Job Discussion Forums

texastmblwd69 · Joined: 25 Sep 2004 Posts: 91 Location: Seoul, South Korea

Hi,

My partner is Iraqi (Arab/Shia) from the Basra area. Due to some legal problems, he may not be able to remain in the US too much longer and he's considering returning to Iraq (and I can't bring him to Korea for a number of reasons). While he'd be okay in his hometown by himself, it'd be difficult for me to live there as I would be a target (being obviously Western by appearance and speech). I was considering looking for a position in Iraqi Kurdistan (I'm currently teaching in Korea).

Any thoughts, suggestions, random synaptic firings??? Do any of the major cities (Sulaymania, Arbil, etc) have large Shia Arab communities where he would feel welcome? How is it to be a westerner living there?

Any info you might be willing to supply would be invaluable. Websites or blogs concerning being a westerner and residing in Iraqi Kurdistan would also be very helpful.

PS Neither my partner nor I are obviously gay acting so we don't consider homophobia to be an obstacle for us, at least not on the personal level.

mistral · Joined: 17 Feb 2007 Posts: 93 Location: Herat Afghanistan

Please read our previous posts. The situation at ukh is even worse. Mainly because the cultprits are still there with nowhere else to go. There are couple of local private schools like Sabis and Britannia. But dont expect to earn more than $2000 gross! You'd be earning even less at the older universities.
With regard to the Shia population, it's very small. However, at the weekends many drive north to forget Baghdad for a while.

Sulymaniah is definitely the most pleasant place to live but very expensive by local standards.

Rennenkampf · Joined: 23 Sep 2006 Posts: 91 Location: Hail

UKH must have improved:I have heard from a reliable source that the Terrible Twins and the Canadian comissar(plus his Hawler Monkey)
have all departed ,voluntarily or otherwise.

mouse5 · Joined: 11 Jan 2006 Posts: 142

Don't go near the "oasis of learning" as it was descibed in the press, until they've cleared out all of the drifting grade school teachers with nowhere else to go. The recruiter was a bit dodgy too. Word has it she's never even seen the university. Kurd must have been a student in Erbil.

scot47 · Joined: 10 Jan 2003 Posts: 15343

I heard that there had been some purges.

sharter · Joined: 25 Jun 2008 Posts: 878 Location: All over the place

We've just had a right weirdo turn up at our place claiming that he last taught at UKH.

MOD edit and he was an ex-olympic diver.

We've just fired the incompetent, nasty, little runt.

If anyone out there worked with him, was he the same then? Utterly clueless. British but lives in El Paso.

Please pm me.

Terazu · Joined: 12 Jul 2007 Posts: 3

Sharter,

I worked with him. I can't PM you as I haven't enough posts on Dave's, but you can PM me.

veiledsentiments · Joined: 20 Feb 2003 Posts: 17644 Location: USA

You do realize that you are responding to a post from a year ago. He may not be still around the board. If you click on his name, you can find if and where he has posted lately here.

VS

Demigoddess · Joined: 09 Aug 2010 Posts: 3

This is my first post at Dave's ESL, as I don't tend to indulge in disgruntled discussions.

If you are considering UKH, please steer right away and go elsewhere where you can have a normal, happy, threat-free life - away from the lunatic gangster cohort who have overtaken the University of Kurdistan at the moment.

UKH is headed to a downfall, and the damage is irreversible, I'm afraid.

veiledsentiments · Joined: 20 Feb 2003 Posts: 17644 Location: USA

If one does a search, there has rarely been much positive to say about any of the places in Kurdistan. A google should also turn up much of interest.

Buyer Beware...

VS