Middle of Nowhere to a Life Abroad | Expat Lizzy

My name is Lizzy and I grew up in a place no one visits. No one flies through it, no one cheers for an NFL, MLB, or NBA team from it, no one knows it’s more than just farmland. I was born and raised in Iowa and spent my first 23 years living here. I lived in the same house from birth to high school graduation, went through the Iowa public school system from kindergarten through twelfth grade, attended Iowa State University for my undergraduate and graduate degrees, and student taught at a small public school in Iowa. You might wonder why I chose to move from the middle of nowhere to a life abroad. What happened in the first 23 years of my life that prodded me to live in cities with populations reaching more than twenty times the size of my hometown and work in private international schools? There is one simple defining moment, but trust me, it’s best if I start from the beginning and build up to it.

Born to be a Teacher

From a young age, I liked to be the center of attention. Figures when you’re the youngest in the family. I relentlessly made my parents watch me do “amazing” things, and I liked when the video camera was on me. My other great quality as a kid was organization. I loved to surprise my mom when she came home from work by spending my Saturday morning cleaning the house. I believe these two qualities contributed to me wanting to be a teacher from a young age. At 8 years old, I would line my dolls up in rows, teach them lessons, create and distribute tests, and organize a points chart to keep track of their grades. I’m not lying when I say I was born to be a teacher.

Meeting Barbie

However, I did have another dream job in the running at that same time. I boarded my first flight when I was 11 years old, flying from Davenport, Iowa to Orlando, Florida. It would be my first time visiting Disney and swimming in a body of water bigger than a lake or river. I have the most vivid memory of boarding the plane and being greeted by the closest thing I could describe to Barbie. My flight attendant was this beautiful blonde woman with a radiant smile and a warm personality. I remember thinking, ‘That is going to be me.’ I wrote it down in my diary and wholeheartedly believed I would become an airline attendant. Thus began my thoughts of traveling outside the Midwest.

When Are We Moving?

Around fourth grade, my parents threw out the idea of moving in the next year or two. I don’t think they really meant it and I doubt they would remember saying this if I asked them about it today, but 10 year old me latched onto the idea. I told all of my friends that I would be moving and started fantasizing about being the new kid at school. See, I had never moved cities, much less houses, in my first 10 years of life. I couldn’t wait to live in a new house and meet new people, make new friends. Remember, I liked being the center of attention. Unfortunately, or maybe fortunately, we did not move and I continued to live in the same house for the next 13 years.

I Lived for Family Vacations

As bad as it sounds to live in the same house in Iowa for 23 years, my parents did an excellent job of planning family vacations. Over the summers, we drove to places like Washington D.C., Arizona, Texas, Colorado, and Canada. I lived for these family vacations! I enjoyed seeing new landscapes, making friends and penpals, and savoring the great outdoors. As my vacations expanded, so did my idea of where I wanted to live as an adult. I started telling my friends that I would love to live outside the Midwest in states like California or Florida.

The Practical Decision

I mentioned that I was born to be a teacher, but I also dreamt of being a flight attendant. During my senior year of high school, I made the practical decision and declared mathematics education as my major. At Iowa State, you declare your subject as your major and then take education courses to be certified to teach. So I was actually just a math major. I liked math and I knew that there would be a high demand for STEM teachers after graduation, so it seemed like an easy decision. How smart was I at the age of 18? Now, I still had this yearning to travel and live outside the Midwest and maybe even abroad, but I wasn’t sure how to address it. The answer came in the form of a professor.

The Defining Moment

During my first semester, an education professor mentioned the M.Ed. program. Not too long after, a friend and floormate of mine also mentioned the program and her plans to apply. Essentially, I would complete four years of undergraduate work as a math major, and then complete a 15 month program for a Masters in Education with a Specialization in Mathematics. I would graduate one year later than planned, but with a masters degree and extra room in my undergraduate program to take more diverse classes. I took the bait, and changed my plans for the next four and a half years at Iowa State.

The Defining Moment Part 2

My story obviously does not end here. You’re still wondering how this decision pushed me to live and teach abroad. Well, here’s the rest. During my graduate program, a professor I admire told our class about his son and his teaching experiences. His son went to an international career fair in Iowa ( https://teachoverseas.uni.edu/fair) that hosts over 100 international schools from all around the globe. Through the fair he secured a job in Egypt. He absolutely loved his experience abroad and the comradery he shared with his colleagues. My professor went on to say a few more words about the experience, but I didn’t need to hear more. I wrote down the name of the fair in my phone’s calendar and set an alert. I didn’t want to miss the opportunity to sign up for the fair. Teach outside the Midwest? How about teach outside the U.S.?

The Final Decision and The Start of My Life Abroad

Fast forward 8 months and six Skype interviews later, and I was attending the fair in person to make my final decision. Up until this point, I toyed with the idea of teaching and living abroad. But once I met the directors and supervisors of my potential schools in person, I knew this was what I wanted and this was what I was meant to do. My life experiences had been preparing me to step out of my life in Iowa and taste the other side. When I met with the director of the school in Singapore, and he asked to pray with me about my decision, I knew I had found the right school. I emailed him that afternoon, accepting the job and preparing myself for the first move outside of Iowa. Here I am three and a half years later, still teaching abroad but now in Vienna, Austria. Who knows where I will be three and a half years from now. All I know is I can’t wait to find out!