Decision Time: Get TEFL Certified and Teach Abroad, or Stay Where I Am?
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Are you considering teaching English abroad and getting TEFL certified?
Are you somewhere in that awkward thought process right in the middle of: 1) “If I teach abroad, I could live in a new country, try something completely new, and possibly change my life entirely”… and 2.) “I could just stay here in the US and build my career here. But that may not be fulfilling…”
You’re in the decision zone.
You’re somewhere in the middle of striving for something new, but also desiring comfort. Or, as Carson McCullers more adequately and eloquently describes:
“We are torn between nostalgia for the familiar and an urge for the foreign and strange. As often as not, we are homesick most for the places we have never known.”
You’re not alone in feeling this. In fact, I assume about 99.9% of teachers abroad went through this same thought process while deciding to take the leap — “Should I change my life with an adventure abroad? Or stay where I am comfortable?”
This is a big decision. I hear you there. And that’s where CIEE comes in. CIEE TEFL Certification will ensure you know what to expect, and how to teach effectively. Depending on the certification course you choose, you’ll learn valuable lessons not only in regards to teaching, but also for the life portion.
It’s that life portion that is probably scarier than the teaching portion sometimes — What do I do if I get sick? How will I communicate? What if I break my ankle hiking an exotic mountain? What if, what if, what if….
It’s smart to think about all the things that could happen. Instead, try thinking about all of the great things you know will happen: personal growth, global understanding, helping international students, gaining a CIEE TEFL Certification that never expires and you can use in numerous ways…. These are inevitables.
All of those other “what ifs”… those are just part of the adventure.
In fact, have you ever heard a good travel story where everything went right? Probably not.
It’s adversity, and the overcoming of adversity that makes life an adventure. Ask any travel addict, and they’ll tell you their best travel stories are when they overcame a time of adversity. Don’t fear it. Welcome it. And know that with CIEE TEFL, you’ll have more tools and knowledge to overcome anything thrown your way.
With CIEE TEFL Certification, you can have both adventure and safety all in one swoop. You can move abroad and teach and travel and adventure, and you’ll have the comfort and and safety of your TEFL certification to know that you are prepared for not only the teaching portion, but for the life portion. (Plus, if you teach abroad through one of CIEE’s programs, you’ll have 24/7 support!)