Our Journey, Part 4. Settling in a Foreign Country.

The buzz from our ‘yes’ day was still fresh. We had a new impetus and things felt positive again. Jayne had an immediate response from the school that she applied to and it was exciting reading. The Principal of the school had phoned back saying that they were very interested in Jayne and jokingly complaining that she was a Chicago Bears fan. They had instant chemistry and that was a great sign. So the interview was set up in a couple of days so Jayne had time to prepare.

Perfect Timing

Because of the swine flu epidemic the school had not been open at all so the timing would be perfect for both Jayne and Jaime, if Jayne landed the job. They would both get to start the school year with everyone else. These international teaching jobs come with free places for your child which for us is a massive boost financially and one of the biggest perks of teaching abroad. We had one reservation and that was that the job was advertised as part time and clearly that was not going to be enough to sustain us on this little island especially as I had not had a sniff of a job so far.

The Interview and Nicely Trimmed Hedges

The day of the interview we were nervous. This was make or break for our stay in Bahrain which must have been crazy pressure for Jayne going in to it. I tried to take the pressure off of her as much as I could but it’s hard to avoid it. Having said that, the confidence and self-belief that my wife was showing was impressive. There was an air of destiny about the situation and we had to contain our excitement and be professional. The school, which was a new build, was on the west side of the island and we had never been over that way before but we found it fairly easy. The first thing we noticed was that there were footpaths along the side of the road and that it was green and the hedges and trees were kept in good shape. This was a very different area to Sanad and you could see that this was more ex-pat based which only added to the hysteria.

Whatever it takes

Jayne dropped me and our 6 year old daughter off at a coffee shop just down the road and went to the school. A few hours went by. I’m containing my nerves, but only just. I have a sensitive little girl in front of me and I’ve always tried to shield her from anything extreme at a young age. I also didn’t want to build her hopes up only to have to dash them later. Then Jayne appeared with a smile on her face. The interview had gone well. She had met The Principal, the Head of Secondary and the Head of Department and seemed to get on with all three. The part time/full time situation was an issue but they were going to look at it and get back to her. Truth be told, I don’t think they could believe their luck and were playing it cool. To contribute to that feeling, the Head of Secondary; who is a very nice lady, said to Jayne after taking her hand ‘we will do whatever it takes to make this happen.’ Wow. The relief was huge and I’m pretty sure some emotion was released right then. It wasn’t signed and sealed yet but when you walk away with those parting comments you are feeling pretty good about your situation. I have been proud of my wife on lots of occasions in our time together; for instance giving birth to our beautiful daughter is a debt I’ll never be able to repay and will always be truly grateful for, and this was one occasion that blew me away. She held it together and excelled with our futures on the line. Fail to get the job and we go home, mind blowing.

Letting the Other Lot Know

We didn’t have to wait long for the decision. We were sure of a positive outcome but until you get the official decision you are never entirely sure. The answer was yes and I think the school were as excited as we were! The school immediately arranged to put us in a furnished residence and start all the paperwork needed. What we had to do was tell Jayne’s current school and that was not going to be easy. Even though she was still in her probationary period they would not take this well. We were a little untrusting of them to tell you the truth so we kept it to ourselves and made arrangements to move our stuff into the new flat.

The Midnight Flit

We called it the midnight flit. Some of our close friends helped us move what little we had at the time and then all that was left to do was tell the old school we were leaving. As we suspected they were upset and a whole range of emotions came out from begging Jayne not to go to we’ll take you to court! Jayne was owed a month’s salary but we clearly weren’t going to see that and, to be fair, we owed them some of the initial relocation outlay anyway. Jayne’s friend and colleague at the school; the one who recommended the school and told us that there were plenty of British children at the school, was initially very critical of the move but at the same time admitted that she wouldn’t put her own children in the school. Thanks for that!

NFL Time

Now we were in a lovely new apartment that made our old one look like a shed (I was still kind of fond of it). The new school was opening its doors in a few days and I had a trip back to the UK to look forward to. Before we decided to leave England I had arranged to go to Wembley with my brother and some ex colleagues to watch an NFL game between the New Orleans Saints and the San Diego Chargers. My friend’s girlfriend was from Louisiana and grew up a Saints fan so that was an added bonus to the experience.

Breathe in, Breathe Out

Settling in to a foreign country is not an easy thing. You feel isolated from everything around you, you feel sad, maybe even guilty, because of the people you have left behind and you start off with zero friends which is weird. Everything that you have become accustomed to has been left behind and now everything you do is new. This was part of the reason to give it a go, try new things and get away from the usual, but it comes with some adversity. Left foot in front of right foot, breathe in, breathe out, it’s that basic. Everything you do you have to think about. There is no auto pilot anymore, no familiarity to fall back on. This is both exhilarating and terrifying all at the same time and after a little while it gets exhausting and you just need a bit of shutdown time. The good news is it gets easier as you get into it. Familiarity builds, your social circle increases and things become normal! But…..Too much normality led us to move in the first place!

Al Dar and Lots of Scrummy Food

We did quite a few things in the time before school started. We went to the Race track to watch the Australian V8 series. We traveled around the island and got to know it a bit more. We met up with our new friends again who had been living in Bahrain for quite a while and they showed us around and took us back to their lovely home, which left a very good impression on us. We made a trip together to a little island called Al Dar which is a half hour speed boat ride off of the East coast of Bahrain. It’s a beautiful little spot and the children had a great time. As we were learning fast, the choice of food on the island is immense. Arabic food is cheap and everywhere but world cuisine is of a high standard and reasonably priced and we love a good meal out. There are so many good places to eat.

The Aussie V8 Series and one of the only shots of our old temporary apartment.

Getting There

Suddenly the isolation disappears and you start to feel like you belong in a place. We were having a lot of fun again. School was just about to start and both of the girls were excited about that too. Hopefully they would settle very quickly and then all that would be left to do was to find a job for me and the circle would be complete! 😁

Until next time, thanks for reading.

Our Journey, Part 1 Here

Our Journey, Part 2 Here

Our Journey, Part 3 Here

Gaz

@steemitbloggers