The shots you take
I always seem to find myself in a pickle...wanting to try new things, take risks, live an adventure...and being too scared to take the plunge. In fact, I'm kind of facing that right now.
Last month I finally took a TESL course to become a certified ESL teacher. It's something I've talked about doing for about 7 years, but wasn't quite sure if it was what I really wanted or if I'd be good at it. Thanks to the encouragement of my family and a few friends I decided to just go for it. And I'm glad I did. But now I have to find a job...which can be a little trickier. Apparently a lot of schools around the world only like to hire certified ESL teachers who have some kind of university degree...and I don't have one. But that doesn't rule out some of the private schools, nor does it eliminate the opportunity for private students. And that last one is the option I think I like best.
So now, here is where the risks show up: I'm thinking about teaching English in another country. I have a few friends in Korea, some of whom are already ESL teachers and think I should go teach there. Korea is supposedly a very good place to work and live. I've heard great things about it, and I'd love to go...but really only because I have friends there. Otherwise, I'm not naturally attracted to Asia. And it's the same thing with Taiwan. I have a friend who is going back there next month, and she thinks I should come and teach there. She and her sister have contacts and she thinks I wouldn't have a hard time finding a job there at all. Besides, she was teaching me Mandarin while she was here and thinks I should take the opportunity to immerse myself in the culture and the language and become fluent.
The other place I've started thinking about is Mexico. I have the opportunity to go down there in August...which is actually a very attractive idea. I never really wanted to go to Mexico because that's where EVERYONE seems to go. But Central and South America have always fascinated me, and I really badly want to become fluent in Spanish. I took it for a year and a half, and can still remember a lot of what I learned, but I've never really had the opportunity to practice it. One of the draw-backs to this idea is that while you can make decent money in Korea and Taiwan by teaching English, you really can't in Mexico. However, I guess it's not that bad as the cost of living is quite low. And it would be a good starting place to exploring the rest of the continent.
So, these are some options. But do I have the guts to pursue any of them? Like Wayne Gretsky says, "Statistically 100 percent of the shots you don't take don't go in."
3 comments:
The brilliant thing is that some day soon you'll be able to look back on these days and realize God was knitting things together in His timing and you never would have imagined how your reality turns out. One of the both irritating and incredibly beautiful things about life.
You ever considered ESL in Bolivia? I might be able to find connections for you.
I never really considered it, although your trip to Bolivia was originally what got me thinking about going down there and teaching ESL...was that what you did down there? I can't remember. But also around that time I think I remember hearing about another girl who went to Columbia to teach English...so the combination of the two inspired me.
I just might take you up on that offer in the future. I'd LOVE to go there!
Live Dangerously! Well, not actually dangerously, but ad-venturesomely. I heard that fear is standing on the curb, checking for traffic and staying on the curb. Caution is standing on the curb, looking for traffic and then stepping out to cross the street (obviously when the vehicles are at a safe distance away). Push yourself a little past your comfort zone, and you'll be thrilled that you actually survived AND had fun!!
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