Our International Education

What makes a person pack up and move to anothercountry? What does she or he hope to gain from the experience? How do childrenfit into the picture? Our International Education presents the stories of threeAmerican women, a university professor, a high school math teacher, and a highschool English as a second language teacher, who move to Hungary for a year toteach. Each woman brings her young children and enrolls them in local Hungarianpublic schools though none of them speak Hungarian at the beginning of theexperience.The autoethnographic stories that make up OurInternational Education weave together the personal and professional dimensionsof life abroad, illuminating not only the realities of negotiating work,school, and family life in another country, but also the complexities ofcultural adjustment and second language acquisition. First-person storytellingmakes this book a compelling read for those considering a move abroad withtheir family, and an excellent supplemental narrative for those studying secondlanguage acquisition, acculturation, autoethnography, and internationaleducation.'These interconnected stories of three women andtheir children living in Hungary offer an alternately uplifting andheartrending look at what families face when overseas. The co-authors present adeeply personal and vivid account of their bold adventure, from the initialthrill to the gradual revelation that life abroad is not always the carefreeromp that some might perceive. Our International Education masterfullydemonstrates the unequivocal impact of cross-cultural understanding.' - EleniKounalakis, United States Ambassador to Hungary 2010-2013 and author of MadamAmbassador: Three Years of Diplomacy, Dinner Parties, and Democracy in Budapest.