Karla is our newly qualified Foundation Phase teacher who started her international teaching career at our school in Kuwait.
As Karla is a newly qualified teacher we were so keen to find out from her what this new adventure and professional challenge has been like.
We asked her a few questions and are excited to share her honest and forthright answers here. Our goal is to shed light on a real teacher's experience, so that any other teachers that are thinking about teaching in the Middle East can get authentic facts and shared experiences.
Why did you contact SA-Recruitment to assist you in securing you position abroad?
I’ve always wanted to work / teach abroad from the time I began my studies. I found SA recruitment on Facebook and kept seeing their daily updates about teachers moving to the middle east and eventually I started reading the teaching blogs. I knew when I have my 2 years teaching experience I was gonna apply through SA recruitment. And I did. I sent through my cv and was contacted swiftly. A few days later I was contacted by Nicole from SA recruitment informing me that there was a school interested in me.
I choose SA recruitment because of the positive feedback I had seen from the teacher blog stories
What do you enjoy most about teaching abroad so far?
I enjoy how diverse and different the culture is here. I’ve met people from South Africa, Lebanon, Egypt, India etc all in the school that I work in. Its been quite interesting learning about the different cultures and their way of life. I also enjoy how modern the facilities are.
What has been the most challenging thing about living in a new country and teaching in a new school environment?
The language. The most challenging things for me right now is just the language difference. Some kids don’t speak English or have not been to school before where they speak English. They were taught to speak Arabic at home so communicating at school becomes difficult when in a English medium school.
How does the cost of living compare to South Africa?
It’s a little pricey here ! It can get very expensive, very fast if you paying using your South African rands or if you’re like me and keep converting the currency. 1 KWD is about 60 ZAR.
Kuwait does have the strongest currency in the world so depending on what you are buying, it is more expensive here
But if you paying using the Kuwait Dinar (KWD) then you don’t feel the expense too much.
How do you feel about safety?
Absolutely safe here. Even in ubers/taxis.
What is the best advice you can give to teachers considering the move?
If you have the opportunity to move abroad than do it. It is hard in the beginning but it’s so worth it.
Any apps etc. you could recommend to new teachers coming over?
For uber- Careem.
For groceries- Lulu , it’s a reasonably priced super market that can be found on the Talabat app.
For takeaways- Talabat. They also deliver medication.
Malls- Avenues Mall and 360 Mall are stunning. And Marina Mall.
Beaches- Marina beach has beautiful sunsets.
If you wish to find out more about our opportunities in Kuwait or elsewhere in the Middle East, then get in touch.
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