The Blog

Scroll down for blog posts:

1. Intro - Another travel site?

2. Traveling to Russia visa-free for 72 hours.

3. Teaching overseas: My experience in Kuwait and teaching abroad in general.

another travel site?

Hey, Lisa here. So I know there are a ton of travel sites out there…so why did I feel the need to start one? Well, if you didn’t read the “about us” page…we live in Flin Flon, Manitoba. That’s Northern Manitoba. It’s a tiny mining town with a tiny airport in the middle of nowhere. There are lakes everywhere, and it really is beautiful. However, unless you are big on fishing, have a boat, have a ski doo, are an avid snowshoer or cross-country skiier, or are a musician, there’s really not much else to do. So in between reading books, going to the gym, working, and binge-watching TV shows, I really needed another hobby. This was it! Another reason is so I can have somewhere to look at and store all of our travel memories and best moments. I had a really hard time remembering some things from our earlier trips! I want to remember all of the little details and funny stories, and this seemed more fun than trying to write it all down in a journal. Lastly, I have a hard time looking at sites like Trip Advisor. Don’t get me wrong, they’re great for looking up things like restaurants, but the best advice and information we’ve gotten are from other personal blogs. Experiences, or more off-the-beaten path things to do are what we’re interested in, and I wanted to share some of our quirky experiences. Happy Reading!

the great russian 72-hour visa-free hack

Okay. So listen up if you would like to dip your toes into Russia without having to go through the time-consuming process of getting a visa. We had no idea this was an option until Trevor read about it somewhere on a blog. And even then, we researched the crap out of this…because this is Russia we’re talking about. Thankfully, we found enough, very specific information on how to go about this visa-free process. If you still have questions after reading this, just send us a message! I know how sketchy this seems. Anyways, after we were convinced this was a thing, we went about booking our stuff. So the only way you can get to Russia visa-free (max. of 72 hours) unless you’re from a communist-friendly country, you have to arrive from Helsinki via ferry or cruise. If you are on a cruise and St. Petersburg is on the list, you don’t have to worry, as the cruise will take care of it all and you will be sleeping on the boat. However, for those going on your own, keep reading. The St. Peter Line is the vessel you want to take (I believe it’s the only one), and it is an overnight ferry (13-15 hours). This is not a luxurious “cruise” ship by any means, but it’s got a few restaurants, decks, a night club, bars, etc… We purchased a small cabin, which was fine, as it had what we needed for one night. When you’re purchasing your boat ticket, you also must purchase a “city tour.” I don’t think you’ll be able to book your ticket without it. This is not actually a tour, it’s just for a bus that takes you from the ferry terminal to St. Isaac’s Square (with a couple of hotel stops along the way). You can book your own hotel for 2 nights, but we had to get the hotel to charge us before and send a receipt, as we were told just a booking confirmation might not be enough. So that was a bit challenging but we figured it out prior to getting on the ferry. Turns out, we didn’t need to show our receipts when entering the country, but when it comes to Russia I’d rather be safe than risk being sent to Siberia (joking! Kinda…). So make sure you print off everything, from the ferry booking (to and from St. Petersburg) and hotel information. Keep everything they give you in a safe spot (migration card, arrival/departure cards), as you do not want to lose these, and will need them on the way out. For the boat, arrive early (2-3 hours) and bring enough cash (euros) to make purchases, as the credit card machines rarely work. The restaurants on the ship fill up fast, and you might be waiting a long time. Also, the servers and restaurant workers are often very stressed out and can be rude or totally ignore you. Just be prepared. But the food was decent. When arriving in St. Petersburg, be prepared to wait a LONG time. We decided not to run into the crowd with our luggage to be the first ones off, so we waited an hour to disembark (and we weren’t the last ones off). Most people just have handbags and day packs, as most of them will return to the ship to sleep. However if you have luggage, there are young men who can carry your bags down the stairs to the dock for you. Once you eventually get off the boat, you have to go through customs. It is in a terminal with very little air circulation (awful on a hot day), so again, not wanting to join the insane “lines” (there were no actual lines…just people crowded around the customs booths), we sat and waited for another hour until the lines died down. We were then directed to the Russian citizens side. I’m not sure if they are less picky or ask less questions in this line, but we both took less than a minute to get through, and they asked no questions. It was very easy. Once through, we had to find the little white bus to take us to St. Isaac’s Square, which was where our hotel was. That was it! On the day you’re leaving, give yourself lots of time to get back to the ferry terminal, just in case (you don’t want to miss your boat). I think the buses leave every half hour or hour? The buses will get crowded closer to the time. And make sure you have all your documents with you! Please let us know if you have any more questions, I know how uneasy this may sound…we felt the same! But we were so glad we went. Although we only got to see St. Petersburg (you cannot travel outside the city I don’t think), it definitely made us want to go back one day and see more! St. Petersburg is an incredible city.

ku-what?

Teaching overseas in Kuwait was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. I mean, it’s where I met Trevor, so obviously it worked out pretty well ;). But besides that, being fresh out of university, ready to try out all of my newfound teaching skills I’d learned, and not having to go through the search for a job in a city that I couldn’t afford to live in and had way too many teachers already that I’d be subbing for 10 years, this was the best option for me. I knew I wanted to go abroad for a bit, as I’d gotten the travel bug five years prior, and couldn’t wait to explore more. But I thought I’d start in the UK, you know, because it’s close-ish to North America, they all speak English, I’d been there before, and it wasn’t as scary. However, once I heard more about the teaching prospects, it seemed a bit less than desirable, and I’d be very much on my own in a city I don’t know very well. So I signed up with a free teacher recruiting website, Teach Anywhere. Long story short, I took a few interviews in the Middle East, one in Sharjah, UAE that I did not get a good feel from, and one in Kuwait, for the same school and grade level that a friend from university recently accepted a job at. So after talking with her (she knew someone who had taught there before) I decided to accept as well when I was offered the job. Man, it is way less scary when someone you know is going with you. I applaud those people that just accept a job halfway around the world to a completely unfamiliar country and culture. I’m not sure what I would have done if my friend hadn’t already had a job there. Anyways, teaching overseas is a great way to throw yourself into the job. Most International or American schools are very large, so there are multiple classes at each grade level. So there is usually lots of collaboration and support, as well as more experienced teachers that can help guide you. I had a lot of guidance in my first year, and all the new teachers just followed the traditional structure that was being done by the older teachers. However, once I got my feet wet, by year two I was ready to change it up a bit, try new things, and really get to know myself as an educator and teach how I wanted to teach. It is also very comforting having a group of people, all new to the country, some new to teaching, who live and work together, especially living somewhere like the Middle East. Eventually friendships will form, or won’t form, but you have like-minded people to share in the bizarreness of the situation you’re in. The people I’ve met there are people I will always stay in contact with, and we visit them whenever we can, wherever they are in the world. There’s something about the people who choose to go to the Middle East and teach…I don’t know what it is (a little crazy maybe?), but some deep connections are made, and they last. 

I think I’ll always slightly regret not taking another overseas job before coming back to Canada, it was definitely a hard decision for us, and once you’ve started a life back in Canada with a career, it’s hard to pack it all up again. But going back overseas is not out of the question, so you never know! We are definitely keeping all of our options open.

Now, of course there are downsides to International Schools. They are almost all private, so they are run like businesses, which means the customers (ie. parents) are always right…even when they’re not. So it can get very frustrating if you choose to let it consume you, or if you expect your administrators to be there all the time and have your back. But going into it with this knowledge will definitely help you prepare and deal with it (ie. avoid needing administrators as much as you can). I had decent administrators, and it is not easy for them either, but I also tried to deal with most issues myself when I could. Each school is run differently, and I know many teachers who taught elsewhere after Kuwait, and they loved their next school. So it’s a bit of a gamble, but there are sites that review schools, etc…so you can take advantage of that before making a decision as well.