Things to help those first few days…
Teaching abroad is, 90% of the time, amazing. You get to go amazing places, meet fascinating people you’d never have met at home, eat new foods, experience different cultures… It goes without saying that having these opportunities is rare and you should make the most of your time away.
The 10% mainly covers the regular classroom frustrations that all us teachers encounter whilst working. Endless paperwork, trying to get through to a difficult pupil, or just general overwork can be draining, and of course whilst teaching abroad the benefits far outweigh any negative points.
The benefits far outweigh any negative points
Those first few weeks however, bring their own unique challenges. I’d imagine they’re similar to those you’d face if you moved from say, Exeter to Glasgow to follow a teaching job. The exhaustion of a new job and a big move, compounded in this case by jet lag, and often with home sickness can make any minor problems seem major.
Obviously within a week or so when you’re in the swing of things this will all seem far behind you. But for those first few days there are a few things I’d recommend to help with any lonely or home sick feelings.
I always make sure I take a few things with me that might seem useless, and maybe a bit like extra baggage, but I’ve found they really help in that first week:
- Photos of family and friends to put on the wall or just have around. I usually take a really small soft cover photo album with me so that they all stay together.
- Two, or three, or four (!) good books. I usually include one old favourite from childhood (Paddington, in my case) to read in times of insomnia. These usually have the advantage of being very thin books, too. If you have a Kindle then of course you’re sorted.
- If books aren’t your thing, then make sure you have a few DVD’s in a soft case.
- A phone card to use until you get a local mobile.
- A dongle for your laptop.
- Something to help you while away any long evenings or afternoons before you start making friends. I’m not suggesting you start googling www.chesssets.co.uk for anything quite so bulky, but a set of cards or a sketch book will help.
- They may not allow it where you’re staying, but I always take my favourite incense with me so that my room smells like mine from the start. If I can’t burn it then I can just put the packet into a drawer or my bag and it makes my clothes smell lovely and familiar.
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