News!

Hullo Blogosphere. Long time no see:)
Anyhoo, a fair bit's been going on since the last proper post. Mel & I always planned on going back overseas from NZ. We only planned on being in NZ for around 3-4 years before getting back into the international scene, with somewhere in Asia being our preferred destination.

Back in 2008 we visited friends in Singapore on the way to and from Siem Reap in Cambodia. After spending some time in Singapore we felt that it was a place we could definitely live in. It had the organisation of Japan with the weather of Thailand. I started to look at job sites like the TES to see what Geography teaching jobs were available in international schools. I didn't apply for any as we were going through a round of IVF, which would ultimately be unsuccessful.

After dealing with the unsuccessful attempt Mel & I decided we would try again in 2009 as the NZ government will fund 2 attempts at IVF and we thought we may as well take advantage of that. Due to some miscommunication with the fertility clinic they booked us in after we had planned and booked a holiday to Tonga. After much discussion we decided that we would try again (this time with definite dates!) in 2010. This gave us time to prepare properly, as well as have a holiday in Samoa in July before we tried again. The second time around was successful and our lives have been totally enriched with arrival of Matilda in May last year.This experience added a couple of extra years to our stay in NZ, but it was totally worth it!

Once Matilda arrived I could start looking for a job overseas in earnest. I had an interview with the Ministry of Education in Singapore in 2011. This was successful and I was offered a position to start in March of 2012 with details of the package to follow soon. Two months, several emails and 3 or 4 phone calls later, I still hadn't heard anything definitive from the ministry. Eventually they come up with an offer that was mediocre at best. While I was dealing with the Ministry, I was actively looking elsewhere.

International schools usually begin advertising jobs for the coming academic year in October/November, so as 2011 wound down I was eagerly checking TES and a couple of other websites for jobs. Lots were appearing - Hong Kong, Thailand, Viet Nam, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Qatar, the UAE, Oman, China, Singapore and even the Seychelles! I guess I applied for about 30 or more jobs. I was quite discouraging not to hear from a lot of places (I actually think it's really rude!) and by the time school finished I was feeling pretty down about my chances of finding a job for the 2012/13 academic year. It got to the point where I was happy to receive rejection emails just because they were acknowledging me!

Mel & I took Matilda to Perth for Christmas. Mel's sister and her family had moved to WA in 2011 for work so we were going to catch up with them. Mel's mum & dad were also coming over and my mum and dad were going to be there as this would be Matilda's first Christmas. During the three weeks we were there, I continued searching for jobs and applying for the ones I felt I had a good chance of getting. We arrived back in NZ in early January with what I thought were some some good prospects.

The first week or so of January involved more applications for jobs in Thailand, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Malaysia and Qatar. Qatar & Hong Kong said "thanks but no thanks" (nice of them to reply though!); Thailand said "jobs already filled"; Vietnam was silent. Malaysia however, was different. I had actually scored an interview! This was exciting and plans were made for an interview via Skype in the afternoon of our first day back at school. Although I was excited, I was also a little worried as I expected I would be pretty knackered after the first day and I was concerned that I may not be at my sharpest.

The interview went really well and I thought I was in with a good show of getting this job as I had been in touch with a former colleague of Mel's who worked there. The principal is a Kiwi and he was keen to hire people with NZ experience. Alas, I missed out on the job. This was pretty depressing. Especially as I had just missed out on another job in the Seychelles which would have been really cool.

About a week later a received an email from the principal of the school in Malaysia. He had recently been appointed principal of a sister school in Singapore. The Head of Humanities had passed my name on to him as she knew the Singapore school was looking for new teachers. "Would I be interested in a job in Singapore?" Hell yes! was my reply. Another Skype interview was quickly organized and I was starting to get nervous. The interview was the most intense I have ever had! It went for fully one and half hours and the guy hammered me. I was absolutely knackered when we finished. I had no idea how I'd done. I would have to wait.

Meanwhile life was still going on. We had an overnight field trip to Taupo and Whakapapa for Year 12 Geography to run. It was a good trip, although the weather was a bit rubbish on the second day and we had bus troubles which complicated things a little. The kids were great (as usual) and as we ate lunch at Burger King in Turangi I was feeling tired but happy. As we were going to be running a bit late on the way home, I was texting school and Mel to let them know. While I was at it, I thought I'd check my email. There was one from the principal who had interviewed me. I clicked on it with a sense of trepidation - was it going to be positive or negative? The message was short but to the point "I have now received references and they confirm my opinion. I'd love to have you on our team." I was relieved to say the least. And then excited! We were going to Singapore!

I think that'll do for now. I will have more to say next time.