Many students know of friends moving to new places over the summer, but not many people think of their teachers moving especially out of the country.  But geography teacher Nicholas Stamper will be moving to Kazakhstan over the summer to next year to teach overseas.

Kazakhstan is a country in Central Asia, Kazakhstan was formerly part of the Soviet republic. It’s largest city, Almaty is a trading hub and full of historical artifacts and sites.

“I am going to work at a small private school in Atyrau,” Stamper said. “I believe my assignment will be secondary social studies and cultural studies.”

Stamper will be teaching to a variety of middle school and high school age students in Kazakhstan these students will learning in English

“Teaching overseas has been a goal of mine since I got into teaching a little over a decade ago,” Stamper said. “This is the fulfillment of a long-term dream of mine.”

Stamper will start off with a year teaching contract, expecting to extend to two years through Quality Schools International. QSI has campuses in Asia, Europe, South America and Africa, so he has potential to transfer to somewhere else if he wants to stay overseas.

“My contract is for a year with the expectation of extending to two years, and if I do well with this school organization then I can potentially transfer to another one of their campuses which they have all over Asia, Europe, South America and even Africa,” said Stamper. “So I might end up wanting to come right back, but I’m also open to staying overseas for a while.”

Teaching abroad may not be for everyone but  for  Stamper it is the perfect experience.

“I wasn’t specifically drawn to Kazakhstan. Teaching abroad was the goal, and this happened to be the best fit opportunity that I was presented with. Many teachers I know who have done this kind of work typically spend a couple years in one place and then move on to a new city, country, or continent,” Stamper said.

 This is not the first time that Stamper will be visiting another country in the European region.

“My experiences in Russia, specifically Siberia, made me more comfortable accepting this position. I feel like I have a little bit of experience in this kind of environment, although I am aware that moving to Kazakhstan will be a new and unique experience all its own.”

While the official language of Kazakhstan is Kazakh, the language of business and government is Russian due to the country’s former ties to the Soviet Union. Stamper is working on his Russian, but will be teaching in English.

“I’ll miss him because he’s a cool teacher and I like the way he taught,” freshman Julianna Dicochea said.

Stamper teaches Dicochea in one of his regular World Geography classes which are largely freshman.

“He explains things thoroughly and makes sure we get what we’re learning,” Dicochea said. “I like when he relates things that we’re learning to things we’re interested in.”

Many of students are excited for him to have a new experience, and learn from a new culture.

“I think it’s really cool that he’s trying something new and I think it will be a really cool experience in a new place with new people.” said Dicochea.

Just as Stamper’s students will be sad to see him go, so is his family.

“This has been a plan for so long that my family has accepted it and are excited for me,” Stamper said. “But I know we’re all sad to be separated from each other.”

Stamper also has a sister that lives in Southeast Asia with her family, so family overseas is  not a new experience for his for his family.

“I think it’s really cool that he’s trying something new,” sophomore Chloe Borsch said. “I think it will be a really cool experience in a new place with new people.”

Borsch had Stamper as a teacher last year in Pre-AP geography.

“I’m going to really miss all of the wonderful students, teacher, and staff here at Bowie. My experiences here are what made me delay this move as long as I did, so it’s a hard thing to say goodbye, but I felt like I needed to make the move or I might not ever do it,” Stamper said. “Also tacos. I’m definitely going to miss tacos.”