As I have had a lot of contact with teachers who have been living in such far-flung places such as: Bolivia, Mexico, Kazakhstan etc, I have been trying to figure out what it is that makes an TEFL teacher.
The title of this post is a question I often ask myself. What is it that makes English teachers leave the countries of their birth to seek new challenges and experiences elsewhere? Most of the teachers I have met over the years have some sort of interest in the arts. I have met many musicians, photographers, writers and so on. It has given me reason to ask myself - are they looking for inspiration for their art?
I guess there are also the teachers who want to escape from something from the past, perhaps a dark secret, a break up, boredom and so on. Leaving gives them a chance to wipe the slate clean and start over in a location where they are unknown and have no baggage or past to taint their reputations. New people, new challenges, and perhaps a new leaf to turn over.
People often say to me 'You are so lucky. You can travel anywhere in the world.' While this is very true, do I really want to do this? Loneliness and a lack of belonging to anyone location is another aspect of the TEFL teacher that seems to be a challenge to deal with. You go 'home' and you don't feel good there, you go to another place and once again you have to try to find a way to feel connected to the society there. Some people I have met want to put a stop to this restlessness but find it impossible to do so. Language is a big barrier but culture can be equally so.
So 'why do we do it'? I don't know. Perhaps it is a form of escape, the desire for new experiences, the need to learn something new, the lack of other options available or a mixture of all of these factors. Are we fortunate to be able to use something given to us from birth as the means to travel and have new experiences? I think so, but there are also negatives that balance this good fortune and give cause for complaint and even frustration.
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