Teaching English overseas

[caseyc]

Dandelion,

I did it. I enrolled in a course for the 100 hour TESOL certification! Will start next month. Can't wait! Something new to distract my mind from the daily work week drudgery.

I wish I were going to RTR this year, but alas I'm not. I went last year. You'll enjoy it! If you ever head towards Northern California, give a holler as there are at least a few of us there.

 

[Dandelion]

Congratulations, caseyc! You are well on your way. Maybe I'll have an opportunity to visit Northern California before you start the next chapter of your life. I'm really happy for you! ヾ(＠⌒ー⌒＠)ノ

 

[caseyc]

So I thought I'd give an update here. I started my 100 hour TESOL certification course this past weekend. Will go on for another couple more weekends of live class, followed by online course study to finalize the training.

I find the class to be very interesting. The teacher is outstanding and she has many years of real life teaching experience overseas in many different countries and cultures.

My fellow classmates are also interesting as many of them have real life experience travelling and living abroad in different cultures, and now they want to teach English overseas in countries such as Korea, Vietnam, Russia, etc.

I am the only one who has never left the U.S. Duhh!! I was almost embarrassed to admit I've never travelled abroad and am now developing wanderlust at a later stage in life. Oh well, better late than never I guess.

At the same time, I am currently volunteering my time at a local YMCA helping the teacher to teach ESL (English as Second Language) to recent adult immigrants. Wow! It's been an eye opener for me. I can't believe how remedial the class is. Makes me appreciate that much more that I'm a native English speaker, as these immigrant adult students are struggling to even say words that are more than 2 or 3 syllables long.

I have a buddy who has already signed a 1 year lease at a nice penthouse apartment in Thailand overlooking the beach. He's asked me to join him in his new adventure that he will soon embark on for teaching English overseas. Tempting. Very tempting. I am sorely tempted!

In the meantime, I am currently doing my ho-hum job falling behind on the hamster treadmill. Hmmmm.

 

[Dandelion]

caseyc, in your training do they talk about visa requirements at all? I'm sure they're different for each country. Are you set on Thailand or are you still open to other countries? I'm pretty sure that in Korea, for the teaching visa you must apply while you are still in the U.S. so before you give in to the temptation to fly to Thailand see if that's a requirement there too.

And YES! Better late than never! I'm really excited for you, caseyc. You will have the time of your life, and gain some new perspectives about the world in general from your distant perch. As for me, after a few years passed in Korea, and having had many conversations with my Korean students (many of them talked about their travels within the U.S. And Canada), I realized, I'm half way around the world, yet I've seen so very little of my own country. So that is what I'm about to do now, caseyc. We are trading places! Better late than never

Keep those updates coming!

 

[caseyc]

Hi Dandelion!

Thanks for your encouragement! I sent you a PM message just now. Check it out when you get a chance.

Thanks,
Casey

Keep those updates coming!

 

[offroad]

This is so fascinating. Might think about teaching science and math overseas also. Maybe even electronics for me.

 

[caseyc]

Fascinating? Cool. This is the school that I'm currently enrolled in.

http://www.oxfordseminars.com/tesol-tesl-tefl-course/?gclid=COPE6bmVw8ECFc1Z7Aodh2IAiw

I don't know about teaching subjects other than English. However, once you're overseas doing something like teaching English, I suppose you can also teach other subjects via private tutoring maybe? I'm just guessing.

However, I'm guessing you might need to also know their native language in order to teach something different, such as math or science. Whereas for teaching English, you are not expected to know their native language, since speaking English in the classroom 100% of the time is encouraged.

I will be "graduating" at the end of this weekend's intensive course. I really enjoy the live classroom setting, including the interactions with fellow students who have overseas experience from all over the world. Makes me feel so sheltered being "stuck" in one place for so long.

 

[offroad]

Caseyc - bla bla bla. In a good way. Lol. You are now a graduate and no longer sheltered and no longer stuck. Thanks for providing inspiration.

 

[caseyc]

My buddy got a bit of good luck recently. His landlord is paying him off with $35,000 cash to terminate his rent controlled apartment lease for the past 30 years. He will take that cash and go to Thailand to enjoy himself in his upscale penthouse apartment overlooking the beach for $600 monthly, and leisurely start looking for an ESL teaching job next summer. I am officially...jealous!! He also has completed the 100 hour TESOL training certification to teach English abroad. His main reason for choosing Thailand?? Ummmm, for the wineries??

 

[akrvbob]

Caeey, I really admire your openness to new ways of living and thinking. From your posts it seems like you are in every way a success at the "American Dream" but you are able to see through it to a different way to live that might be better for you. That' not easy!

It takes courage to move into a van with all you are giving up. Even more courage to chuck even that and go to Thailand to teach English.

Thailand has certain "advantages" besides its wineries, but what about your watches!
Bob

 

[caseyc]

Hi Bob,

Thanks for the encouragement. Yeah, it's been rough, especially from the start. But it seems to get easier as I go along. Practice makes perfect, as the saying goes! Making lots of mistakes is also a good teacher. As for the American Dream, well, that's debatable. Some would say I'm living it. My own perception is that I could do better. If we were living in a caste system, such as in India, I'd guess I'm somewhere a little above average. I had strived in my younger days to get further ahead in life, but had various setbacks along the way. Making bad decisions as to multiple ex wives, job decisions, economic downturns, layoffs, all played a part in my struggles to get ahead. At this point in my life, my new philosophy is "screw it". Just kidding. My new philosophy is more like "if I can't be rich, at least I can try to be happy!". I figure I'm turning 50 next year, and I only have maybe 10 to 15 good years of really good health. After that, I will simply assume my mind and body will go downhill. Hence, if I'm going to do anything new in my life that requires extra-ordinary energy and commitment, now is the time to do so. Honestly, although doing the full time van thing is cool for now, I can't really see myself living this lifestyle for the rest of my natural days. I long for more. I feel I deserve more. My attitude is that it's better to try and fail for reaching glory, than to be content in mediocrity and misery. At this time in my life, I am neither rich nor am I happy. So I feel I need to make changes to improve my future life...starting right now. By the way, as for my watch collection, I'm now up 5 brand new Citizen Eco-drive watches bought this year alone. I now know how women can constantly go out buying a new purse and shoes, haha! Attached is a picture of my newest Citizen solar-powered, perpetual calendar watch. Looks good on my wrist if I say so myself, haha!

Casey

Caeey, I really admire your openness to new ways of living and thinking. From your posts it seems like you are in every way a success at the "American Dream" but you are able to see through it to a different way to live that might be better for you. That' not easy!

It takes courage to move into a van with all you are giving up. Even more courage to chuck even that and go to Thailand to teach English.

Thailand has certain "advantages" besides its wineries, but what about your watches!
Bob

 

[akrvbob]

Casey, I like making fun of you for your watches but I understand obsessions. Mine are 1) bags to carry things in and 2) cold weather gear 3) guns and knives.

I have way too much now and I'm still buying more. Fortunately guns and knives are expensive so it is self-limiting.

Don't even give up on your dreams and try hard to not let your obsessions stand in the way.

Be happy!
Bob

 

[offroad]

Everyone quick. Send bob a stuff sack. A watch cap. A cool
Jackknife. --- lol!!

 

[akrvbob]

Please, please, please, No more!!!!

Well, if it's really cool ... maybe!
Bob

 

[caseyc]

Bob,

What outdoor kind of guy doesn't like guns and knives?? Heck, I still have my 20 round mags for my 9mm Sigs before California banned them. In addition to various machete knives, I once considered buying a samurai sword ala The Last Samurai with Tom Cruise. Why? No good reason. Just wanted one, haha. But after researching the art, science, and tradition that goes into making a samurai sword, I decided the cost wasn't worth it which would be at least $3,000 to $10,000 for a "real" samurai sword. Still, I almost bought a cheap Tom Cruise knock-off Samurai sword for a hundred bucks, but even decided against that if I couldn't get the genuine article. The reason I like watches is because I really appreciate a watch for both its functionality and beauty. Conversely, I would not want to buy a Rolex watch because it's really more a piece of expensive jewelry first and less so for its timekeeping functionality. Just my opinion of course. I like watches that offer such features as atomic timekeeping, perpetual calendar with leap years, analog and digital display, light and glowing hands would be nice, plus quality materials such as titanium and industrial space age ceramics. Of high importance to me nowadays is the ability to keep accurate time via solar power, as I hate having to spend money to replace watch batteries. All my Citizen watches are Eco-drive, which means solar/light powered.

Casey

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EDIT:
However, other functions such as stopwatch and alarm are less important to me on a wrist watch, since smartphone apps are so much better at performing those functionalities and more. For example, my large Citizen Skyhawk atomic watch is made for pilots, and the watch has a rotating bezel for calculating fuel consumption, miles travelled and time to arrive at a desination. Seriously?? Do you suppose a jet pilot would really use a wrist watch to calculate such things while flying the plane? Heck, I can barely read the tiny 2 point font on my rotating watch bezel, I would need a magnifying glass which would be absurd if I were actually flying a plane.