Job Discussion Forums

[Noelle]

Hi everyone

This my first time in the Bahrain forum. I realize that the title I put in the subject line is pretty loaded, but I was hoping to get some quick responses by grabbing active posters' attention!

A friend of mine (who is somewhat sheltered and quite ignorant about the middle east) has just been offered a position at an international school in Bahrain. I don't know the name- I'll find out from her at some point. She's a certified public school history teacher.

She's terrified of going to teach in the middle east, but she applied out of desperation because her current public school job in the U.S. is awful (as are most). I'm trying to convince her to give it a try. I'm planning on moving to Oman or UAE myself this fall to teach in a uni-- I currently teach Saudis, Kuwaitis and students from the Emirates.

I know A LOT about KSA, Kuwait and UAE. I know nothing about Bahrain except that it is small and overrun by foreigners. I've been told it's a pretty liberal place to live for a westerner who is not used to being around Muslims.

This friend of mine is also a Christian so I'm sure that will play a big part in her decision. She told me she doesn't want to go anywhere that will require her to cover her head!

Feedback would be greatly appreciated!

[nomad soul]

Seriously, your friend obviously isn't the type to just "give it a try." If she's terrified and apparently, also not very culturally aware nor tolerant, then the Mid East is completely the wrong region for her. Plus, Bahrain is still reeling from sectarian violence and civil unrest---the security situation isn't exactly stable. She'd do better teaching in Asia or applying for a Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) job to teach American children on a military base. Or she could simply stay in her current teaching job in the US. As her friend, these are the options you should be encouraging her to explore.

[GladToBeFree]

.....

[veiledsentiments]

[PattyFlipper]

[nomad soul]

[Noelle]

Thank you, nomadSoul. I appreciate your honesty. And you're right- I've not lived in the Middle East... yet. But I've done as much research as I possibly can over the past 4 years, as I've been planning to move over there since finishing my MA.

I teach wealthy Saudi Sunni students here (for my bread and butter) and poor, Iraqi Shiite refugees (for the heck of it). I've studied Arabic, studied the Qu'ran, been to speak to an Imam and most importantly-- kept in touch with teachers from my current university who have worked or are currently working in Oman, UAE, Kuwait and KSA. Under the circumstances, I don't see how I could possibly do more short of getting on a plane and going into the Gulf to just live for awhile on my own. I have spent most of my adult life working abroad, just not in the Middle East.

My friend however is going in completely blind and didn't know Bahrain existed until this past weekend. She's never lived or worked abroad and turned down an opportunity to work in Russia last year because she was too "scared". I think, based on the comments I've read here, I'm going to discourage her from taking that job in Bahrain.

I on the other hand will be coming to the Middle East this fall if I get a job at one of the 7 universities I am applying to. I hope I can contact you too for some advice?

[veiledsentiments]

[nomad soul]

[Noelle]

Thanks a bunch, Ms Nomad!

And thanks to everyone who chimed in on this thread. My friend has elected not to take that job. I'm pretty sure she would have come to that decision on her own though-- but I copied and pasted all these comments into an email for her to read anyway.

Thanks again!

[PattyFlipper]

[scot47]

Public Order and Civil Unrest. Does she not read about current events ?

[runninggirl]

I'm confused as to why you are asking on a forum when you say you have direct contact with teachers already here in the M.E.
It would seem to me that you would be speaking directly to your friends who are here teaching. How could you not know about the situation in Bahrain? With only a little research you would have found the news of Bahrain protests, arrests etc all over the news. It also makes me wonder why you would be asking this question about your friend going there who is a frightened person, why isn't she writing her own question... ? There are many things about your first question that begs clarity. What is it that you are really seeking?

You say:
"I teach wealthy Saudi Sunni students here (for my bread and butter) and poor, Iraqi Shiite refugees (for the heck of it). I've studied Arabic, studied the Qu'ran, been to speak to an Imam at our local Islamic Center in San Diego and most importantly-- kept in touch with teachers from my current university who have worked or are currently working in Oman, UAE, Kuwait and KSA. Under the circumstances, I don't see how I could possibly do more short of getting on a plane and going into the Gulf to just live for awhile on my own. I have spent most of my adult life working abroad, just not in the Middle East. "

[veiledsentiments]

She got what she was seeking, which was clear to the rest of us. I suggest that you re-read the whole thread.

What is not clear to me is what you are accusing her of... and why?

VS

[Noelle]

Runninggirl,

I just came across your response to this old post. Thank you for taking the time to respond. I don't know if you're still active here or not, but if you are, then I agree with VS. You need to read the ENTIRE thread before posting direct comments such as the one you posted to my mine.

Had you done this earlier, you would have seen that the question I posed in my original post, which it appears you did not really read very thoroughly either, was answered by other participants here quite awhile ago.

I have posted and will continue to post other questions on these forums on behalf of friends who are not familiar with Dave's, as many teachers who travel to teach abroad are not in the ESL field.

Best,

Noelle