The big decision.

When we made the decision to move to Qatar, the kids were small, too small to really understand or participate in the decision making process. Phoebe was 4 and Marek was nearly 3. It was the first time Adam and I had lived internationally with a family. For each of us, the decision to move to Morocco was something that only effected us directly. There was no us, there were no children, schools etc.  Just a decision to move.  In moving to Qatar, we needed a job for Adam that could support our family as I was home schooling the kids. Qatar provided the things we needed and has been a great adventure for our family.

Phoebe - 4 and Marek - 3 announcing our move to Qatar

Upon arriving in Doha in 2014, our plan was to stay for 2 years. 2 years has quickly become 4 and we realized last school year that we were ready for a new adventure. A couple of things which led us to this conclusion were the climate, pollution and lack of real access to the culture. The climate is very harsh for most of the year, which causes issues that extend beyond just feeling hot. The lack of rain allows illnesses to hang around a lot longer than normal causing health issues often. The pollution, which stems from Qatar building its infrastructure and refining the oil which has caused its economic success. Poor air quality has led to a variety of health concerns, the worst of which is a very sedentary lifestyle. The final is the lack of access to the local culture. One of our goals for living internationally is to learn about different people and their culture. Qataris are a very small group of people and as such, they protect their culture. While we can understand, we still long to learn and grow fond of another culture.

So, we decided a move was in our future after the current school year. Finding a new job when living internationally follows a different pattern than when living in your home country.  Most schools in the US post jobs around the end of the school year when teachers decide to leave for whatever reason. Internationally, schools usually require all staff to indicate their decision to stay or move on between November and December (for the next school year).  It's a plan ahead kind of job.

Once you give your letter of intent, you aren't legally bound to the decision, however it can come with consequences like loss of end of service bonus, which can be significant. We turned in our letter of intent to not return in November and began the job search. It's a little unnerving as parents not to have a job when leaving another, but we knew it was the right time and the right decision.

We joined an on-line database for international teachers and sent in a slew of interest letters. Interviews began and we were considering (at first) South Korea, Albania, Kazakhstan and Poland. The school in South Korea ended up not offering us a contract after 5 interviews, which was really odd, but clearly not the right plan for us. The decision came down to the other three and each had its pros and cons (believe me, we made a spreadsheet...).

After a lot of thought, prayer and seeking counsel from others, we made the decision to move our family to Wroclaw, (pronounced Vrotswav) Poland. The feeling of relief when we finally made the decision was awesome. 

Marek - 7 and Phoebe 8 announcing our move to Poland
Notice we now have two new family members traveling with us!

And then started the season of getting ready to move on (again).