First Post

As-Salamu alaykum!

Here begins my tale of my trip to Egypt to teach at Hayah International Academy, www.hayahacademy.com. I attended a career fair on Jan. 30-Feb. 1 at University of Northern Iowa (UNI) where I interviewed with many prospective employers; entertained offers from schools in S. Korea, Colombia, Brazil, and of course, Egypt; and spent countless hours researching schools, countries, politics, economics, and more. It was a brain scrambling weekend and I enjoyed every minute of it.

The UNI Fair is a great coming together of international schools in search of teachers and teachers in search of international jobs. I heard many numbers, but am fairly certain there were over 600 teachers applying at over 100 schools. I feel very fortunate to have come away with this opportunity.

The photo was taken after I had browsed the tables and set up interviews, and finally had some time to step back and for the first time during the weekend, really reflect. School recruiters wait at tables for candidates to approach and discuss the option of interviewing for positions. It's a mad rush, as you help your chances of interviewing by being there first. So, many desperate and eager teachers race to the tables of schools that are high on their list.

There's an earlier preliminary filter, allowing a candidate and a school to research each other and be in touch. Thankfully, I had done some homework, had made some contacts, and had prepared a little bit before the day. So, after hitting the tables (not like Vegas, unfortunately!) for about 90 minutes, I had secured 12 interviews over the next 30 hours. I took this photo during a one hour break on Friday, and after the break moved on to interview with 6 different schools. It was a nerve-wracking day for me; by the looks of some others it was a very harrowing day, to say the least! For the first of many times during the weekend, I was very thankful I had looked ahead and prepared.

I had been in email contact with Hayah before the fair, and they had set aside time specifically for me. BUT, I am lucky I didn't screw it up. In traditional "Foster style," I got caught up in the day, and responded to all written invitations I had received in my mailbox the day of the fair. I neglected to remember my email contacts with four schools. A lot of early communication could have amounted to nothing!

But, within about one minute of shooting this photo, a man approached me after seeing my name on my name tag. I was sitting at the time and working on my laptop, so I have no idea how he spotted me. It was Mohammad from Hayah Academy, and he was keeping an eye out for me. We scheduled an interview (My 7th for the day) for 8 p.m. and the rest is becoming history.

I will be teaching English to a student body that is about 95% Egyptian. Arabic will be the native language for most of the students, but they will have been speaking English their whole lives. And, their next step educationally will be college - ideally the best universities in the world.

The school will provide an apartment house for me upon arrival, fully loaded with furniture, dishware, appliances, the works. I will provide pictures when I arrive, but from what I've seen, I won't want for much. It is possible it will be the nicest housing I've had in my adult life.

Other than that, I know I will be swamped with the types of details I like the least for the next few months - nitty gritty jumping through hoop details. I've got an idea I need to get shots, visas, provide extra paperwork and data to the Egyptian embassy, get in contact with Hayah's English department chair, discuss job details and course curriculum, and procure resources for next year's teaching. I will be bringing many materials with me from the U.S., so I need to plan ahead more than my usual one week in advance plan.