You get to know your colleagues (both Primary and Secondary) very well. And this is the reason: you are all ex-pat teachers looking to get the best experiences you can from the country you find yourself in. So, I cheat a bit here and put lots of golden moments into one with the top five trips away from postings abroad.

1. Finding yourself in Old Damascus. You had a bit of a hoo-ha getting the visa in Amman, where you had to sign solemn declarations that you never had been, or ever would plan to go, to Israel They did no recognise Israel as a country, so a stamp in you passport – even an exit stamp from one of the Jordan-Israel crossings, was enough to invalidate your passport. But then you discover (or discovered since recent sad events) a medieval world, with an ancient Souq where the apothecaries still sell snakes pickled in a jar for medicinal purposes.

2. The un-touristed, stunning Roman ruins of Sabratha where you can sit on a Roman toilet overlooking pure azure Mediterranean waters, or catch a glimpse of it through the columns behind the stage in the amphitheatre with the lewd reliefs in the foreground.

3. Taking a weekend away in the dubs from Bratislava into Hungary to the Danube Bend, where they lend you an electric cable to hook up, rather than charge you a hefty deposit. Here was perfect rural peace in an idyllic spot above the curving Danube,

4, Heading off to Petra or Wadi Rum or Aqaba where we had our regular favourite hosts.

5. A short train ride to the Christmas markets in Vienna or Budapest.

There are many more of these apart from the top five. which you can find under Jordan, He who Could Not Be Named, Bratislava is for Life. Slovakia blog posts from the home page.