The timeline:

http://news.yahoo.com/glance-pedophile- ... 02359.html

The schools that are members of AASSA are listed on their site. Also, if you look at UNI's fair site, they show which schools were attending at the last fair. Also, on the paid side of this site, ISR, you will find an extensive list.

SpedMaestro wrote:

> Well, lets be frank here. Vast swaths of the world are not as tolerant as the West
> is towards alternative lifestyles. In fact, even talking about it could be dangerous.
> I don't know why a gay/lesbian would become an IT because outside of Europe, they
> wouldn't receive a warm welcome.

If we are going to be truly frank, there are many, many schools in the USA that an openly LGTBQ person would NOT receive a "warm welcome". There are also schools that wouldn't warmly welcome a divorced person or someone middle-aged and never married...really anyone that falls outside the majority can experience "tolerance" but not warmth right here in the USA.

Large international cities the world over have populations of folks that are not heterosexual and a growing number of countries allow same-sex unions. This map was posted on another thread.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wor ... minalized/

I believe that finding a life partner is one part numbers, one part personal initiative and one part dumb luck (or fate). Being 44 or not straight or living in a country where your height/size/skin color/values don't fit with the majority is just one part of the equation. The OP really wants to find a mate, as do many. Suggesting people to just stay home isn't really a helpful addition to the dialogue -and I would suggest instead that living a life you love is more likely to bring you the love of your life than working in the USA, wishing you were somewhere else.

I am sure they will contact you, but the wheels often move slower than we would like...especially in Mexico. Have you been in touch with the person you are covering maternity leave for? I would encourage you to reach out to them with a simple hello to start the transition and give you something else to think about while the other stuff gets sorted.

The HR dept at my new school (also in Mexico) happened to mention that the head was out of town all last week following UNI, so it's reasonable to think that the person that hired you was away until this week and the HR dept is working through all the new hires the director brought back paperwork for...

Also, don't be afraid to pick up the phone :-)

Breathe.

Thank you for a well told story with a happy ending!! Yay! Good for you, that is great. :-)

SpedMaestro wrote:
> Well, as a single teacher, you're in the minority. Most of your coworkers
> are married and have a different notion of fun, at least different from
> mine. I have met other expat guys I've befriended but that's usually do to
> a common appreciation for the local culture. The fact of the matter is most
> expats are...boring.

"I've know a few teachers bemoan the difficulty of meeting people overseas who
> returned home to find it tough there, only to return overseas because they weren't
> any happier back home."

I have a few comments to add to the topic, in response to all the thoughts shared previously -just quoted a couple of people, but my use of the word "you" isn't directed at anyone and I certainly speak to myself as well ;-)

UNI Fair, for example, publishes stats on all the schools, the percentage of single and married faculty. It varies widely! If finding a partner is important to you, then it strikes me that one thing a person can do is seek a school that hires mostly single faculty! My life-long dating experiences, living in different places, have led me to conclude that five things make the biggest difference in finding romantic partners:

1) Numbers. don't isolate yourself in any one community and certainly don't sit at home! If you socialize with only ex-pats, or only locals, you aren't maximizing your chances of meeting someone. Bottom line...meet more people.

2) Live in a bigger city. this goes with numbers, of course. And mindset, smaller towns tend to be more conservative have a higher percentage of married folks.

3) Be open-minded. Seriously. Fate, chance, karma, whatever you want to call it -has a place in this. Don't fail to recognize & enjoy an opportunity because you are so focused on one outcome or a narrow set of criteria.

4) Love your life. sighing about there being "no one to date" isn't generally attractive. Being bitter about finding someone is like a poison that while it kills you, also repels others! Do stuff you love, get involved in new things. (and meet more people!)

5) The grass is generally not greener. Wherever you go, there you are. The common denominator is you. Cliche, but true. If you think other people are boring...well, you get the idea.

eion_padraig said:
"Based on your postings, I'm not looking at this from as quite a gendered, hetero-normative perspective as you either. I have gay and lesbian friends who also deal with this issue as international teachers. Some of the issues they have are the same, and some of the issues they have are different."

Exactly what I was thinking, thanks for saying it. Not every single ex-pat has a goal of getting married (and/or can legally marry) and/or is expecting to have children one day. All flavors of folks across the gender spectrum are looking for love -gay, straight, middle-aged, divorced, etc.

Thank you, eion. I will be moving to Mexico. Having spent a few summers there and brought my dog with me, I am comfortable and know the system for entering my new country. I made a spreadsheet for my job search process with every school attending the AASSA fair, plus others I was applying to myself, with a column for the country regulations on importing pets. And as I talked to admins, I learned a lot on this issue. Brazil didn't seem too easy, and the school there that was interested couldn't accommodate, the director really appreciated me not wasting his time and energy.

Admin, thank you. I had read that article prior to posting.

curitiba, thank you! glad to know your experience at Search lines up with mine at AASSA!

Bingo and I are both excited to move to hot weather and embark on our new adventure. Several faculty members and future colleagues in the counseling dept have reached out via email that have dogs and shared their experiences -all positive. The schools seems to have a lot of dog folks and plenty of housing options that allow dogs. I am truly thankful!

Just an update: I was upfront about my dog from the beginning with schools and that did not seem to deter me from landing a wonderful position and 2 other good offers I declined. Thank you for the helpful advice @sid and @mollymillions.

p.s. PsyGuy, you are entitled to your opinion, but please understand that your opinion is not a global fact. It is neither your place, nor good manners to pronounce judgement on my relationship with my dog. You may own yours as you own flannel pajamas, mine is a treasure companion that I share my life with and support as a dependent.

Chipmunk, would you mind sharing what fair you attended? Thank you for the dairy, lots of good insights. I will post my AASSA fair diary soon on this thread.

[quote="calciodirigore"]Escuela Campo Alegre is an amazing school and moves from strength to strength. Definitely a top tier school.

Caracas, on the other hand, is very difficult to live in. I worked at ECA for four years and loved every minute of it. However, Caracas was becoming very unpleasant. This was several years ago, too. Friends who are still there say that it has become almost unbearable.

Good luck.[/quote]

PychBean,
I met a teacher from ECA at AASSA and asked about the area. Everyone has their own comfort level of course. And I am pretty adventurous, single and don't have kids. However, I have a dog and like to be able to walk solo to shop, enjoy exercise, etc. She described a life in which you could never carry a purse, wear earrings (not that I have diamonds, but living undercover sounds oppressive to me) and living in a gated community. I personally want to integrate with the local culture, and if I wanted an expat enclave, I could go to the ME and make more money. Just my impression. The teacher I spoke with was very happy at the school and def. made a case for applying. With a family, and coming from the ME, it may be perfectly comfortable for you! And the pay is good.

Again, best wishes. A perfect place for one person may be another's nightmare!

Correction: name is the American School Foundation Guadalajara

There are a few more on the AASSA lists you may want to add. Link:
http://www.aassa.com/page.cfm?p=371

Randy - Thank you for re-posting my comments -I am so glad you were able to give a first hand report to round out the info for Bean! Interesting what the principal reported to me vs. your experience. Good to know from a teacher on the ground that it's more liveable than I realized, but still happy with my choice and the offer I did accept in Mexico. I look forward to visiting Panama someday :-)

Psychbean,

I have not lived in Panama City, but I did just have a 1st and 2nd interview (an got an offer) with a school there at the AASSA fair this year. I had a lot of questions about life there, as you can imagine and I will be taking my dog with me wherever I go next year. (I accepted a position in Mexico)

This was what I learned (totally based on my questions and what is important to me, lifestyle-wise):

1) it's not a walking city -you simply must have a car there and public transport is not recommended (safety and efficiency)

2) because it is not an agricultural country, produce generally is imported. Hence, no veggie/fruit stands all through the neighborhoods.

3) most folks in the city live in highrise apartments (awful for me with a dog) and it is not a city of parks

4) more green space in the suburbs (that's where the principal I interviewed with lives) but then it's more isolated (not great for me as a single person)

5) with a car, you have easy access to incredible natural places in Panama, beaches, jungles, etc. People I spoke to compared the city to Miami, but raved about the beautiful countryside within a few hours drive.

I hope this is helpful. I know Panama City has a large expat community, perhaps if you Google "Panama blogs" you will gain some perspective about life there.

Best wishes! I didn't realize til this thread popped up that you are in ME now. Some general thoughts about your South America search: AASSA fair is indeed a very long way to come, and expensive. Almost all the positions I saw at AASSA were also posted (although with a few days delay) on JoyJobs.com. It's only $40 a year and includes a nice one page website for you to create a one-stop for recruiters to see your photos, read your philosophy, download your CV and email you directly. Nice to send out as a link in your emails. TIEonline is also worth the cost for listings. For such a narrow specialty, some schools will only hire locals (every school in Columbia from what I learned at AASSA) however, large schools throughout Mexico, Latin/South America (even with mostly host national kids) will hire expats for counseling positions and while they of course prefer Spanish fluency, it is not always required.

A smaller school will likely be a K-12 position and college counseling is part of the bundle. Counseling positions are so important, many schools start early and will wait to hire until they find the best possible candidate. I had several directors tell me this at AASSA. Still, I had 2 offers at the fair this year. Overall, there were 16 positions posted for counseling, 5 of which were just college counseling. Brazil had the most positions. No one expects you to speak Portuguese going in, so the language issue isn't part of the hiring criteria. For me, I have already put 4 years into studying Spanish, so I really was going for a Spanish-speaking country!

You may be able to manage without a fair. For example, I made a spreadsheet with every single school I was interested in (including links to their vacancy pages) and checked them daily once we got to October when positions are first being posted. This is actually how I found my job for next year, not via AASSA. (the fair was still very valuable) Two Skype interviews that went very well were enough! Overall, I invested a ton of time and no small amount of money into this process. I know it is possible, so please keep the faith :)

I concur with Chilagringa. Latin America, smaller schools will offer 1 year contracts. Low pay, interesting experience. Dominican Republic and Honduras come to mind as places I have seen schools advertise one-years. Most likely, you would be the sole counselor for K-12 and need to be reasonably fluent in Spanish to be hired.

Best wishes on your search -I think it's an admirable plan and if you keep your expectations of pay low and location flexible, you will probably find something. Also, some schools do end up posting positions very late, between May-July. I have seen quite a few positions pop up on TIE during the spring/summer. They may be more desperate and open to offering a one-year.