So, you have your ESL teaching certificate; you have done all the research on the country you want to live in; you have a job lined up in that country; you have begun the tedious job of getting all your paperwork and travel arrangements in order; you have narrowed down your life to fit in a few suitcases. Now, ...
Explore the Mountains of Vietnam by Motorcycle The ride through Vietnam to Sa Pa is breathtaking. Breathtaking in its beauty with northern Vietnam's vast expanses of green and high mountain passes, but also breathtaking in the tension and endless "oh-my-god-we-are-going-to-die" moments as trucks and buses pass you while even more buses and trucks barrel down the other side of what is essentially ...
Before teaching English in South Korea, I planned on blogging about my upcoming experiences. I contemplated blog names, looked at different hosting sites, checked out other travel blogs for inspiration, and vetted themes. Yet, when I arrived in South Korea I ended up writing only one blog post. Yes! I wrote just one, measly blog post about my pre-departure ...
Where in the World are Magda and Brent: Teaching English in Taiwan Unlike many popular teaching destinations in Asia and elsewhere, one need not secure a position before arriving in Taiwan. The visa process is simple and straightforward, so, like me, you can arrive in Taiwan, feel it out, get a sense of where you would like to teach ...
In this video, Oxford Seminars instructor, Jennifer Goodnow discusses how living in a foreign country is different. She admits she was initially overwhelmed with all the changes she faced while teaching English abroad in Japan. Many things were different, unfamiliar, and confusing, but then she came to the realization that, just because it was unfamiliar, that didn’t make it ...
Where in the World Are Magda and Brent? - Getting Ready to Travel and Teach Abroad This blog entry represents the first in a series of entries detailing an epic trip through Southeast Asia and Europe with a stop in the Middle East that myself and a fellow Oxford Seminars alumnus and South Korean teaching vet are embarking upon ...
My Search for Teaching Jobs in Vietnam I had finished my degree and I had completed my TESOL certification program. I was ready to start on my goal of finding teaching jobs in Vietnam. But first I took some time off to travel and wander. I slowly worked my way north up the coast of Vietnam from Ho Chi Minh City. ...
When you think of Tokyo, many things come to mind. The crowded trains, the "Shibuya Scramble", the pace of one of the world's largest cities and, of course, the sushi. When you think of Japan, there are many images that you might have. Bullet trains (shinkansen), outdoor hot springs (rotemburo) and, of course, cherry blossoms (sakura). For me, it ...
“Be a traveler, not a tourist. Try new things, meet new people, and look beyond what’s right in front of you. Those are the keys to understanding this amazing world we live in.” - Andrew Zimmern As an ESL teacher abroad you are no longer a tourist. You can actually live and work in another country and experience its ...
I had been teaching English in Vietnam for a few weeks when I finally figured out which bus to take to work. The bus system in Hanoi is quite a puzzle, but I found a bus that took me nearly door to door. There was no shortage of buses on Hanoi's crowded streets, some big, some small. The small buses ...