Have you ever dreamed of living overseas, but thought you didn't have enough money? Maybe you're just out of college wanting to travel around the world before you start your career, but have limited funds.
Is it possible to go after your dreams? Can you really see the world with only a few thousand dollars? Yes, it's possible.
I did, and if I did, anybody can.
Work around the world, study around the world, or do both.
This is also a great way for the cowardly dreamer, like me.
I had no idea how to move to new country, get settled, and find work on my own.
Are you wondering how to find the right place to live and work once you're in a new country by yourself? Here's the secret: you don't.
You get your friends to help you, friends you don't even know until after you arrive.
I found this way by accident.
I wanted to teach English in Viet-Nam, but needed a TEFL certificate to teach.
TEFL stands for Teaching English as a Foreign Language.
It's the basic requirement to teach English overseas.
Even though I had been a Spanish teacher in Hawaii, I knew I had no idea where to begin teaching English, much less how to explain English grammar.
At the time, there were no TEFL courses taught in Viet-Nam so, I chose a six weeks TEFL course in Phuket, Thailand.
During those six weeks, I made friends, got to know Phuket, and applied for a job at the local university on a whim on the very day I left for Viet-Nam.
To my surprise they hired me on the spot! This worked out great but would have been impossible to do on my own.
I ended up going back to Phuket to teach Academic English at Prince of Songkla University.
Two years later, they asked me while I was in Mexico to come back to teach Spanish! That was even better! I never ended up teaching in Viet-Nam, but I did go as a tourist (Living overseas, especially in Southeast Asia, teaches you to be flexible).
If you don't need a job, you can do the same thing, but instead of taking a TEFL course, take a language course, an art course, cooking course, diving course, whatever you've always wanted to learn.
Just learn it overseas.
The schools will either have housing or will help you with housing and will be far cheaper than hotels.
You might live with a local family, have your own room, apartment, or live in a dorm.
I stayed for two months next to the TEFL school at the local "Mansion" for just a little over $200.
00 in Phuket.
In Guanajuato, Mexico I stayed in a private home with breakfast, lunch and evening snack for $250.
00 (2002 and 2003 prices).
Often the school will pick you up at the airport.
They'll help you get settled and show you great places to go during your free time.
It's in their interests to make it pleasant and enjoyable for you.
As you go through your course, you'll have time to get to know the place, find friends, both local and expatriate, who will help you find permanent housing and work.
If you're interested in taking a TEFL course, make sure to take the 120 hours course for six weeks.
That will give you time to process the grammar AND enjoy the local culture.
If I had taken the course for four weeks, I would have had to study all the time.
No matter what, make sure it's 120 hours.
This is how I found a way to live in Thailand three times, as well as study Spanish in Mexico and Spain.
I had a blast and recommend this adventure for anyone who is thinking about it.
While I no longer teach, because the pay just isn't enough for the lifestyle I want (I'm over chickens and goats on buses) and I especially despise "jobs," I now have other ways to travel abroad and in far better style.