruise on the Nile for dinner one night. Needless to say, Egypt was a BLAST and I was able to cross that country off my list!

Pyramids in Egypt

Another trip to cross off my list was to Switzerland. My entire family and another close friend of mine all went for two weeks and traveled around Switzerland. We visited the Cailler Chocolate Factory, saw St. Peter’s Cathedral, saw the United Nations building, took pictures with Jet d’eau Geneve and saw so much more. I have to say one of my favorite things about the trip was seeing the Matterhorn in Zermatt. We stayed in a cute little condo a little bit away and took a train to Zermatt for the day. We rode another train to the top of the Matterhorn Mountain and I was blown away. I decided not to ski this trip and so I just walked around and enjoyed the views. It was so SWEET to spend New Years in Switzerland. 

Matterhorn in Switzerland

This past summer, I was able to spend time with my best friend in London, England. I have been to London many times as a kid, but this trip was one for the books. Going back to London as an adult was great but experiencing it with my best friend was something special. Lauren had never been to London and is a huge Harry Potter fan so of course, we had to add platform 9 3/4 to one of our stops on the trip. We were able to see two Broadway shows (Wicked and Mama Mia), take the subway, see the crown jewels, Buckingham Palace, and do a three-day bus tour. We experienced so many amazing things this trip and learned a lot as well. I cannot wait for our next adventure summer 2019

Buckingham Palace in England

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One trip that I was able to take was a family girls trip to New York. My mom, aunt, cousin and I met in New York City for a fun few days to kick off Christmas vacation. We had some New York pizza, walked around China Town, took some subways, bought some gifts, saw a few comedy shows, went to Times Square and visited Carlos Bakery and saw the massive Rockefeller Tree. My all-time favorite thing about the trip was seeing the Radio City Rockettes. It has always been a dream of mine to see the Rockettes live since I was a little girl. I grew up dancing and watching the Nutcracker but had never seen the Rockettes. It was fun to get dressed up and walk down the streets to our spot. Sitting up close and watching these amazing women dance was phenomenal and the highlight of my Christmas vacation.

Rockefeller Tree in NYC

This year I have been blessed with taking a group of students to Amman, Jordan for a week at the 2019 Compassion Summit. During the Compassion Summit, our students discovered ways to bring compassion to our schools. They developed ways to share what they learned with their classmates and thought about ways that could prevent them from living out what they wanted to do. I am so proud of our students during this week and opening up to all of the teachers about things we would need to fix. We rewarded the students’ hard work through a fun {wet} night of play. Students and staff played bubble soccer and laser tag and were able to bond even more. Our last day in Jordan we went to the city of Jerash. Jerash is an old Greek city of ruins that shares a story. We were able to take a tour and learn all about this city while we walked around the ruins. Jordan was a great place to go back to and I can’t wait to go again. 

Greek Ruins in Jordan

No matter all of the places I had traveled the first two years abroad, everyone always has their favorite place. My favorite place to visit was another dream come true which was Santorini, Greece with my parents. The Mama Mia in me was going crazy the entire time I was there. Now it was not a walk-in-the-park getting to Greece. Our bags were left in another country for most of the trip but it gave us an excuse to buy new clothes. Everything about Greece that you see in the movies is true. Greece had breathtaking sunsets and sunrises, delicious food, great shopping, amazing scenery, and friendly people. Our time on Santorini Island was great. We stayed in a cute little cave home for our first few days and walked everywhere. The second half of our trip, we stayed at a resort on the other side of the island and went to two of the three styles of beaches. We also were able to visit a few wineries, go parasailing, and learn about some Greek history. 

Nightlife in Greece

As I have said in my first blog, I am a TCK. Traveling is in my blood and is a way of life for me. Everyone who knows me personally knows that I have a huge travel itch whether it is going to a new country or taking a road trip in Texas. These first two years abroad have allowed me to live out my dream to be able to travel. I have been blessed with the opportunity to do so with my friends and family. Now these are not all the places I have been and I have so much more to say but you will just have to ask me one day. From now on, I will be posting about all of my trips and adventures in life so STAY TUNED!

My Story

      If you look at the average American teacher, you will most likely see them rundown, overworked, overcrowded and sadly broke. Many people move to the United States of America to live the American Dream but not everyone has the same results. Even though there are people moving to the United States daily to search for their “dream”, there are some people moving overseas to find their own version of a dream. People are moving internationally to teach, work for oil companies, or work for businesses all over the world and I am one of those people. I am a traveling teacher and this is my story.

      I grew up as a third culture kid in the international teaching setting with both parents being teachers and my life was forever changed. A Third Culture Kid is someone who has spent the majority of their childhood in a country other than the one on their (or their parents) passports. Living overseas as a kid was a blast because I was able to meet friends from so many different countries. I had seen more of the world by the time I was 13 than most adults ever do. I know how to count to 10, say hello/ goodbye, ask where the bathroom is, and sing happy birthday in many languages just from traveling. I know how to maneuver an airport and feel comfortable traveling with others or by myself. Airplanes and the next adventure excite me. To the average American kid’s eye, I was being raised in a spoiled life of a “rich kid”. The reality was that my parents made enough money to be able to save and still give their family the best life imaginable.

      Being a TCK was not always all roses and glory. I lived away from my family in the States and saw my cousins grown close with my grandparents which was hard for me to see. I was not able to be in a church with a bunch of kid activities like those of my friends or family in the states. I had friends come and go in my life and as a kid, I understood that friends moved when their dad got a new job assignment. I always wanted to live that American dream where I could live in the same house my entire life, growing up down the street from my family, attend the same church for a long time or have the same best friend for most of my life. When I was in middle school, my family moved back to the states and I was able to live that life I thought I always wanted. 

      Life in the states was far from easy. I soon realized how sheltered I was and how grown up kids my age were. I struggled with having the “strictest parents” on campus and hated not being able to do everything my fellow classmates were doing. Looking back now, I can actually see how right my parents were withholding me back from not doing certain things with my friends. High School was a new experience. I went from a school of 1200 students K-12 to a freshman class of 1200 students until we split sophomore year. Although I was able to finally be in the same church for a long period of time, kids in my group had known each other for most of their life and it was hard to fit in. School was not much different since I needed to find where I belonged and realized quickly that I had friends in a variety of groups.  Fast forward through a whirlwind of high school drama, animals, dances and a ton of football games, I decided that I wanted to attend a small college where students and teachers had some of the same beliefs I did. 

      I attended a small Baptist college and found students who l connected with. Some classmates grew up overseas, some grew up in small towns, somewhere coming from a high school like me, and most of them lived a sheltered lifestyle like I did. It was so nice to finally be able to connect with people who lived similarly to me. Even though I connected with many of the students, some were not able to really understand my international lifestyle and my “itch” to travel and live overseas. I knew that there were some people who still thought that I was that rich spoiled kid who had life handed to her on a silver platter. People could not really understand that life is not a piece of cake for people like me. I found friends who loved me and could understand the life I had lived. I was able to fit in with those around me more than in high school. I enjoyed my four years at school and graduated with my degree in Education and continued to have the itch to get back overseas. 

      I did what anyone with the travel itch needed to do. I worked for two years at a great school, packed my bags, and moved to the Middle East for my first teaching assignment. I was finally back where my heart belonged. I am still currently teaching at my first school overseas and I have loved being with teachers who enjoy the Third Culture Adult lifestyle. I have met people who lived the childhood I wanted from the States but they still had that travel itch. I feel like I have finally found the place where I belong. People of every nation, religion, background, and lifestyle are all working together overseas and traveling to the heart's content. I love being able to teach students that are living the same lifestyle that I did. I can relate to them and I know they love that I understand where they come from. 

      There are still people in my life that do not understand the lifestyle that I was brought up in or why I currently live overseas and love it and they may never understand. What I know is that I absolutely love living the lifestyle that I do and experiencing life the way I am. Some may consider me crazy for having gone to over 10 countries my first year overseas but I enjoyed visiting old and new countries. I love being able to experience countries and cultures as an adult. God has done so many wonderful things in my life and has allowed me to experience life this way for a reason. He has guided me throughout this life and has been beside me every step of the way. God is a major part of my life and I am excited to experience life with him. He has given me the next adventure and teaching location for my life, but that is another story in its self. So this is my story about how and why I became a Traveling TCK Teacher!