When looking for a new overseas teaching destination, many teachers dream of year-round sun, balmy tropical evenings, and free time spent relaxing at the nearest beach or pool. Not so for international teacher Chris Dwyer, who decided to move to the Mongolian capital Ulaanbaatar, where temperatures plummet to an unforgiving -30°C in winter. Teacher Horizons blog editor Sammy asked Chris a few questions about his experience so far.

When you refer a friend to Teacher Horizons, you have the chance to win two free international flights: one for yourself and one for your friend. With a maximum budget of $1000 per flight and no restrictions on the destination, you could soon be jetting off to somewhere amazing. In case you need any more reasons, here is our list of top 10 reasons to refer a friend today, and get a flying start to 2015.

To go home for Christmas or not to go home for Christmas? If you’ve been teaching abroad this year, you have inevitably had to make the decision. It might have been an easy decision, or you might have had to literally draw a table of pros and cons.

Since you’ve undoubtedly made the decision already, I’m going to take a light-hearted look at both options and reassure you that whichever option you chose, you’re probably right.

We’re coming up to a new year, and with it there are some exciting changes here at Teacher Horizons. You might have noticed the new-look website, but there’s lots more going on behind the scenes. In this post, I want to introduce myself as the new editor and explain the reasons behind the updated website.

Did you know that today is the first day of Global Entrepreneurship Week? – the world’s largest campaign to promote entrepreneurship!

Over the next week, millions of people in 150 countries will participate in bootcamps, pitch competitions, networking events, policy roundtables, mentoring sessions and more to share inspiration and support, and to discover opportunities for growth and new connections.

Baku with its tree lined streets and café culture has been likened to Paris. On summer evenings the squares are thronged with people enjoying the cooler air, sitting by fountains, sipping drinks or just strolling.

Mosques and minarets dot the landscape and the call to prayer sounds above the traffic roar.

Probably not the first country that springs to mind when you decide to leave the safety and comfort of home for an adventure! At the time I joined Teacher Horizons the news was awash with footage of Iraq under attack as the ISIS fighters moved from city to city.

Erbil, the city I now call home, was being surrounded and it looked like it was going to be the next victory for the fighters, just as I was preparing to move there.

In 2000, world leaders made a promise that every child worldwide would be in school and learning by end 2015. But with 466 days left before the deadline, 58 million children are still out of school.

The Education Countdown campaign, officially launched last month and led by A World at School co-founded by Sarah Brown, is targeting key barriers to universal education by bringing together top campaigners, youth, business, faith and political leaders.

Financially, I just couldn’t get through another year without a salary during the summer so, after toying with the idea for a few years, I decided to do a placement at a summer school.

I was fortunate to have lovely students and like-minded teaching colleagues – essential to making teaching at a summer school a rewarding and stimulating experience.

If I asked you to use one word, how would you define yourself to others? Are you a Canadian, an American, a Maritimer or a Californian?

Perhaps you’re of First Nations heritage and you recognise your tribe as being the group that you most associate with your identity. Maybe your first response would be Catholic, Muslim or Rastafarian. Or maybe your response would be brother, wife or husband of…

Now more than ever, I see myself as a citizen of this amazing planet and seem to have abandoned my preoccupations with identity.