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Settling in
Information for International Teachers
Sending Money Home
Once you've arrived and started receiving your salary, you are probably going to want to send some money home. Here are some useful links
XE.com is a website that allows you to transfer money by wire transfer. It's wholly based online and the transactions are organised online. If you are living in a more remote community, but still have internet access, this service might be the most suitable.
You can also use their free currency conversion calculator here.
Another website that can assist you in wiring money home is
Western Union . A famous brand name company that makes it
easy to transfer money internationally. I have always found their
fees a little high, but they do offer a very convenient service and
they have agents in 200 countries.
Phoning Home
Assuming you have someone to call, you won't want to be waking them in the middle of their night. Use this handy tool at timeanddate.com to calculate the best time to call your friends and family. It's a brilliant resource that has stopped me making some serious mistakes when contacting my friends, like calling at 7am on a Sunday morning! Instructions on how to use the site can be found in my book -
The Complete Guide to Securing a Job at an International School.
Figuring out international dialing codes so that you can avoid using operators can sometimes be a bit of a nightmare. So, you can use the internet to help you figure it out. OffshoreWave.com has a handy tool for helping you sort it out. It doesn't give you the access codes, I'm still looking for a site that has all the international direct dialing access codes but it looks like I might have to build one for you myself. Let's just say, for the moment, that it's in the works, and until then, you'll need to consult your guidebook, sorry!
A handy piece of software for saving on those phone bills is Skype. Skype allows you to make phone calls via your computer using earphones and a microphone. You can download the software for free from many sources. Visit the official Skype site to download the software free. Some people swear by it, but I like my hands free phone that I can take all over my apartment. 
If you are like me, and you'd rather use a real phone than be tethered to your computer like an astronaut, then you need to check out Pingo. A stupid name, I know, but a great service for people living overseas. And, they regularly have deals that will get you free credit or discounted calls.
I agree that the whole 'Pingo' thing can be a bit off-putting. So if your image is more important than phoning your mother... give your mother a break and use Net2Phone. Nothing there to make you feel like an idiot!
Sourcing English language fiction
Sometimes it can be hard finding books to read when you are living in a non-English speaking country. One option is to download ebooks from the internet (being careful not to infringe on authors' copyright) and read the books on your pc. I personally find it much easier to read on my PDA (personal digital assistant) which is an electronic organiser. This is the one item that I never leave home when I travel because it holds over 100 books on a 1 gigabyte memory card, and is no bigger or heavier than one paperback.
Here are some tips and resources for getting started with finding fiction books in English whilst living abroad. I've included information about buying paperback books if you prefer to hold a real book in your hands as well as some more detailed information about downloading ebooks.
Hash House Harriers
A great way to meet people once you have settled into your new home is to join groups. One group that has chapters worldwide is the Hash House Harriers. If you haven't heard of them before, they are a group of people who get together on a regular basis and run or cycle, then hang out. I'm not a runner or a cyclist but I've shared apartments with people who were members of the local Hash chapter and they had many friends and contacts.
The Hash House Harriers are definitely worth checking out if you are into sports and exercise. You can search their world directory online and see if there is a chapter near you.Display your Digital Photos in a Digital Pictureframe
A Bigeframe is a 15" (there is a 19" model available) wall frame that stores and displays your digital photos.
I am seriously considering getting one of these for my parents. The walls of their house are full of photos of me and my brother's family. They could display all of their photos on one of these Bigeframes , and set the frame to rotate the images.
While I'm not a huge fan of multi-image pictureframes, my Mum and Dad love them, so they can set their Bigeframe to do display a rotating set of images.
Page updated: 8 August 2008 © 2008 KB Information Services Terms of use