Emergency Travel

Life happens.  I recently traveled from Kuwait to my hometown of Toledo, Ohio in the USA to be with a loved one who passed away shortly after my arrival.  While I was devastated by the loss, I was very grateful to have the means for this travel.  I can attest to the fact that the desire to get home quickly can cloud the thinking process.  Your mind is consumed.  Here are some things that may be helpful if you live overseas or far away from friends and family and need to travel on short notice.

     1.     Have an emergency fund

Hopefully you have heard the statement “A failure to plan is a plan to fail”.  There are some things we just can’t plan out exactly, but are bound to happen.  It is wise to have money set aside in case of the car breaking down, a need for emergency travel, or the water heater malfunctioning.  The idea is that one emergency can be handled without “Robbing Peter to Pay Paul” and causing another emergency.   My emergency fund is enough money to cover airfare to the US and things like ground transportation and a couple night’s stay in a hotel, if necessary.  I don’t use it to pay my routine bills, travel, or to make impulse buys. ( OK, I have used it for an impulse buy before, but I’m getting better at this)

      2.     Your emergency fund needs to be accessible in an emergency

This one seems kind of obvious, but it is definitely something to think about.  I have some savings in an account that requires 2-3  days for a wire transfer to my primary bank account. Hello?  Emergencies don’t wait that many days!  The primitive sock or envelope full of money may not be your best bet either unless you plan to walk into an airport and purchase a ticket at the counter with cash.  That may work if your anticipated flight is not already sold out.  Not to mention, Kuwaiti banks have strange hours that really don’t cater to working people. I’m talking 10am-3pm and everything closes on holidays/holy week days.  This is a difficult concept for us to understand as US citizens where we can deposit cash at multiple walk up and drive through atm machines and have access to it within seconds or 24 hours at the latest.  While I have noticed atm machines here, I don’t know whether depositing cash is an option. Any plan that would involve physically walking into a bank branch to access money or deposit funds would be subject to these factors. In my situation, I needed to travel during a local holy week.  Banks were closed.  Thankfully, I had money in an account that was easily accessible for me to purchase my ticket online. 

      

     3.     Bookmark the sites for cheapest flights on our computer. Ask for a bereavement rate if your are traveling for a funeral

Some suggestions are skyscanner.net, google.com/flights for international travel and expedia.com or kayak.com for domestic travel

      4.     Keep your toiletry bag stocked inside your carry on

      Sometimes you are traveling with just 1 or two carry on bags.  You may not have time to get to a store and stock up in their travel aisle.   You can’t throw your Dove body wash from the shower into your carry on because the airport limits liquids to 3 oz. Remember that this is the rule in the US even if you are traveling from a country that doesn’t limit.  If you make if from the first country with your 12 oz. body wash, customs in the US will make you throw it away.  When I traveled home recently, I flew for about 20 hours, arrived at the local airport, and went straight to the hospital. I was able to freshen up using my toiletry bag and change clothes with the change of clothing from the carry on.  Also, if you are traveling for an event like a wedding or funeral, you should pack your dress clothes in your carry on.  Airlines lose bags. You don't want lost wardrobe to be another emergency. 

                                       

      

      5.     Have a packing list

This is not advice that I have followed myself recently, but in retrospect, it would have been nice to reference.  It’s so easy to pack up the laptop and leave the charger or pack two pair of pants but forget undies.   A list helps. 

    

  

      6.      Always know where your passport is

If you have 2 hours to prepare for a flight, you can’t waste 45 minutes searching the house for your passport.  A passport is absolutely necessary to fly between countries.   I suggest a designated spot for your passport and US specific cards (Car Insurance, AAA, Kroger Cards) that you can always pick up quickly and throw into your carry on at a moments notice

7.     Check your country’s policy on travel for non-citizens

Many expats, like myself, move to a country where jobs sponsor you so that you can acquire a long-term residency status.  Without this status, you are not free to come and go in and out of the country freely.   If you leave your country without acquiring the long term residency status, you may cancel out your job’s sponsorship. You may not be allowed to return to the country where you are employed.  Do the research.

8.     Know your job’s policy for absence and who to call when you will be absent

Did you read your contract thoroughly?  Do you have sick days, personal days, and bereavement days? My job did share this information with me during a 20 minute presentation on a week full of staff development and countless presentations. I didn’t remember every step 1.5 months later when my mind was already consumed with worry about my grandma’s life.  Write these things down.  Save it electronically on your personal flash drive or in a manner you can access from home. In my case, I needed to have a conversation with a representative from HR to discuss the Visa process before travel.  When you live overseas, it is impossible to keep work and home life completely separate.  The lines are a bit blurrier. You might not have a convenient phone tree to use for contacts. Save the essential numbers in your phone. 

9.  Remember how travel effects your body

International travel means crossing time zones.  It means going to bed when you would normally be wide awake.  You will experience jet lag both ways.  Factor this in when deciding on your return date.  I lose a full day because flights to the Middle East from my home town take a minimum of 18 hours but can last 26 or more hours with layovers.  Know that you may return to work dealing with the same jet lag effects that you endured during the first 2 weeks of your initial move.  You may be unable to fall asleep before 2 am and still wake up at 4am. You probably want to consider this if a deadline or important meeting is approaching.

Difficult Choices- Dealing with Loss Overseas

Moving across the world means that we must make the choice to live far away from friends and family.  I was aware of this.  I’ve had practice with this for years. I have not lived in the same state with my family for almost 9 years now.  But often this includes choices that are complicated by distance.   Can I make it home for a graduation?  Do I pay for an app on my phone that allows relatives to call me overseas free of charge?  Recently, I dealt with a very complicated choice.  Do I fly home to spend final moments of life with my grandmother or wait and go home later for a funeral?  Is one more important than the other?  There really is no easy answer for this question.  I’m not the first to encounter it and I won’t be the last.  The choice comes down to what the individual thinks is best. 

My grandmother is Ida Bell.  I have always called her “Grandmommy”.  She was called by many names “Granny, Lady, Ida B, B, Auntie, Ida the Great, and Momma just to name a few. Her house was the place we went on snow days and sick days as children. Her home was the place of countless Sunday and holiday gatherings. Her voice and smile would greet us saying "Come on in here and give Granny some sugar!" Whether blood related or not, you were treated like family in her presence. She had 6 children, 15 grandchildren, 22 great-grandchildren, and 9 great-great grandchildren.  During our family gatherings, she would often say  “I have 5 generations in this one room.  Somebody get a camera and take a picture of me with my great, great grandbaby!” 

 

Ida with one of her 9 great-great grandchildren

Ida with a great-great niece 

Pictured with great and great-great grandchildren

My grandmother loved the Lord. She was always very active in her church. She was a retired health-care worker and I have many memories of visiting sick and elderly friends during my childhood even though she was actually retired for most of my life.  She loved her family. She was our matriarch at age 89. The oldest of all her siblings.  Having us gather together for family dinners, picnics, reunions, holiday gatherings, various celebrations was exciting for her. I will always remember her saying “You needs to know your family. There’s nothing in the world like family.”  Another quote that makes me smile: “You children need to get to the reunions so you will know yo folks.  It be a shame for you to bring home a man to marry and we got to tell you no because he is your cousin!”  Her smile was beautiful. Her laugh was contagious. Even her reprimands were gentle for the grands and great-grands. 

 

Ida with a few of her sisters-My great Aunts

Ida is pictured in the middle of relatives at a family reunion

I told her this spring that I was moving to Kuwait.  

Granny:“Whereabout is that Janeen.” 

Me :“It’s near Saudi Arabia”. 

Granny: “Yes, but how do you get there? Do you drive,fly? 

Me: It’s about 18-20 hours by plane to get there. 

Granny: (voice raised) 18 hours. O, you are leaving the country! Lord, chile I sure hope you thought about this and prayed on it.” 

Me: Yes, Ma’am I have. 

Granny: I don’t know what you want living in another country but you make sure to keep praying” .   That is the short version of the conversation. She told me to pray about it at least 6 times in that conversation along. That was something she admonished us to do regularly.  Pray about everything.  Trust God. Help other people. Live a full life.  She showed us in both her words and actions. 

Me and my 'Grandmommy' in 2008

Last week, I got a call that my grandmother’s health was failing progressively and she might need to be transferred to a hospice.  My thoughts “This is all happening so fast. This my worst nightmare about living so far away from home.  I don’t know what to do”.  I had to take action and make a decision.  Do I leave immediately and see her in what could possibly be her final moments?  Do I hope for a change and just wait things out?  Do I wait for news of death and go home for a funeral?  Do I stay in Kuwait throughout everything?  Really the last option was not even an option.  Last week there was no school in Kuwait because of a Muslim holiday called Eid.  I had several days off of work.  I knew that it was be torture to have idle days in Kuwait just waiting on news.  I called some friends to see what they would do.  I prayed about it.  I checked on this status of my Visa.  This is an important question for expats in different countries.  Does your country have rules preventing you from returning if you don’t have long term residency?    There were some  implications associated with my departure just 1 month after I arrived.  I decided that the need to be home was worth the potential hassles I may have to deal with when I returned to Kuwait. 

If dog's go to heaven, then her dog 'Red" was panting happily when he greeted her at the pearly gates! 

In all of this, I find many reasons to be grateful.  My grandmother lived for 89 years.  She lived  a very active and full life.  I have peace in knowing that she was ready to meet the God she served for so many years. I’m also grateful that I was able to purchase the ticket from Kuwait to Detroit without a problem. I recently referenced my emergency fund in a previous blog entry and I used it to buy my plane ticket.  This loss is bittersweet.  I can’t imagine life without her.  I get sad when I think of returning home without having her at the family gatherings at her house.  She will not attend my wedding and my children will not have the pleasure of knowing her.  The sweet end to the bitter is the fact that her legacy is a part of me and the many people she touched.  She was influential in community organizations and her church as well as my family.

Young Ida playing piano at her church

I had to make a really difficult decision.  I chose to be near my Grandma’s side in her final hours.  I got off of the plane and went straight to the Hospice center. I spent the day in her room with family members talking and singing worship songs. She passed away that evening. I would not trade those hours for anything even though I had to returned to Kuwait before her funeral.  That was tough.  I made the right decision for myself.  I decided to have a dinner and invite a few friends when I returned.  After inviting them, I thought about it later that evening and realized they would be with me at 6pm in Kuwait which is 11am in Ohio.  I had company during the time of her funeral.  That brought me great comfort. I continue to deal with grief and know this will last for years to come.  That actually makes sense to me considering her influence on my life will last forever.  I sympathize with every person who deals with great loss.  If you have a family member who lives a great distance away, please know that the distance may complicate their ability to be present physically, but distance does not make the grieving process any easier. 

You are looking at one sharp Sista! She loved a good suit  and hat. She used to say "Janeen I don't know why you won't wear a hat too. You look good in them" when I would try on one of her many hats. 

Thank you God for my Grandmother's life!  I was so blessed to have her with me for this long. 

Operation Debt Free and my Sand Castle

I want to be debt free.  I want to be a lender and not a borrower.  I want financial freedom! This was a large factor in my decision to pursue and accept a teaching position abroad.  I have wanted this financial freedom for years, but lacked the discipline to achieve it on my teacher's salary in the United States. I was making painfully slow progress on reducing my debts on a monthly basis.   This job provided me with a decent raise and offers me a tax free salary. My gross and net salary are one in the same! I also get this place that I like to think of as my little sand castle:

dining room

living room with my favorite water view

kitchen

guest bedroom

I enjoy living in this lovely 2bed 2.5 bath apartment in Kuwait.  It really was fully furnished.  I've added a few accent pillows, towels, and preferred cookware.  The school owns the building and none of us pay rent or utilities.  It's really more than I would have been able to afford living in the states.  All that being said, there is still potential to fail at my goal of financial freedom if I don't budget wisely.  A few years ago, I read a book by a financial advisor named Dave Ramsey.  You can check out his "The Total Money Makeover" here. Dave advises starting with a $1000 emergency fund.  I decided to have an emergency fund of  $2000.  Living in a foreign country, it can be quite costly to get home on short notice if the need arises. Right now, airfare to Ohio ranges from $1,00-$1,300 round trip. I was pleased to learn that my job reimburses airfare in the event of the loss of an immediate family member if such a loss should occur.  I have to keep in mind that they don't offer the money up front. While I pray that I would never have to deal with a problem like that, I want to be prepared just in case.  I would be devastated if I couldn't return home simply because I don't have the money.

The next step in Dave's plan is pay off all debt except for the house using a debt snowball.  I am currently working this step.  I have about $25,000 which includes credit cards and some student loans.  By the way, a debt snowball is when you pay off debt from the largest to the smallest.  I pay the minimum balance on all debt except for the smallest and make large payments on the smallest.  For example, this month I paid the minimum balance on all cards except for one card with a $401.00 balance.  I paid the balance off on that card.  Yay, one card has been paid off already! Next month, I will apply that $401.00 plus the $100 minimum balance I was paying toward the next smallest balance of about $1300.00 until that card is paid off.  The snowball builds because as each card is paid off, you apply that money to the next largest debt. I plan to write about my budget periodically to share my progress on how my total debt is decreasing.

One additional note related to debt.  I have taught in Title 1 schools for several years now.  This qualified me for loan forgiveness.  I have had to resubmit some paperwork recently, but I am eligible for all of my student loans to be forgiven because of my past teaching positions. In my position as a preschool teacher, I served some students with special needs although my title was not a special education teacher.  This qualified me for a larger amount of loan forgiveness. Be sure to check out this option teachers.  I will be glad to take the $85.00 a month that I currently pay on student loans and apply it toward my debt snowball once the loans are forgiven.

I created an estimated budget for my living expenses prior to moving here.  I have been here almost a month now and have an idea of what kind of adjustments need to be made.  I won't give exact figures today.  Many of my purchases to date have been "setting up house" type of expenses.  My grocery budget was fairly large when I had to buy basic items like cleaning products, food, basic spices, laundry detergent, and bath maths all in the same weekend.  I believe I will be able to truly judge what my average grocery and dining out budget should be in October, when I am more settled.

 There are some areas that I will need to increase my budget:
1. groceries: Groceries just seem to be more expensive in general here because many products are imported. I am American.  I am not a big name brand snob at home in the US.  However when the choice here is between a brand I recognize and a label that is written in Arabic, I'm going to pay a little extra for the recognizable brand.  I don't have a car.  I will end up paying more in the long run if I have to take a cab to return to the store if I am displeased with my initial purchase.
2. Gym membership:  I want to join a gym and work out regularly.  Gym membership is costly.  Plans seem to range from around $180-over $300 per month.  Many health clubs ask for the entire year's fees upfront.  I have to rearrange my budget in order to pay this up front.
3. Taxis- I'm not sure about this one.  I was only spending about $110 a month in gas in the states.  I assumed I would spend about the same in taxi fees here.  This estimate may be too low.  Last weekend I spent $30 in taxi fare going to the gym, to church, and the mall.  Some of this was shared fairs when I rode with a friend.  I have read that I can pay some drivers a flat monthly rate and not have to worry about paying each time I get in a taxi.  This option may be cheaper in the long run.
4.  Bank transfer fees- my job pays me in local currency, Kuwait Dinars, and has helped me set up a local bank account.  My bills are set up to be withdrawn from my US bank account.  I have to transfer the money from Kuwait to my US account via wire transfer.  I have learned that money gram is cheaper than Western Union.  I have also learned that both bank parties may charge for this service.  I  will anticipate up to $25 for this next month and will research the cheapest option for doing this.

What else is in my monthly budget?

1. Travel savings- there is so much of this world to see.  It isn't likely that I will be able to travel in the next couple of months because I am waiting to get a civil id in Kuwait.  However, I  am setting aside about $400 monthly for future travel.

2. Phone and Internet- right now I am paying double phone bills.  I have my US phone.  The data plan is turned off so that I don't pay any international fees.  I use Wifi on this phone for social networking and What's App.  I still pay the monthly fee to verizon in the US. I also have a local phone.  I pay a small monthly fee for it here. Additionally, I have a mobile hotspot for internet service.   It seems that I am paying about $150 a month for all of this.

3. Entertainment- I need a life here outside of work in order to be a well balanced individual

4. Tithes- God gave me this job. I give 10% of my income to the church

5. Miscellaneous

Meet the Teacher

before shots of classroom

I live 6, 759 miles(10,878km) miles from home.  When I accepted this teaching position, I felt as though I had found a place that was special.  I really do feel that God lead me to the right place.  The motto at this school is simple: “A Better Choice”.  The motto is modeled for its staff by the owners and director who provide us with beautiful accommodations for living and daily travel to and from work. I knew that this would be a nice school, but the pictures don’t do it justice.  Come visit me in Kuwait and I’ll give you a tour. Pack your walking shoes. The campus is pretty large.  I can’t seem to ever fit the whole building in one shot.  We spent a full week last week participating in staff development.  Now, this week myself and my coworkers spent hours preparing our classrooms for the first stay of school.  We have staggered start days with Middle School beginning Wednesday, 1^st-5^th grades beginning Thursday, and kindergarten and preschool beginning on Sunday.  (The work week in Kuwait is Sunday through Thursday.

The main elementary playground.  There are additional smaller playgrounds outside of some classrooms.

small playground outside of my room.

Funny story- There are 2 yellow school busses in this country.  My school had them shipped here from the states so that it would be like a true American school.  It seems that Kuwaiti narrow streets and traffic patterns do not mix well with large American busses.  They decided not to use them to pick up the students at our school.  However, the transportation department at the school did deem them appropriate for teachers. Ha Ha! That’s right.  I ride to school now on a big yellow bus full of my adult coworkers.  That might be the least cool “perk” of this job. But hey, a free ride is a free ride!  We did spend the first couple of weeks traveling about in lovely 26 passenger busses with cushioned seating and air conditioning.  Those are now used for the students! Go figure.

our loft with play or learning areas above and below

Today I met my students. What are kindergarten students like in Kuwait?  Well, they are children!  Some walked right in and checked out the room with enthusiasm.  A couple were shy and held on to their parents.  All of the kindergarten classrooms at my school have lovely lofts.  The lofts were a big hit with my new students.

I was a bit nervous about names.  When I saw my class list, the names didn’t exactly roll off of my tongue.  During Meet the Teacher,  my goal was to repeat student’s names and have parents tell me the correct way to pronounce it.  I took a picture of each child holding their nameplate.  I would like to learn my parent’s names down the road, but that is a tall order that can wait for the moment.  Both parents and students were friendly today.  Many welcomed me to Kuwait and shared their connections about the US. Some have lived there while others travel there on a regular basis.  I should mention that I am teaching at a private school and many of our students would be referred to as “privileged” in the USA.   It is not uncommon for our students to be international travelers.

This is a view of the room from the loft.  You can see that their is a room through the circular opening for art activities. There are restrooms to the right and a kitchen to the left. 

What?  Is that a kitchen?  Yes Sir. Yes Ma’am.  Every kindergarten classroom has a full kitchen. What will we make in there?  The sky is the limit.  I’ll have to incorporate some great recipes into learning this year.  I got a little lazy about that last year, but now the kitchen is a part of the room.

school library

Today was a lovely day.  It was great to meet the students and families.  I have a total of 16 children on my class list.  This means I have a 1:8 ratio because I also have a lovely co-teacher who is an experienced teacher from the Philippines.  We have two more days to prepare for our young learners before they start school on Sunday.  Say prayers for us!