UPON receiving my Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) certification, I embarked on a world tour teaching English to foreigners. It was such an exciting trip since I got to immerse in various cultures all over the world. It was sort of a diplomatic experience for me and I remembered my elementary days when our teacher used to impart to us the essence of world peace. It was in those experiences with various countries that I realized up close how important understanding each other is in preventing conflicts. Of course, other perks that I enjoyed during my three-year-stint were that I also learned a few words of foreign languages, I got to meet new acquaintances which I correspond to every now and then, I got to see the beautiful yet simple sights of other places and the pay was good too.

Right after receiving the TEFL certification, I immediately applied through a reference website for job postings abroad where I could teach English as a second language to students – whether they were first graders or adults already. My first stop was in Phuket, Thailand. I won’t be discussing here on how I went about teaching my students because that would be redundant. Of course, I was using combinations of reading, communicative language teaching and blended learning to all of them. What I want to impart to you is the beauty of all the places I’ve been into. I was in Phuket primarily to hone the English skills of fresh high school female graduates. They were there ready to be hired as resort receptionists but they yet have to adapt Western culture so I taught English to them. Phuket as you all know has one of the most beautiful yet hideous beaches and coves all over the world. Its beaches are so crystal green that it attracted the producers of the Leonardo di Caprio starrer The Beach to be shot here. Of course, during weekends, I made sure I could go to these beaches. The pay for my tutorials could easily pay for my stay in those beach cottages.

After a three-month-stint in Phuket, I went to the Philippines. Nope, I wasn’t assigned in Manila. I was hired by a group of South Korean businessmen who were on a two month summer holiday in Cagayan de Oro City. I was tasked to teach English to junior graders, actually all children of the South Korean businessmen. The Korean kids were a rowdy bunch but they could easily absorb my lessons. While in the Philippines, I managed to hop into a few islands like Camiguin and Boracay. Boracay was an extreme wonder with almost all the slender Filipina brunettes parading around in their bikinis.

Speaking of bikinis, nothing beat my stint in Cap d’Agde, France. Cap d’Agde is actually a nudist community of 60,000 people exclusively housed in a sprawling acres and acres of a walled and enclosed city by the beach in a southern town in France called Agde. I was immersed in that community of nudists for a mind-boggling three weeks.