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| James and Alex January 31, 2014 |
We're Back!
It has been almost 2 years since our last post which was about my study trip to Korea with a group of students.
Quite a bit has changed since then, including the birth of our 2nd son, Alexander. With a toddler and a newborn, it has been difficult to blog. I have written a few articles for TIEOnline, but nothing for this blog site. We have received numerous emails from people inquiring about our jobs in Saudi Arabia or just teaching positions internationally. Most of these people stumbled on our blog and just want some questions answered. I ran into one particular woman on a 2 day conference in Oman I had been corresponding with 2 years before about a job in Saudi Arabia. Her family had taken jobs at Aramco. We hope that this blog has been a way for teachers in the US or abroad to gain a better understanding of living overseas.
With that said, being so busy as of late has not provided us with the opportunity to post any information concerning life abroad or about ourselves personally. Our blog was a way for us to keep in touch with people back home. Sure, we've done so through Facebook and email, but the blog seemed more personal.
Lastly, living in Saudi Arabia isn't exactly as exciting as living in China. There simply isn't as much to do or blog about on a day to day basis. However, Jamie and I both have taken active roles in our schools. I have coordinated the switch to a standards based grading and reporting system by chair our grading and reporting committee, taken 2 study trips with students to Korea, Prague/Budapest, with an upcoming one in Switzerland, helped with basketball at school, and switched from chairing the listening committee to helping with professional development.
Jamie has been very active in her school by teaching two AP classes, Psychology and Economics, leading as social studies department head, helping IB students as an extended essay advisor, and AFG coordinator. She also has helped with MUN leading a couple of trips to Istanbul.
Jamie also graduated with her PdD last August, so we have been working very hard to pay off student loans. Because of that and the birth of Alex, we aren't traveling much this year, with the exception of our quick 4 day trip to Vienna.
Here is a list of places we've been in the last 2 years since our last posting:
Spring Break Italy 2012: Italy
Summer 2012: Visiting family in US and a trip to Tampa for Jamie's AP training
October 2012: Jamie's leadership conference in Dubai
Fall Break 2012: Paris for James' 1st birthday!
November 2012: Eric's conference in Dubai
December 2012: Jamie's MUN trip to Istanbul
Winter Break 2012: USA for Christmas
February 2013: Jamie's student study trip to Bali, Indonesia
March 2013: Eric's student study trip to Prague/Budapest
Spring Break 2013: Thailand for Phuket and Bangkok (Jamie's conference)
Summer 2013: USA visiting family, Dallas for Jamie's conference, Minneapolis for Jamie's graduation
November 2014: Eric's conference in Dubai
December 18, 2013: Alexander Laith Brown born!
January 2014: Eric's conference in Muscat, Oman
February 2014: 4 day trip to Vienna, Austria
Whew! That's it and it took some time remembering. We haven't included our trips to Bahrain periodically throughout the year and 4 of those for a training for Jamie.
I'm hoping to start posting on a regular basis and discuss a little more detail about life in Saudi and our roles at our respective schools.
Glad to be back! Hope everyone has been well!
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