Sorry for your stress as you're getting set up in a new country. I would suggest talking to the Head of School about your situation. He/she may be able to intervene with finance.

Also look into more temporary housing like a serviced apartment until you get paid. Someone might be subletting. Or negotiate with a landlord to pay the security deposit at a later date or in installments. Explain your situation to an agent. Someone will probably have sympathy with your situation, know that you have steady income as a teacher and wait for payment.

You can see if you qualify for a credit card or a loan at your new location. With an employment contract and a bank account you may be able to get one quickly.

Good luck.

The AASSA fair only deals with some schools in South/Central America and the Caribbean (ex:Jamaica). It's a smaller fair. I attended 2 hiring seasons ago. I think that you could find a position with one dependant-but nothing more than that. Some of these schools tend to pay a little lower. I've had a couple of friends find good jobs at this fair. You'll find more local teachers and a lot of people new to international teaching. I also noted a good deal of EAL/ESOL teachers at this one. Because it's so regionalized, it's the one that I would drop if I had interests outside of this area. I also think it might be very limited in terms of the position that you are interested in. Good luck.

I think that a better approach is to look at how each school's package works for your family not necessarily what safe country has the highest savings potential. Several things to consider include flights, housing, salary, tuition, tax rates, educational steps/levels, bonuses, moving costs, setup costs, professional development, loans, transportation costs, etc. So while I'm in a safe country (Hong Kong), each school (and there are tons) has a different package. Earning potentials vary greatly even in the same school depending on personal circumstances.

You don't really need a letter. If you're using an agency, you'll probably have to use their online form. You usually need 3 professional references and you can get these from various supervisors. I didn't involve my principal in the process until I had been offered the position and they needed to do a background check. You can also tell them that you need the references now to join an organization that specializes in international teaching and that the membership is good for 3 years.

You can start to make sure that you have all of your documents in order. High school and college transcripts, teaching certifications, birth certificate, valid passport, marriage license, etc. You can update your resume, find a good picture of yourself, create a website, etc.

Most of the agencies use online forms for references but I think it's still good to get a hard copy for the future. Realize that you may need to ask people to do this more than once and it can get annoying. I had my references write something and then told them they could cut and paste it into the online forms.

American schools aren't your only options. No need to limit yourself.

I would pick an agency and join. For what you describe, I would recommend SEARCH (Cambridge) or UNI. By the time you get all your documents together, finish the application and get the references, it will be about September. Then prepare for the fairs. By Jan/Feb you'll hopefully know where you're going and then the work visa madness begins.

You don't have to join an agency, but I would recommend it. You could possibly find a job thru TIE or something similar but the fair gives you more bang for your buck. At the fairs you find out how marketable you really are, meet interesting people who have good information, and find out about schools that may be interested in you that only work out of the fairs. For example at the last fair I attended, only 1 school contacted me prior to the fair. At the fair at least 6 more showed interest and I found out that another school had been trying to contact me but I didn't get the message. I ended up taking the position with the school that contacted me prior to the fair, but now I know that I have some other options and I don't feel as stressed going out into the fray again.

And I also would have said that Search didn't accept credit cards. I have people at my school giving Americans cash for them to write checks to pay an associate in the US. I know that I couldn't use the card or paypal when I registered before. I think we should be asking our associates to work on accepting credit cards as a general policy.

I kind of chuckled to myself when I saw how specific you were being about location. That's so much more of an issue than which fair you attend. Finding those two particular positions in a school that's willing to take on you and your dependents will be challenging enough. I would join Search, use the database to find out which schools have matching positions, find out which is the first fair that most of them are attending, and go there. Unless you broaden your horizons, you may be in for a big disappointment.

I've only been to mainland China twice, but I'm in Hong Kong and I think some things are similar. I also need larger sizes. I have only worn clothes and shoes from home. The sizes are ridiculously small and I have no desire to be shamed in the store or to pay higher prices for lower quality. You can also have things made-varying successes with this. It hasn't been that easy buying things that my kids like to wear, either. I did get some things from macys.com but I am convinced it came from a local factory-was not the store quality.

When I came, I packed lightly. Pretty much clothes/shoes, a few kids toys for comfort, and toiletries. No excess baggage. I bought a couple of large expandable duffle roller bags from Ross and they have been great. When I return after the summer I am going to pack lots of cereals and packaged goods. Almost none of my preferred brands are available here-deodorant, feminine products, toothpaste, medicines. Some things I can make adjustments and some I choose not to. I have never seen a Pop-tart in a store around here. There are a bunch of Western things that I can get here but they're ridiculously expensive-think $7 for cake mix that I can find on sale for $1.25 at home. Cereals and boxed mixes are the same. I have switched to more local products. Towels were easy to replace. I use the one set of sheets that I brought. Did not have problems buying a knife. I might bring my favorite pans for comfort but wouldn't have problems replacing them with others.

I think it takes a while to get adjusted to a new home and culture. Having some familiar things around for your family helps. I was very annoyed that I hadn't brought more the first few months until I was able to transition mentally. I was even having dreams that I went home to the store and I would wake up so disappointed.

Safe travels and have a great year.

At UNI I met several people who had been offered jobs as new graduates. However, I wasn't impressed with the schools that offered those positions-some safety issues. I did not get offered a position as I have 2 dependants. It seemed like singles and couples did well if they weren't picky about location. I thought I would have been more marketable. I only got interviews for supervisory positions and I wasn't quite there yet. The UNI fair cost less than Search and I met some great people. I also liked their hard copy school information pack. I'm kicking myself for dumping it after the fair.

At Search, I had many more schools interested in me despite the dependants. I think that's because the quality of school was higher at Search. I also liked having the ear of my associate. Some people don't have the same experience, but my associate gave me helpful advice in making a selection. Also met great people.

I think it's a great idea to go where the jobs are, but that's easier said than done. You can't see what jobs are listed until you register with the agencies. If I had to pick only one, it would be Search.

I was contacted by my current school thru them using the Search database. We did a Skype interview and I was given a job offer at a fair. I was anxious because I had attended two other fairs (not Search) without success. However, once I arrived at the Search fair, I found there were many other schools that were interested in me but hadn't reached out prior to the fair. I even met a recruiter during the social who mentioned that they had been trying to contact me and hadn't received a response. Maybe their message got lost in my email somewhere. The point is that without attending the fair I wouldn't have known that these other opportunities existed.

I think that you'd be a good fit for the UNI fair. You would find a good number of schools from the regions that you mention being interested in plus it's a kinder fair for newbies. If you went with Search, I would go to Cambridge. I think that Bangkok wouldn't have the South American options and not having IB experience would be more of an issue. Good luck.

I think that you're going to have to really work for it but it is attainable. I like the term that PsyGuy uses "Special Ed Lite" to describe learning support positions. I definitely would go to the Search fairs (prob Cambridge)- not any of the smaller ones. You'll probably have to go to Asia or the Middle East to afford supporting a family with only 2 years teaching experience on the salary scales. Some schools will recognize your Masters degree.

The 3 dependents is going to be a challenge. That wouldn't stop you from being hired at my school (check out ESF schools in Hong Kong) but the minimal teaching experience probably wouldn't make you a prime candidate. Also be prepared to be work inside of a classroom/co-teach instead of resource or pull-out.

I think that being a male in a female-dominated field may be your ticket. Someone will probably want to round out their department and with your cetifications, other jobs and overseas experiences, you may get lucky.

You may also want to look into getting ESL or talented and gifted certifications/experience if you want to be in learning support. Good luck

1. Best overseas food-Thai
2. Strangest overseas food you have tried-alligator
3. Best beer/spirits-depends on who I'm with
4. Best festival/event-Bacardi Festival, Puerto Rico
5. Best place you went for vacation while overseas-desert safari, Dubai

I'm in Hong Kong as a single teacher. They pay 100% tuition for my two children but I get taxed on it. I interviewed with a school in China last year that wanted to hire me but would only pay for one child. It was a deal breaker.

As a parent of 2 with a Special Education certification (and several others), I found it very difficult to find a position. I have great references, a higher degree, and a few years teaching experience. It took me 3 teaching fairs to find a position and it was specifically because I had the children. It's great that this one teacher has this experience, but I'm convinced that this isn't the norm. I've had many, many conversations with other teachers in similar circumstances and I have never heard anyone say that it was a benefit to have extra dependents. UNI told me that I wasn't very employable at their fair and I went anyway. They were right. I then went to AASSA and found the same thing. I was finally successful with SEARCH. So, there's something to be found for everyone if you keep trying but don't underestimate the journey.

Agree with the post above on just about everything.

We didn't have a baggage allowance so I brought only what could fit in the suitcase. For the most part, it's been fine. The first few weeks I yearned to return home for a quick trip to Target and the grocery store but I adjusted. I would have brought a few months supply of my branded toiletries. I would have brought some food items like my brand of syrup and my favorite cereal until I found sufficient replacements. I would have brought some good sheets that I bought from a discount department store and some more walking/teaching shoes in my larger (size 9 US) size for Asia. A lot of things I can get but at huge cost. I brought a couple of things that I picked up from around the world and pictures. I would also have brought some more materials from the teachers store.

I would have left some of the fancier clothes and high heels at home. I would also leave most books and invest in a e-reader.