WM: What are your fondest memories of AISB?

 

Most of my memories involve the people I met whilst at AISB, where there was laughter, a lot of work with some of the most creative people I have met in my career.

 

Community service programs that regularly reached out to Bucharest, Romania and beyond Tuesday afternoons at Victor Babes Hospital
My favourite days of the year were InternationalDay, Children’s Day where you really felt like youwere part of a community.

CEESA tournaments, when we really felt like afamily. Especially that first basketball tourna- ment in 2002 in the new gym and there was not a vacant seat on the bleachers.

Wonderful chemistry students who made me smile every day. Murray Smith, Matt Popovich, Raluca Paraschivescu and Andrew Nicholson who made me laugh every day.

Various chats with Peter Born about anything that came to mind and always trying to live upto Marilyn Chapman’s expectations.

Secretive random tasty order-in lunches in myoffice (that didn’t become so secret after a while) and having BBQ’s for any reason, just because we could.

WM: What is it like to have such an international experience? Can you “draw” a map of your travels?

 

Wow, this is a hard question to answer... it is so enriching to meet such interesting people ofsuch different backgrounds all with their ownstory to tell... and the result of such experiences forces you to question your own assumptions, values and perspectives.

A map of my travels is tricky but a map of international teaching life begins in Australia, to Spain, to the Philippines, to Romania, to Switzerland and soon to be in Syria.

I remember buying the book “The World’s Most Dangerous Places” to discover travel destina- tions, but no one would join me on these ad- ventures. I adore travelling to quirky places and picking up the odd carpet, discovering funky restaurants and learning about cultures. Everyone should travel to Tibet and eat yak dumplings washed down with yak butter tea. 

 

WM: Where do you live now? Are you still teaching?

 

I live currently live in Zug, Switzerland, work- ing at the International School of Zug & Luzern as the High School Assistant Principal. This will only be until June as I have accepted the position of Secondary School Principal at the ICARDA International School of Aleppo, Syria.

WM: How do you feel about the challenge of moving to a new place?

I love the challenge of moving to a new place. The experience of new places to discover, people tomeet, restaurants to try, cultures to experience. The world is full of ‘new places’ – get out there and find some. Leaving is horrible though, especially when you have built connections with people andyou have learned to love them.

 

WM: This issue of WORLD focuses on the Class of 2001. Do you have any memories about the 2001 graduation class?

The class of 2001 graduated in my first year at AISB. I had 5 students in my IBDP Chemistry class and we worked in the lab on the second floor of Dorobanti. They were very welcoming. The senior class was quite small also, and graduation was at the Diplomatic Club. It was a small intimate affairand a joyous occasion.

 

WM: What would you like to tell our current students?

 

There is nothing better that you can do for yourself than to throw your heart and soul into learning, into the classroom, into CEESA, into the arts, but most importantly into the people you interact with. Humanity is the way of the future. Test your boundaries and volunteer for Community Service andlead the way to a more humane world. Choose your passion and delve into it with everything you’ve got.

 

WM: What would you like to say to our alumni?

 

I hope your lives are full of grace, generosity and compassion and I hope the world treats you similarly. If not, get out of there and change yoursituation. Read “Oh the Places You’ll Go”; watch more TED video clips, give stuff away and phoneyour parents. You haven’t stopped learning yet.. there is a whole world out there. Go and see it.

 

Susan Canobie


High School Assistant Principal
International School of Zug & Luzern

Read the entire WORLD Magazine Summer 2012 edition here.