As a foreign woman traveling in Oman, and one who did not cover her hair, I was constantly stared at by men. They weren’t threatening stares, I soon realized, but curious ones, which at least in part spoke of the locals’ curiosity about me (and about my many colleagues both female and male) as newcomers and obvious foreigners. Although ...
When my friends and family ask me what I miss most about South Korea, I say the food without having to think twice. I mean sure, I miss the Korean friends I left there, and I miss my students. But let’s be honest, I miss the food. Korean food is absolutely fantastic and the Korean restaurants in North America ...
Of all the places that I have been fortunate enough to live and travel to during my years teaching English abroad, Asia truly reminded me about the wonders that exist in the world. Whether trekking and paddling through the remote jungles of the Borneo or walking along the tranquil pathways of Kyoto, Asia has something for every aspiring traveler. ...
Teaching English in Japan was my first experience working outside the United States. The first morning I arrived in my new city, Takamatsu, I was greeted at the train station by the teacher I was replacing. She walked with me to the building where I would be teaching ESL and introduced me to the staff. Then we took a ...
My life hasn’t been exactly on the same timeline as others. Living as a caretaker for my aging grandparents while working full time meant that it took me several years to finish my Bachelor’s Degrees. At the end of my studies, I was able to pull enough strings to leave the country for a summer abroad in Paris. That ...
People teach English abroad for a variety of reasons, but a common one, especially if you are just finishing college or university is to pay off your student loans and save money. Oxford Seminars Instructor, Heidi Bundschoks did just that when she went to teach English in South Korea. In this video, she talks about great ways to save ...
Traveling in Vietnam is an unforgettable experience. Hanoi, where I was living and working, is a big bustling crazy city. The traffic was like nothing I have ever seen before. There were about 500 motorbikes to every car on the road. The roads looked like they were filled with salmon rushing upstream to spawn. There were buses and occasional SUVs ...
My wife and I are veterans of almost 20 years of teaching overseas in five different countries. I had been teaching in public schools in California for several years before we left for our first overseas adventure (Saudi Arabia) so I was pretty well prepared to walk into a classroom with a good degree of confidence. My wife, however, ...
Cold rice balls? Curry-filled doughnuts? Fried Sting Ray? Oxford Seminars instructors Corinne Toffan and Paul Workman tried these and many other new and exciting foods while teaching in Japan, to (mostly) delicious results. In this video, Corinne Toffan talks about how much she enjoyed going out for dinner with her class and trying strange new dishes. It was a great ...
This post is the first in a series about an Oxford Seminars TESOL instructor meeting the students he trained on his trips abroad. I have taught with Oxford seminars for nearly a decade. My favorite thing about training prospective teachers is meeting dozens of new, interesting people every year, each with their own compelling reason for obtaining their TESOL certification. ...