(Editor’s Note: This is the second of a 2-part story about Justin and Sarah Walker, Brandon High School graduates who are working and raising a family overseas. See part one at www.thecitizenonline.com)
After spending two years in China and relocating to South Africa, Justin and Sarah Walker knew that they were committed to life as expatriates and a long-term future overseas.
“We weren’t on vacation anymore,” said Justin. “When there were things we didn’t like in China, we just thought, ‘We’ll be out of here soon.’ But when you have two kids in South Africa, you build a bridge and get over it. You don’t want to jump jobs every two years, the kids need security and somewhere to grow up.”
The international school they worked for in South Africa was very good, and very privileged. Tuition was about $23,000 for a year for a high school student. About 20 percent of the school’s population was South African natives, with the remainder children of expatriates. Tuition is most often paid for by parents’ employers, which in South Africa included Coca-Cola, Ford, Walmart, and Bridgestone. The children of ambassadors often attend the school, too.
The Walkers continued their travel adventures, swimming with penguins and great white shark diving (in the safety of a cage), whale watching. The first two years in South Africa, they mostly explored
their new country, but the last two years, they branched out again, visiting Zimbabwe, Zambia, Botswana, Kenya,Tanzania, and Egypt. They went to Europe, visiting Germany, Austria, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Italy, France, England, Ireland, Hungary, Belgium. They returned to Asia, visiting Malaysia and Indonesia.
But after four years in South Africa, they wanted something different.
“We were doing the same thing each year,” said Sarah. “I wanted to get back to teaching English and he wanted to try different counseling than middle school. We can’t live in one place too long, and don’t want the same job for too long, either.”
In the fall of 2013, they began their search, typical for the field they are in, as September through February is the recruiting season for international schools. They had requirements for their search: there had to be a school where there were openings for both Justin and Sarah, and it had to be a school in a good location for their children. They received an offer for Bangladesh, but they didn’t want to take their daughters to a place that they deemed a little too “third world” at this time. They wanted a place where the kids could ride bikes in the street or go to the park and there weren’t many openings for that in Asia or West Africa and the jobs weren’t good fits. They finally interviewed for jobs in Korea that weren’t ideal or exactly where they wanted to live, but then the man that was recruiting them told them about positions in the Middle East. They were intrigued and found jobs at an international school in Doha, Qatar.
They have been in Qatar for a year now, but realize it was a mistake and wish they would have taken jobs in India instead.
“You have to weigh the information you’ve received and do the research in three days,” said Justin. “You’re only getting limited information and opinions and perceptions.”
Their unhappiness has less to do with the country than with the school where Justin works as a student services coordinator and Sarah teaches language arts to grades 7-10, including analysis of classic literature such as Shakespeare and “To Kill a Mockingbird.” The school is in a temporary building and the facilities are lacking as resources in the wealthy country are currently directed at construction and other priorities for the World Cup, coming to the country in 2022.
“The country itself is 80 percent expats,” said Justin. “There are so few people there, but it’s the richest country in the world per capita and they have modernized so quickly they don’t have the personnel to build and maintain their own country. All these natural resources in gas and oil and they don’t have the people.”
The school is also lacking diversity. Twenty percent of the school’s population is Qatari, but the majority of the rest of the students are of middle eastern descent.
“We want our kids to have more diversity,” said Justin. “We only celebrate Qatari National Day. We would like a more internationally minded school for our kids.”
Still, Sarah said Qatar is incredibly easy to live in, with access to everything they could ever need or want, with high-end five-star restaurants and hotels. They live in a brand new home, again with a housekeeper, this time a Filipino woman who sends money home to support her family.
“People (American friends or family) will say to us, ‘I wish I had a housekeeper’ and I say, ‘Well, I wish I lived around the corner from my parents, who could take care of my kids,'” said Justin. “There are pros and cons and you take the pros where you can get them overseas… I give up certain things. A concert comes and we can’t see it. We can’t have Thanksgiving dinner with our parents and siblings and cousins.”
In Qatar, they are experiencing vastly different weather and cultural differences. Temperatures reach 120 degrees, making running, a pursuit for both Justin and Sarah, difficult. They alternate days on which they get up at 4:30 a.m. so they can run in 90-degree temperatures. They have taken to other athletic endeavors such as swimming or cycling. Justin plays ice hockey.
Sarah has adapted her attire to what is expected of a western woman in Qatar. She wears what she likes in her home, but out in public, she must have her knees covered and the more of her arms that are covered, the better. Qatari would like American women to have their elbows covered, but they are not overly strict. There are different rules for Qatari women, who are expected to wear a full black burqa, and also for Muslim women who are non-Qatari, who are expected to wear head coverings, but not the burqa.
“The first few months there, I was uncomfortable with what our kids were viewing, the whole perception and what they thought,” said Sarah. “I learned a lot about the religion and I have overcome a difference that I wasn’t familiar with.”
“These were our notions of everything we have been striving for in our generation,” said Justin. “Our kids don’t have any preconceived notions, and they have learned that what they are seeing is part of the (Muslim) religion and culture… In any country, you have to be more open-minded about it, or you will hate living there. There are a lot of things we disagree with, but we have a choice about the place we live in the world. If we don’t like it, we can move on. They’re not going to change for us.”
Qatar has one of the lowest crime rates in the world. Justin recalls leaving a Mac Pro on the front seat of his car and then remembering he forgot to lock the vehicle, but not being very concerned about it. When he returned, the laptop was there. But while the low crime is a benefit, the reason for it also causes unease for the Walkers. Penalties are severe and the justice system has been criticized by the United Nations for defense lawyers’ lack of access to evidence and discrimination against foreigners.
“We did not have any concerns about terrorism or even crime moving here,” said Justin. “People have more to lose by being deported or detained. If you are accused of a crime, you can go to jail indefinitely. No lawyer, phone call, or bond. It’s the kingdom. Do I feel like someone is going to break into our house? No. But I have a small fear that I have no rights as an American citizen. Nobody’s going to steal (possessions), but they could steal my freedom. I could get in trouble just by an accusation or Sarah could get in trouble for the shirt she wears. They have all the control, you have none.”
They will stay in Qatar for one more year and have a lot of travel planned, including Germany, Jordan, Poland and Saudi Arabia, the latter of which they will only be able to go to on their way elsewhere. They would like to visit Israel, but that is out for now as getting that passport stamp would preclude them from traveling other places in the Middle East.
Inexpensive travel is a definite perk of their lifestyle.
“We experience things many people have only read about,” said Justin. “It’s totally different to stand in front of the Taj Mahal or Angkor Wat in Cambodia. Every vacation is amazing. I can’t pick a favorite. Egypt is amazing– cruising down the Nile and seeing stuff that’s 4,500 years old and the pyramids, it was really a great trip. The beaches in the Philippines and Thailand are unbeatable. Everyone goes to the Caribbean and Mexico, but Thailand you can go for $10 a night and the waves are the sounds at night. Climbing Kilimanjaro and going on safari and the Christmas markets in Europe are unbelievable. They take an old town square and put up all these booths and sell mulled wine and cider and cookies and ornaments and wooden bowls and there is music and the castles and churches are lit up and you get that Christmas feel.”
Their children have not had that otherwise, they note, as you can’t get that on the beach in Thailand and they have never lived in a place where it snows at Christmas. While they miss some of the holidays and other traditions they grew up with, Sarah and Justin try to differentiate between whether it is something the kids need or something they as parents want to give their kids.
“Home is the people around you and what you’re doing,” said Justin. “Home is spending Christmas with family eating cinnamon rolls, or going to the beach and body surfing. We’re replacing Little League memories and Thanksgiving dinner.”
Toward the end of the school year, the family is excited to come back to Michigan for a visit. They go to waterparks and breweries and the lakes. Justin and Sarah run on dirt roads again and the kids spend time with both sets of grandparents, whom live in Ortonville.
“Our families have accepted this as our life,” said Sarah. “Everyone has a situation that creates difficulty for them, ours is distance. But all of our family lives in Ortonville and our kids get a great relationship with aunts and uncles in summer… They are independent kids, accepting. We are proud of who they are becoming, they are eager to learn and they have learned a lot. They are worldly I guess.”
This September, Justin and Sarah will begin looking for the next place on the globe that they will move to–perhaps southeast Asia, or South America, maybe Morocco, or eastern Europe if it’s feasible. They are enjoying their adventures abroad and in their careers in education, they are also receiving a hands-on lesson in life.