Why Teach Abroad?

Programs for this blog post

Teach In South Korea Program

Authored By:

Olivia M.

Hello new friends! 

My name is Olivia, and I am so excited to bring you along on my journey of teaching abroad in Seoul, South Korea! A little bit about me - I’m currently 27 (but 28 in Seoul - a topic we will cover in a later post) and have been a teacher for the past six years in Texas. Before I was a teacher, I worked briefly for MTV and had a few internships with the Walt Disney Company at Disney’s Animal Kingdom in Orlando, Florida. I am passionate about pop culture, education, and spending quality time with friends. I also am a big reader, so if you ever need a book recommendation - for any age - I’m your girl.  

I have been all across the continental United States, but I haven’t really traveled abroad. Other than one short trip to Honduras, I haven’t even left the country at all. So why did I decide to move across the world? To leave my normal routine, friends, family, and security of a life I’ve known for the past 27 years? I’ve gotten this question quite a bit, and I know you might be wondering this too. 

My answer - The world is so big. 

I don’t think I even fully understood this until that short trip to Honduras.  We hiked through a rainforest  and I remember seeing monkeys in the trees. Monkeys! In the trees! My new friends in Honduras acted like this was old news to them and I guess it was. But to me, someone who has only seen this kind of thing on TV, in books, or through photographs, it was a huge moment. I really understood I had a limited view of all the incredible things that the world had. How varied and beautiful it really was. It’s one thing to grow up knowing all these things were out there, but it was something else to actually see it with your own eyes. 

When I was in Honduras, I realized that I wanted to learn so much more. About how other cultures viewed education, how that could transform me into a better educator. Furthermore, not just an educator, but a better version of myself. I wanted to see more unique structures - some older than even the United States, something I truly still am even working to comprehend.  To learn a new language, a new culture, to make new friends.  How could I make this happen? 

One of my friends actually from that trip to Honduras decided to teach abroad in Thailand with CIEE. That’s when my potential hopes started to spin into something more, something greater. What if I could marry my passions together? What if I could take my love for education and use it to see what else is out there? I never really considered this for myself until I saw Kelly teach abroad. I never would have met Kelly if I never went on that trip to Honduras. Isn’t it funny how even though the world is so big, it’s still so small? 

So if you’re considering teaching abroad, I think you should do it. That would be my answer for you. There is a whole world out there, so many new people to meet, things to learn, and adventures to be had. Don’t you want to see it? 

 

Your friend in Seoul!

Olivia