Most of the international schools that you would want to work at in South America (Lincoln, Cotopaxi, Graded etc) are going to operate on a North American type calendar-with a school year beginning in August, ending in June. They way they compensate for the South American summer is by giving a 6 week holiday in Decmber /January and 6 week holiday in June /July. You should not need to take six months off to get on the southern hemisphere schedule unless you plan to teach in a local school.

I would not say a step below SAS. I would say it is on par with SAS. They have different missions. SAS is about American education. UWC is more international and service driven.

Another thing to consider about Singapore (and I do not mean this in a racist way, just a - wow- I was surprised way) is that there are some places where there are so many expats you don't even feel like you are in Asia. During my time there, I felt that if I had spent all my time at certain shopping malls or at Clark Quay or at Robertson Quay, all I would have seen was Caucasian people from the US, UK & Australia. If you plan to move to Singapore & spend all your time at these types of places- why move overseas at all? At least in Hong Kong you feel like you moved far away from home.

If you want to go to Bangkok, you should know that Rumardee is VERY far from central Bangkok. Also, its student body is about 99% Thai. Not a bad thing & seeing as you are from the US, maybe not a bad place to get started teaching abroad. But if you have great certification (IB physics, or calculus something like that) you may want to look into NIST, which not only has a better reputation, but is more centrally located.

Speaking from experience, Graded expects a lot from its teachers. It is a rigorous school. You will put in a lot of hours, but be well compensated for it. Feel free to ask me specific questions about Graded or life in Sao Paulo.

I agree. Don't mention it all! And please, for the love of God, stop mentioning the 2nd & 3rd tier schools! Act as if you traded one good experience for another. When asked why you left your first school, you left because, it was too far from home, or living there caused you to become quite ill, there were staffing cuts, anything- expect that you had a personality conflict with another individual! You loved it, but you had to leave. I admire your honesty- but quite frankly directors do not want people on their staff who make trouble and if you tell that story that is how they will see you (even in spite of 4 years without any issues at your present school. Completely unfair- but it's a reality)

You're right, you have done your time. When you speak to the interviewer, focus on the great experiences that you have had at your present school and explain what you can bring to theirs.

Best of luck!!!

6 schools in 5 years is a lot. Be ready for that to be the first question you are asked at every interview. ( I was at an IASIS school and I hated it. I left after 2 years. It was the first question every director asked me at my interview.)

I would prepare like crazy for an interview and then explain why you had to leave the other places , but why you are committed to staying with school X.

My guess is that you will not get an offer from a great school, but then perhaps that is where you have been in the past & that is why you keep leaving. Maybe you just need to learn to stick it out.

If you are offered jobs, do your research- decide where you can stay (based on the school and the lifestyle of the city/country) & then stay there. I would say minimum three years. After three years you can go back to a job fair an look at better schools. But I think may may need to do some time at a less desirable school to get to where you want to be.

But keep in mind, the grass isn't always greener. I'm at a highly sought after school and we're so overworked, my colleagues who are leaving can't wait to go to a school with less work, where they can actually enjoy life abroad.

I have worked at Graded in Sao Paulo. Although the cost of living is extremely high, the salary is rather generous. I also know some people that took on tutoring & sent almost their entire salary home. You are paid in the local currency reals, not US dollars, so that is a consideration, depending on the exchange rate. Needless to say, we all did quite well while we were there.

We ate out at nice restaurants, lived in cute apartments in good neighborhoods, took taxis when we wanted to, and traveled on our breaks.

Please keep in mind you also get a huge amount when you leave the school from the fundo & prevedencia. It is Brazilian law. The longer you stay, the larger the amount.

However, they speak Portuguese in Brazil, not Spanish, so I'm not sure if you are only looking for schools in Spanish speaking countries.

I know there i an international school on the island of Boracay in The Philippines. I think it is very small & only goes up to middle school. The pay is not great, but it is remote & the setting is beautiful. http://www.boracayinternationalschool.org/

When in Asia- Made about $50,000 a year tax free, saved about $15,000-20,000 - with no debts back home, while living a very nice life overseas (maid, driver, occasionally upgrading to business class for the summer flight home, etc)

Now is South America - Making about $70,000, paying taxes, saving about $8,000-10,000 - much less luxurious life here! Cost of living & travel is much more expensive

Also, some schools only allow you to retain your foreign hire benefits for a certain number of years. At my current school it is 11 years, and then you get the local hire package. I have heard at other schools it is less. This also encourages people to move around.

I can second that. I worked for Geoff Smith in Jakarta. Great guy. While I would never go back to Indonesia (not a fun place for females!), I would love to work with Geoff again.

There are no beaches in Jakarta that you can actually swim in. The water is polluted and filthy. For real beaches, most would recommend you go to Bali, not difficult to get to, but not in your backyard, as you might be picturing.

Also, since your name is missy, I am imagining you are probably female. The experience in Jakarta is much different for males & females. While I tried to makes the best of it & made some great friends and had some good experiences, overall I hated it & got out as soon as I could. Men love it. That pretty much sums it up

Could you rent out your house? Many of my colleagues who are homeowners seem to do that and then the renters pay the costs to cover the mortgage, but the house will be there for you when you are ready to retire.

Also, as far as saving for retirement, many schools offer some type of retirement package. If you have worked in the US for a while, check with your state retirement program. In many states, you only have to have taught for about 7 years to be "vested" and then you are entitled to some type of pension upon reaching 65 years of age.

I interviewed with BCIS a couple years ago. I was really impressed. Someone I worked with at my school at the time had worked their for five years and raved about it. I would have taken the job when they offered, but it was (as PsyGuy mentions) in Asia, and I had already spent too long living in Asia & not dating. Accepted a position out of Asia instead, but I still think very highly of the school.