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Culture July 30, 2019
The benefits of teaching abroad are pretty clear, but what about the downfalls?
ENTITY dives into what to consider before you decide to teach abroad.We’ve all heard the saying, “different strokes for different folks,” right? It means not everything is for everyone. Just because something looks extraordinary through someone else’s eyes doesn’t mean its right for you. This is important to consider before you decide to teach abroad.
Straight out of college, I spent 10 months living in Bangkok, Thailand. I taught English to the most fascinating young girls at a private Catholic school in the heart of the city. I felt inspired, invigorated, and enamored. Yet, I also felt lonely, lost, and longing for familiarity.
The decision to teach abroad was the best I’ve ever made, and perhaps the best I will ever make. The program I went through, Greenheart Travel, made the experience as comfortable as I could have ever hoped. However, there are a few factors that I wish I would have considered before stepping onto that Asia-bound plane.
Okay, that’s a bold claim. Maybe it’s not so much a lie as it is a generous stretch of the truth. When people teach abroad, most will flower their posts with tales of extravagant triumphs, beautiful scenery, and rays of sunshine that just went straight on through to their soul. Even though those things are real, what they don’t tell you is just how hard it really is.
In the moments that I posted about while in Thailand, I was impossibly happy. I was absolutely falling in love with the country and I couldn’t believe I was living my dream. I was truly blessed. But there was so much that happened that didn’t make it onto social media.
You didn’t see a Snapchat of me crying in the back of a cab for no reason other than culture shock hit me. You didn’t see an Instagram post of my face getting smashed into the doors of the packed subway by a 300-pound Thai man who was apparently unaware that he was crushing me as he simultaneously sweats all over me. There’s no Facebook album called “Pictures of All the Clothes That Didn’t Fit Me Because the Biggest Size Almost EVERYWHERE is a US 4 (and that’s being generous).”
Basically, what it comes down to is that you can’t believe everything you see on the internet. There are probably five not so great things that you won’t hear about for every one good thing that is shared.
Some people have a real knack for learning languages. I am not some people. I think there’s an advantage here if you teach abroad in countries like Spain or Italy and you’ve taken classes for those languages before. But like I said, I taught in Thailand and the Thai language could not be more different than English.
The reason I say this is not because you CAN’T pick up the language. You can certainly practice and apply yourself and make it work. However, I was under the misconception that being immersed in the culture would force me to learn the language and I’d pick it up naturally. This. Is. Not. True.
The language barrier can make things challenging, to say the least. Sometimes it is fun and part of the beauty of the whole experience; sometimes it’s the middle of the night and you’re lost and the cab driver doesn’t understand where you’re going and its a real pain in the butt.
Coffee. Its the first thing that pops into my head when I think of something I really missed.
I am by no means a certified coffee addict, but I do enjoy it. There is (a super delicious yet painfully sweet) version of coffee on Thai street carts that I would treat myself to now and then. I did, however, really miss the simple routine of pouring myself a cup out of a maker at home.
Do I think that adjusting to the coffee I drank while there is a big deal? Absolutely not. Could I go out of my way to seek out pretty decent coffee? Sure. My point is that there are simple things integrated into your routine that, when gone, will mess with your feeling of familiarity and therefore comfort. You don’t think you’ll miss those things, but believe me, you will.
If you teach abroad for a year, or at least a full school year, there will inevitably be life events at home that you will not be a part of. Duh, this seems like an obvious point to make. I just don’t think that I really grasped the full scope of being on the other side of the world while my whole life in America went on without me.
One of my best friends was pregnant when I left, and she had her perfect baby boy while I was away. It really bummed me out to not be a part of that while I (through a screen) watched the rest of our friends meet him and support her.
Be prepared to not be physically present for everything while you’re gone. Again, I know that sounds obvious, but you really have to grasp that concept and make sure that you are okay with that.
This is probably the most important point I’ll make. If you are looking to teach abroad just to boost your Instagram cred, it’s not for you. If you don’t have a passion for helping children, it’s not for you. Or, if you solely need an excuse to travel and this is your way to do it, it’s not for you!
This opportunity is an amazing way to travel and take awesome pictures, but at the end of the day, the keyword is: teach. These are real kids with real lives who are relying on you to enhance their education. What I learned is that you don’t have to be the best teacher, you just have to be the best influence that you can be on them.
There’s nothing wrong with wanting to freely bounce around different countries. But don’t commit yourself to this experience if your heart isn’t in it. The other factors can be overcome, but only if impacting the lives of your students actually matters to you.
If I could go back and do it all over again, I would in a heartbeat. I wouldn’t change my experience for the world. However, I dove into it with rose-colored glasses and I just wish someone would have told me to slow down. There is some serious mental preparation required for getting through this journey that I could have benefited from; I want other people to at least be honest with themselves before they uproot their whole lives.
That being said, teaching abroad is the most amazingly rewarding gift. If you are mentally prepared, do it. Start your research. Take that chance. Companies like Greenheart Travel and World Teach are awesome resources to get you started. If you take this leap, I promise it will change your life.
