| Teaching English in a foreign country can be an | | | | however. You'll still have time to yourself to enjoy the |
| incredible challenge... and it can also be one of the most | | | | sites, and you should certainly do so in order to gain a |
| fulfilling experiences you'll ever have. Living abroad, | | | | better understanding of your adopted life as well as |
| absorbing the culture of another people, and using your | | | | your students. The key to enjoying this experience to |
| native English knowledge to enlighten your students | | | | its full potential is to keep an open mind. This should |
| are all wonderful aspects of this rewarding career. | | | | become your mantra during the entire duration of your |
| But before you take the plunge and sign up for a job | | | | job. |
| overseas, there are a few things you should consider | | | | Having an open mind will allow you to experience life in |
| about yourself and your intended path. Keep in mind... | | | | your new country first-hand. If you don't expect special |
| not everyone is cut out for a job like this! | | | | treatment, don't allow yourself to get caught up in |
| Teaching English in another country is not just a job. It's | | | | feeling out of place, and don't waste your time |
| also a lifestyle choice. Regardless of where you | | | | comparing your new life with your old one, chances |
| choose to teach (and sometimes, your choices may | | | | are good you'll feel at home before you know it. |
| be limited by what areas are in need at a certain time), | | | | You might love to travel, and that's fantastic. But love |
| it can be a time-consuming and demanding project, and | | | | of travel isn't enough to make teaching English abroad |
| it will definitely test the limits of your sense of | | | | the career for you. You must also possess a sense of |
| adventure. You will be immersed in a whole new | | | | independence and self-sufficiency that will allow you to |
| culture and expected to follow it as a citizen. Contrary | | | | adapt easily to the unexpected. Because your life isn't |
| to popular belief, an English teacher in another country | | | | going to be just about teaching English and returning to |
| is a far cry from being a tourist. | | | | a hotel room to await your flight home. Chances are |
| A job teaching English won't be like a vacation. | | | | good you'll be living in an apartment or rented home in |
| Depending on what type of school you choose to | | | | your new country for at least a year, and you'll be |
| teach at and what country you're planning on working | | | | doing everything from grocery shopping to taking public |
| in, your life will be very different from what you have | | | | transit. You will become, for all intents and purposes, a |
| experienced in the past. Even if you've visited your | | | | working citizen of a place that could be vastly different |
| country of choice before, unless you actually lived as a | | | | from what you're used to. |
| native you won't have a clear feeling of what it will be | | | | Still sound like fun? Congratulations! You're one of a |
| like to teach English there. | | | | special group of people for whom teaching English |
| This isn't to say that teaching English is a grueling job | | | | abroad may just be the perfect career. |
| that doesn't allow you to enjoy the native culture, | | | | |