Articles on Teaching though Southern Alps Recruitment
International Teaching in Moscow, Russia
by Lisa Cochrane - New Zealand
I arrived in Russia to take up a job teaching in an international school in Moscow on the 6th of January. I stepped off a 26 hour flight, into the middle of the Russian winter, 2 days before school started, with absolutely no knowledge of either the culture or the language - so you could say that I jumped in the deep end! I had always planned to travel and teach, (what better way to see the world!), but I never could have imagined that I would end up in Russia.
I first heard about this job through an e-mail notification received from Southern Alps. I had contacted them and expressed an interest in finding work overseas, and I began receiving e-mails with information and advice, as well as notices of available teaching positions. The process of getting the job was very simple, and surprisingly quick. My CV was forwarded to the school by the agency, and I was then contacted by the school for a phone interview. During the whole process I kept in contact with Oli at Southern Alps by phone and by e-mail and he was able to help me out with information about the school etc., which was invaluable.
After being appointed I had around six weeks to get organized for the trip to Russia. Though I was incredibly excited I really had no idea what to expect. All I knew for sure was that it would be cold. My first challenge then was to find warm clothes, fit for temperatures down to -30 degrees, in the middle of summer in New Zealand – Not easy! The school took care of a lot of the arrangements before my arrival, including finding an apartment, organizing visas, and even supplying me with a bag of essential groceries on arrival. All things which helped me enormously in the process of settling in.
I have been fortunate to have landed an exceptionally great bunch of Year 2 children, and I have found school life easy to adjust to, thanks to the support of staff members. All of the children in my class are ESL students, and they are constantly amazing me. Some of them are now learning their third or fourth language! There is a real “melting pot” of nationalities and cultures within the class and the entire school, and though it provides obvious challenges, I really do enjoy this, and it is one of the things that makes teaching at an international school really unique.
Another aspect of teaching in an international school that I really enjoy is the small class sizes. I have 15 children in my class, and I am blessed with a wonderful full-time teaching assistant. Because of this I really feel as though my teaching is effective and that I am reaching every single child, every day. Ah… job satisfaction!
I have also had the opportunity to meet, work (and socialize!) with some outstanding teachers from all over the world. Adjusting to the way of life in Moscow, finding out how to get around, and get what I need has been a really steep learning curve for me, and having others to turn to who have been through the same experience has been vital. Foreigners in Russia are still somewhat of a novelty, so we get a bit of a mixed reaction. I have found most Russian people to be extremely helpful, and patient with my very basic grasp of the language, but there are a few who are not so forthcoming!
There have certainly been some challenging moments over the past weeks, and I have had to make some exceptionally big life adjustments, but what an experience! It has taken a combination of preparedness, patience, understanding and a willingness to be flexible… but I am getting there! I am slowly picking up some essential Russian words and phrases which is helping me to overcome that huge language barrier and making life in general a whole lot easier. The cost of living in Moscow is low by western standards, and the public transport systems are cheap and efficient, so there is always somewhere to go or something to see.
I highly recommend teaching in an international school but it does pay to be wary. There is a lot of variation between international schools, and it is worth putting in the time to find out as much as you can about the school and the people who run it before accepting a job. You also need to be prepared to adapt to what might be a completely different curriculum, and certainly a different way of life. For me, taking this job has provided me with a fantastic opportunity to see and experience a part of the world that I might otherwise have never visited – a once in a lifetime experience that will provide many memories for years to come.
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