Of course our Christmas celebration is school related. It makes me realize that there is seamlessness to one’s personal/school life here in Venezuela. They are interconnected, unlike back in the States, where we seem to like keeping them separated, compartmentalized, as if students and school staff have two different identities depending on the setting.

Sarah Miller, an English teacher from London, has just completed her induction week in Sri Lanka at the British School of Colombo. She has kindly shared her first impressions of a life less ordinary with us…

As soon as I entered the teaching profession I wanted to live and teach abroad. English is my only language and I liked the idea of speaking to the locals so I concentrated on Down Under. Australia seemed too obvious for a sports fan like me and New Zealand seemed a bit more of an unknown quantity, a bit more exciting; so I set my heart on teaching there.

The more I teach, the more meaning it brings to my life. It is an unbelievable feeling to go to work and discover that you actually get paid to do something that you believe in. My husband Josh and I teach in a little city called Yeosu on the tip of South Korea. While I can’t say I really believe in the Korean education system per se (definitely not in its entirety anyway), I surely believe in instilling confidence and a sense of self in children on the way to becoming whoever it is they are going to be. And for some reason I’ve yet to put my finger on, these particular children are well on their way to stealing my heart, making this preoccupation I have with educating them even more delightful and fulfilling.