I’ll have to take the first piece of advice I learned when I was in Thailand for the first time…. MAI PEN RAI! Roughly translated to “It’s nothing!” or “Don’t worry!” and no worries is what I’ll have to have….
It looks like my plans to be in Chiang Mai, Thailand next year for my TEFL certification course are going to have to be slightly adjusted. TEFL Internatonal isn’t offering a course in the northern Thai city anymore so I’ve adjusted my plan to the next closet thing, which is a small beach and fishing town about 3 hours south of Bangkok called Ban Phe. This is the flagship institute for TEFL International and is highly regarded in the English teaching community. I’ve done some research, and while it wasn’t my first choice of locations, it will certainly do!
I sent in my application online and I almost immediately got a response from an advisor. They’re going to send my application through so I can get an official acceptance letter. I put in for April of next year so I can keep working where I am now and saving more money. I’ll probably arrive in Thailand a good month or so before to start getting myself settled in. After that, the school itself will help prepare my resume and assist me in looking for work. I’ve decided to keep my options open and not be tied to any single country. I’ll still have my eyes set on Hong Kong, Thailand and Indonesia as top destinations but I won’t hesitate to get going anywhere that wants me.
I’ve also been looking at videos online of the school in Ban Phe. They put up videos of their teachers in training and it looks pretty exciting. The certification program is quite intensive and I’ll have to be prepared to really work at it but I’m looking forward to the big opportunity!
I know it has been awhile since I’ve posted. I have been extremely busy with working full time now and finishing up my degree. I graduate in 2 weeks!!!
[Image courtesty of http://srisawadisny.tripod.com]
SOOOOO excited for you! 🙂