Teachanywhere took some jobs in this week in Kazakhstan. It’s one of those rare countries that I know absolutely nothing about. Well, I know sort of where it is – with one foot in Europe and the other in Asia and a part of the former Soviet Union - but other than that , nada.
My first reaction was “Oh, I’d love to go there to find out more, I bet it’s great”, and it occurred to me that when confronted with something unknown my first reaction is to jump in. I’m attracted. Yet there are other people whose first reaction would clearly be to step backwards and say “Oh, I don’t know anything about it, no thanks. Sounds weird”. In this way, people and places are like magnets – two magnets together will either attract each other and stick like glue, or they can repel each other and you really can’t get them to touch. I remember playing with magnets when I was a child- fascinated by this property. Still am.
I find most people drawn to international education are the magnets that attract and are drawn to the unknown and then together and many people who truly want to stay at home are not – the familiar draws them in and the unfamiliar repels them. I wish we had a test for this – which kind of magnet are you? I’d be able to retire with a handsome pension to someplace exotic.
For your information upon investigation (because I started this so I’m going to finish it) Kazakhstan is an amazing country – the 9th largest country in the world and very economically advanced. It’s landlocked but with a border on the Caspian Sea and has beautiful mountains, canyons that look quite Grand Canyon-y modern cities and vast steppes. It’s huge – the size of all of western Europe and there are a number of diverse ethnic groups living happily together. Kazakhs are known for their horsemanship. The Lonely Planet says;
Kazakhstan presents an array of surprising adventures. You can trek on foot or horse in the spectacular Tian Shan or Altay Mountains, watch flamingos on steppe lakes or discover mysterious underground mosques near the Caspian Sea. Community ecotourism programmes in some of the most beautiful areas enable travellers to stay with village families at affordable cost.
With travellers still rare here, a foreign guest is usually treated not as just another tourist but with real hospitality, and locals will often go out of their way to help you. Enjoy it while it lasts!
(I want to go! And why have I never heard of it?)
If you are reading this newsletter, chances are you are an attracting magnet – pulled by the mystery of living in a place you have not lived in before and meeting people from a culture you’ve not grown up in. And what you find when you get there is that the other expats in your school are similarly like minded. We heard from some teachers in Kuwait last week that they were organising a visit over the upcoming Eid holidays to Sri Lanka – and what was amazing is that we heard this from several different teachers we placed at different schools in Kuwait so it appears that like magnets, they were drawn to each other. (Either that or some enterprising travel agent in Kuwait was offering a really good deal to teachers wanting to go to Sri Lanka but I think the former is more likely). I shouldn’t be surprised, really, because the more unusual the location is, the more outgoing and adventurous the teachers who are pulled to it so the more likely they will be more strongly drawn together for more fun and adventure when they arrive.
So welcome to the club – the club of people who want to go abroad. The club of people whose magnetic orientation pulls them into the unknown. I can assure you that no matter where you end up – if it’s Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Korea or China – you are sure to find some lifelong very magnetic new friends to share your adventures.
By, Diane Jacoutot; General Manager: Teachanywhere
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