Skip to main content

What tier are you?

Lately Ive been reading about other countries and looking at schools to get an idea of where I may want to go next. Options, right?

I came to the conclusion that one must know what tier they are in before considering a place to live.Ill explain...

Tier one

Its not too different from your place of origin. You can read everything, you see things you recognize from home, you have western amenities at your fingertips and there are quite a few western places to eat.You can usually find clothes that fit your body even if you are not the same size as the people who call the country home.Its not difficult for you to stay in contact with people from home. Accommodations are quite comfortable and may even better than what you were living in back home. Healthcare may be very good or you may have to speak to other expats but you will find a doctor who can help you in most instances.You (usually) dont have to fear losing a limb over a minor incident.Transportation is not a major issue. You can drive or take public transport though both may take some time getting used to.There is little to no threat of conflict, you can communicate (more or less) with people you come in contact with on a regular basis and you may even get annoyed if no one in an establishment speaks English.This can also be referred to as being a pretend expat. This may be good for those who may want or need to ease into the process of living abroad.


Tier two

A few steps down from the first tier. There is a lot less of everything mentioned above. You will see little to no English on a regular basis. Housing may be a lot less than you are used to,expats can be a bit more spread out.The comforts of home may be few and far between.And if they arent, you may not make enough money to purchase them. Clothes are probably not in your size but you can have them made and/or sent to you.You probably dont want to get sick here but if you needed minor health care you can get what you need though it may take several attempts to get someone to understand you. Transport can be an issue bc of language barriers and so can the most mundane activities that we dont even think of being in our home country.You would do well to learn the language if you plan on staying.Your housing will take some getting used to,especially the space you have-or dont have.You are definitely an expat and this may add to your level of home sickness.


Tier three

Think bare minimum.Kiss all the things that make your life easy goodbye. In tier one, its close to or slightly higher for the item, in tier two you have to search for it and pay 2-3 times more for it.In this tier, you arent getting it. You will probably live like a local (and you may very well be cool with that).Forget about McD's or the comfort of breakfast food. In fact, you may be eating things that are either pets or rodents on a regular basis.Bring what you need in terms of medicine, clothing, and anything you may need to survive.Talking to people at home is not as simple as turning on your VPN or using a cell phone with international minutes.Forget receiving mail. Tier three is not for the faint of heart. I am definitely faint of heart,lol.


Anyway. This is just my take and I could completely be off the mark,lol.I just think we arent created equally when it comes to living abroad.You can sometimes tell when you hear people complaining about one thing or another. the more you learn, the more you realize that all places have some kind of issue. Some more than others.Sometimes you want to take those people,send them to a tier three location, and then see how much they complain when they come back. But this isnt a rant sooooo.


Where to next? That remains to be seen.Right now, I will continue to do what I do here.Its working well for me.

Cheers.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

order it!

you have to make a decision about what is ok to buy here and what you should send for. For instance, if its something I should just learn to live without, I dont bother. If Im home visiting, I make a decision about whether I should bring it back. Like poultry seasoning (for a proper southern,savory dressing aka stuffing). I brought enough to last me until my next trip home. Other things, like shampoo or some hair products. I really couldnt bring enough to last as those things are heavy so I make do with what is here.Luckily, my kind of hair is resilient to the water so Im not having much problems aside from dryness which coconut water seems to be helping with. Anyway. One thing I made sure to bring enough of was bras. And I had so many that it wasnt necessary to get some last year. But now? Now its about the time to figure something out. And if youre a lady, you know when you need to throw that bra out,lol. Its definitely about that time. And, yes, I could look here but Im not on ...

This will do

So I just havent made it around to making a video of the place.Part of that is because my phone, which had the great camera on it,is no longer.And leave it to me to buy a cute phone with a horrible camera.yes, I have a camera with video but its just too much hassle.At least I think so. And because Im supposed to be honing my craft, I decided to post my place in pictures. Enjoy. My color palette all these switches for one little bathroom no tv. . .yet just the two of us! I love this contraption,lol and on the off times that this occurs. . . I just use my teacher dry erase marker,lmbo So,so glad to finally be clutter free! cleaning takes one day a week besides the every other day of sweeping bc its super dusty here.I have ONE pile of stuff left and thats only because I need a book shelf.Thats coming soon.ļ»æ

Turning Tides

6 months ago I wasn't to happy with my situation. I was feeling stifled in terms of teaching time and a  host of other things and my main focus in life was to get OUT.  I must say that the year has progressed rather nicely and Im not feeling the same way about the year. Thanks to my coteacher, who understands what the kids need and provides those things even when someone says otherwise,we  are having a great year! I can't say that I would feel this way with another teacher. Our classroom runs smoothly and the kids are self sufficient. Today, two kids decided to make a book in the science center. The books were pre made with the title and had two pages for them to draw animals or write. They were provided with real pictures of animals to choose from and had been given instructions previously about their options (to draw animals they saw at the zoo, animals from the book The Very Hungry Caterpillar, or to use the pictures if necessary). We also started this week putting ...