So Lauren, you’ve just finished your studies – what was it that you were studying again?
Answer: I’ve just completed a post graduate diploma in inclusive and special education. It was 2/3rds of a Masters degree.
So you’re going to go finish your masters right?
Uh no. Not immediately. I was hoping to, but need to recalibrate and find a school as a stable base first, or a scholarship to study so I don’t need to work at the same time.
Need to find a school? I thought you had a school?
Well I did. My time in the Irish education system has been an interesting professional learning journey. I haven’t really found where I fit, and can flourish.
So what are you doing in the next academic year?
Well, uh… I have… uh… accepted a job in… uh… Belgium.
…Sorry what now?
So I was looking for jobs at the end of June from this one school that I really wanted to work at in Ireland, and they still hadn’t posted, so I looked in the international section, just out of curiosity. There was a job in the primary section wanting a native English speaker, closing at midnight that night, so I put my hat in the ring. To my surprise, they wanted an interview. Then another interview. They seem to really like me and be really excited to have me as part of their team!
This school is one of a network of European schools across Europe. It’s in Mol, this tiny town in North East Belgium by the border of the Netherlands and Germany, roughly an hour east of Antwerp. The school is near to one of the Joint Research Centres run by the European Commission. The schools are set up primarily to educate European Commission employee’s children and other children who would like a multilingual education.
But I thought you were working in special needs?
Yea, I was. I loved the kids…
I thought you loved working in special needs?
Yea, I did, I do. The kids are great, they make sense to me. I love the freedom to actually do student-led learning based on their needs, build relationships, create individualised goals, and hook students in through their interests. This is absolutely my preferred way of teaching.
So you’re going back to mainstream? In Belgium? Can’t you just teach in mainstream in Ireland?
No, not unless I learn Irish. Which I’m very happy to do – just not happy to pay the €5k required.
It’s also on the continent, which allows us to travel more easily, which is exactly what we’re here for.
This is actually what I imagined doing when I first thought about becoming a teacher.
Why Belgium?
We’ve been talking about moving to the continent for about 3 years because it’s so expensive to travel from Ireland now, and we feel guilty having such a massive carbon footprint from frequent flights. If we’re on the continent, then we can bus or train and it’s way faster/easier/nicer/more guilt-free.
Belgium – or our initial impressions of it – are that it’s like France but without all the pomp and ceremony. We’ve several friends there and we’ve been a few times and enjoyed it.
The hope is that this could open up doors to live in other places in Europe also.
It’s not quite as central as Brussels, but honestly we’re both kind of looking forward to living in a small town again.
But what about Jared? What will he do?
Honestly…. Don’t have an answer for that one just yet.
Jared is currently self-employed so technically he could continue doing what he’s doing but from Belgium. He could potentially pick up more clients in the UK as well. But we’re hoping that because we’ll be in the Flemish part of Belgium that he’ll be able to pick up some work with a multinational of some flavour and that speaking English will be an advantage.
Jared is going to stay in Dublin until the end of October to tie up a few loose ends, finish his current projects, and then move over.
What about your housemate? And your lovely apartment in central Dublin?
We’ll be looking to find someone to take over our apartment to offer that to our landlord in the hopes that he’ll be ok with that arrangement and allow Yahia to stay.
I feel really guilty about potentially making a refugee homeless in the current clusterfuck of the Irish housing market. So if you know of anyone that wants a central lovely apartment with clean housemate who cooks amazing food…. Lmk!
But you’ve built a whole life in Ireland, friends, community?
Yea, we’re excited about the next adventure, but devastated to leave.
You haven’t visited New Zealand in ages? Are you ever coming back?
It’s difficult with the academic year here – the holidays make it tricky to come back for anything other than winter in NZ.
The other problem is it costs about €4000/$6000 to fly us both back, and that’s about 3-4 countries we could visit. We’re prioritising seeing Europe, so we can move back to NZ at some point.
We miss you all very much, and miss being in NZ and things making sense.
So how many countries do you want to see?
We have a list on our wall that is 49 countries long – we’re up to 22 done as of Friday last week.
Where have you been?
2019
England, Northern Ireland, Ireland, Czechia – 4 new countries
2020
(Ireland)
2021
(NZ, Aussie) Ireland – Cork, Cobh, Kerry, Limerick, Scotland for Christmas – 1 new countries
2022
France – Bordeaux, Paris, Marseille, Netherlands – Amsterdam,
Belgium – Brussels,
Italy (Rome, Pompeii, Milan, Venice),
Vatican City
Austria – Vienna,
Germany – Berlin,
(Belgium – Brussels),
(Scotland for New years with Ben and Jamie), – 7 new countries
2023
Wales,
L – (Belgium – Brussels),
(Germany – Munich, Bavaria),
(Austria),
Hungary,
Slovenia,
Spain -Barcelona F1,
Iceland,
Faroe islands,
(Scotland, England)
Croatia – Dubrovnik and Split
L – Montenegro – 8 new countries
2024
Portugal,
(France -Nice, Marseille, Paris),
(Italy – Tuscany)
Monaco
(Belgium – Antwerp, Geel, Mol) – 2 new countries
So how long are you planning to stay in Belgium??
It is far too soon to say but ideally this would be the next 5 year plan. I’ve only stayed in a school for more than a year twice in my career so looking forward to finding somewhere where I feel more like I fit and I am able to create something more long-lasting.
What do you think of Belgium so far??
It’s really beautiful, love the small town feel, the change of pace, and the kindness of my colleagues. My students are keen to learn and lively characters, and it’s nice to have a more academic focus on my teaching.
My recent experience is still helpful and relevant – there are several students with special needs in my class, and in the school as a whole, and I hope to what I’ve learned to make my class a more inclusive environment, and also make suggestions to implement similar strategies across the school.
Understanding how to support neurodiverse students isn’t something that teachers are trained in well, but it is something we need to learn as teachers, as school, and as a society.
What a great adventure! Xx