What to Do: Teach English As a Second Language (ESL)

There are many ways to travel. Teaching ESL within a local community and really connecting with the people and the culture through education taught Alisha Robertson more about her location and herself than any other experience. She shares with us what inspired her to teach ESL abroad and gives advice if you wish to pursue this path as well.

Teaching English abroad is one of the most amazing travel experiences. I always recommend taking this approach into consideration when someone is pondering the idea of long-term travel. Teaching ESL allows you to connect with the local community in a way that is much different than being just a traveler. You are also able to make money for your travels while giving back, and you truly get to experience life as a local.

For a year I had the opportunity to teach Business ESL in the northern part of Chile in the coastal city of Iquique and in the Middle of the Atacama Desert. During this time, I was able to meet some of the most amazing people, and build friendships with many who I still keep in touch with today – friends who I will always consider a part of my extended family.

When I decided to move away and told my friends, family, and co-workers the questions were endless. Where are you going? Isn’t that dangerous? How long will you stay? How did you find your position? Where will you live? and the list goes on and on. Now that I have returned, I find that the questions are still endless, and many are interested in how they too can sustain their travels through teaching abroad.

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What to Do: Small Group Tours

Recently, Sherry Ott and I gave a presentation on the “Benefits of Small Group Tours for the Solo Traveler” at the GAP Adventure Concept Store in New York City. Both Sherry and I have incorporated small group tours into our various travels and for various reasons. Here are highlights from our presentation. Maybe you’ll be inspired to incorporate small group tours into your travels as well!

STEPPING STONE

• Good for the novice traveler
• Group leader to translate and answer questions
• Experience all the new things within the ‘safety’ of a group
• Used it as a ‘test run’ for extended travel

SAFETY

• Comfort level varies for different countries
• Unsure of safety as a woman traveling alone
• Language barriers also vary country to country
• Transportation issues

BREAK UP EXTENDED TRAVEL

• Variety – solo, travel with friends & group tours
• Travel is work!
• Nice break from booking transportation & lodging
• Offered a ‘vacation’ type experience
• Also offers a level of independence
• May provide future travel partners

CULTURAL EXPERIENCE

• Access to cultural activities you may not have on your own
• Experience life like the locals, including transportation and staying with families
• If you want to understand a country and it’s people, ride with them
• You aren’t on the outside looking in
• Times when you have to have a guide (ie, Galapagos)

NO TRAVEL PARTNERS

• Some experiences you don’t want to do on your own
• Even if you don’t have a travel partner doesn’t mean you have to miss out on the experience
• Make new friends
• Have cultural experiences within your own group

TIPS

• When booking, think about what you want to get out of the experience
• Comfort level/Age range
• If you are solo, try to arrange an airport transfer when possible
• While on trip, be patient with new cultures
• Also be patient with your group members

Some of the destinations we’ve used small group tours include
Peru | Galapagos Islands | Morocco | Brazil | Cambodia | Vietnam | Egypt

Recommended Tour Operator

Thailand: Homestay with Andaman Discoveries

Michael and I traveled to Thailand as part of our 2007 career break. The following is an excerpt from our travel blog.

Of all the places we would visit on this trip, the last place I thought Michael would be able to relate to the most was a small Muslim Village in Thailand.  But surprisingly, he eased right into sleeping on a mattress on a floor under mosquito netting with roosters crowing at 2am, speaking a completely different language from anyone else around us, and feeding baby goats twice a day.  But he easily compared it to consulting – traveling endlessly from one hotel to the next, needing to learn a new dialect or corporate speak, and understanding a new corporate environment and supporting it.  Makes perfect sense.

Our stay in Tung Nang Dam was thanks to Andaman Discoveries – an offshoot of the North Andaman Tsunami Relief (NATR) organization.  As their website states “we started by doing relief projects FOR community members, then we progressed to development projects WITH community members, now we are assisting with projects led BY community members.”

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