She went diving, attended a music festival, and stumbled upon incredible towns that were too under the radar for Trip Advisor or Travel + Leisure.
Before Thailand
Heather did not always know about teaching English abroad, nor was it part of her post-graduate plan. She was committed to a career in medicine and planned on enrolling in a Physicians Assistant program immediately after graduating.
It was during her Semester abroad when she was introduced to the idea of Teaching English as a Foreign Language. She had the privilege to travel across several countries, and she met many TEFL teachers along the way.
The idea of being a teacher instead of a student intrigued her. And while she had the freedom to travel now, she knew she wouldn’t after enrolling in med school.
That’s why when Heather learned several of her friends were moving to Thailand to teach abroad, she decided to join them and take advantage of an opportunity that would be difficult to pursue after starting her career.
It wasn’t long after when Heather found a TEFL certification course that connected her with a Thai teaching agency (J2 Thailand's programs). T
he agency helped her settle in her new school town and even handled finding her an apartment. And just like that, Heather would be spending the next 5 months in residing in a studio apartment near her school.
If you have doubts about moving abroad, read about your fears and how to overcome them NOW.
Life in Thailand
Day 1 in Thailand was filled with a combination of excitement and nerves. Heather didn’t speak a word of Thai and had no idea how she would translate between the two languages.
Her certification course got her started with basic Thai, and––more importantly––with time and practice, things started becoming easier.
It also helped that the foundation of Thai culture is heavily influenced by generosity––whether they’re gift-giving or helping others out. Not only were passerbys kind and approachable, they genuinely wanted to practice their English.
She quickly recognized how harmonious her community was and immediately felt at ease in a place that once seemed so far from home. And before she knew it, Heather’s course came to a close and she began teaching a classroom of her own.
The typical working day in Thailand wasn’t anything out of the ordinary.
Heather would wake up, ride her scooter to work, and teach during typical hours (8 a.m. - 3 p.m.). During lunch, she played soccer, ping pong, or whatever sport the students were playing.
When classes were dismissed, she met up with her small community of foreign teachers and explored the local market or restaurants to grab a bite to eat (her personal favorites were pad thai and chicken skewers).
Sometimes she’d take a Thai dance class. At other times she’d try her hand at Thai aerobic exercises. There was always something to do and always a restaurant to try––and there was never a shortage of things to do over the weekend.
Because there are so many Thai holidays, the majority of Heather’s weekends were spent traveling. Read about the Thai New Year Water Celebration- Songkran.
Teachers are paid very well––her $1,000 monthly salary was more than enough to cover the cost of living, which was $200 a month for rent and $2-3 for each meal.
Heather also tutored on the side to make extra money, which gave her even more money to explore the entire country.
Naturally, Heather did it all. She went diving, attended a music festival, and stumbled upon incredible towns that were too under the radar for Trip Advisor or Travel + Leisure.
And when her teaching gig came to a close, she traveled for 3 months with the remainder of her earnings.
Life After Thailand
Getting back into the swing of things after spending a year in Southeast Asia was incredibly easy for Heather.
Heather had fulfilled everything she wanted for herself and no stone was left unturned. Because of this, she was more willing than ever to dive into the plans she had for her future.
Today, Heather’s passion for working in the field of medicine remains unchanged.
Since returning from Thailand, she has become EMT-certified and is currently working as an emergency medical technician in Los Angeles.
She’s applying to Masters programs in Global Medicine––something she hadn’t initially planned on doing before going to Thailand.
It was her experiences abroad that inspired her to pursue work in global medicine. By doing this, she would be able to combine her love for medicine and desire to help others into one perfect-fit (international) career.
Ask Heather a question in the comments below!
About Journey to Teach Abroad:
Become a global citizen and discover life TEACHING ABROAD. Get paid to travel to stunning places, bond with an international community that you'll forever belong to, feel rewarded daily for teaching students who want to learn, and gain the confidence to discover new things. Journey to Teach Abroad is a teacher training TEFL certification course here in Los Angeles that GUARANTEES a teaching job abroad.
To contact please call 818-389-5884 | email: hello@j2teachabroad.com | www.j2teachabroad.com
About our J2 Writer: Lauren Brose
Lauren Brose is a marketer and writer based in New York City. She enjoys writing about travel, lifestyle, sustainability, music, and politics. At the top of her travel wishlist is Vietnam, Singapore and South Africa. She hopes to someday write and travel full-time––in the meantime, she chooses to live vicariously through the incredible English teachers from J2 Teach Abroad.