One of the favorite pastimes of ICS foreign-hire teachers is planning their next escape. It’s not that we don’t like it here. We wouldn’t be here if we didn’t like it. But we do look forward to getting out of the noise and pollution once in a while to recharge our batteries (and to fill our extra suitcases with foreign goodies).
Like most international schools, ICS operates on a schedule that makes vacation travel possible. We get a week off in October, three weeks at Christmas, a week for spring break, and about 7 weeks in the summer. There are also several long weekends over the course of the year. Our professional development allowance enables us to attend an annual overseas conference of our choice, and there are numerous opportunities to travel with student groups to sports meets, academic competitions, and student summits.
So teachers spend a lot of time asking each other about upcoming travel plans. Much of the time we are storing information away in our mental files for our own future trips. The best deals on international flights from Addis are to Cairo, Dubai, Mumbai, Rome, London, and Frankfurt. Well, and Khartoum, but I don’t know so many people who want to spend their vacations there.
As you can see from that list, it is often (oddly) cheaper to fly to Europe or Asia than to travel within Africa. That’s part of the reason we spent spring break in Sorrento instead of Zanzibar. Next year we’ll make an effort to see more of this continent. But this time around, Italy was exactly what we needed.
Once I get through this very hectic week at school I’ll post more about our trip. Meanwhile here’s a taste of Campagna.
Lorna of Arabia 