POSTED: Tuesday, Sep. 02, 2008
Former Squalicum High teacher spends time as educator in Germany
E-Mail
Print
tool name
closeAs school gets back in session, local teacher Chad Squires is thinking about Germany.
From 2002 to 2004, Squires and his wife, Betsy, taught for the Department of Defense Dependent Schools in Germany. It was the perfect time for Squires and his wife to teach abroad: their son had just graduated high school and their daughter was just going into middle school.
After a phone interview on Aug. 1, 2002, it was barely more than a week later that the couple and their daughter, Tina, settled down in Bavaria, where Squires would coach football and teach at Hohenfels Middle/High School, and his wife would teach kindergarten.
"We got to this little, tiny village and they put us up in this quaint bed and breakfast while they found us housing," says Squires, who taught at Squalicum High School before going overseas and now teaches at Mount Vernon High School.
Their bed and breakfast was right next to a church, which had bells that would clang every hour. But Squires was a bit too busy to sleep.
"I had three days to put together the entire offensive and defensive playbook," he says. "I was awake all hours trying to put this together."
From the homey bed and breakfast, the family was temporarily moved to a one-room Army post with a bathroom and two beds. While there, the family ate in the mess hall with all the soldiers.
"It was more of a culture shock to get used to that Army post than it was to get used to German culture," he says.
Once they found their own place, Hohenfels became their home, from which they traveled to see Europe whenever they could. The family went to Cinque Terra in Italy, Prague, the Alps, France and Austria. But some of their favorite sights were in their own backyard in Bavaria. There were churches and antique markets and sprawling countryside.
"We loved it. Bavaria is beautiful and quaint," he says. "In the spring, it's just gorgeous. You see yellow (flowers) all over the place."
In addition to being a sightseer's dream, Germany was also the perfect spot to satisfy a sweet tooth.
"My wife and I would get off work, hit the Autobahn and zoom 90 miles an hour and turn off at the German chocolate place," he recalls. "That was one of our favorite things to do."
Though teaching and coaching football was a dream for Squires, when the Iraq War began in March 2003, the atmosphere changed. Many of the children he taught were now missing one or both parents to deployment, so he and the other teachers tried to keep up spirits with barbecues and games.
During the trip, he filled up a journal writing about his travels with the football team and all the experiences he had with his family.
"We were very fortunate that we got to live there," he says.
With all that travel under his belt, he and his family don't have any big trips planned for the near future. But going back to Europe, maybe Southern France or Eastern Europe, is a priority.
"If we were to go back, we'd go to Italy, along the Mediterranean," he says. "We'd go tomorrow if we could."
-
Contracts Assistant, Financial Services
WESTERN WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY -
Fiscal Analyst 1
WESTERN WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY -
Open Positions
SKAGIT VALLEY HOSPITAL -
LPNs and MAs
Interfaith Community Health Center -
Purchasing Agent
McNett Corp.
@Nyx.CommentBody@