Why did you choose this program?
I chose this program from an agency in Australia, as this was the company they recommended for teaching in Peru.
If I'd had the hindsight I would've gone straight through TEFL Zorritos rather than pay more through an agency, as the agency did very little to assist and I paid double what I would've paid going directly through TEFL Zorritos themselves, and TEFL Zorritos have done all the legwork to get me here.
In saying this I wasn't sure at first what I was looking for, only somewhere to learn to teach in South America. Luckily I have gone through the best program yet to do this.
What did your program provider assist you with, and what did you have to organize on your own?
The agency arranged the connection with TEFL Zorritos. I will mention them only once as I feel others who want to be a traveler working overseas should make an informed choice. The company is called Global Work and Travel, and if I had the chance again I wouldn't have wasted the money I paid for their exorbitant prices when all the help I actually received was from TEFL Zorritos.
Once I was introduced to Ellie via an interview on Skype, they provided all the correct information about the course (the agency gave me the wrong, outdated information), and answered all the questions I had leading up to the trip, during and after the program. They would have arranged the accommodation and assisted with flights for a percentage of the price if I had gone directly too; they do everything and more than what an agency would do.
What is one piece of advice you'd give to someone going on your program?
Cut out the middleman of paying for an agency as I noted above and go direct with the program. If you do your research and read the reviews, you will see what you can get out of this, and what will suit you.
What does an average day/week look like as a participant of this program?
We spent our first month living in a gorgeous resort called Mar Adento. We had breakfast included, with our own rooms.
Classes were from 9:30 am - 4:30 pm and practice classes were held Monday to Wednesday for an hour from 6:30 pm, start times you should teach depend on how many other teachers are there.
In our spare time we were immersing ourselves in a little town called Zorritos where it was quaint and simple, we practiced our Spanish, tried new cuisine that was so cheap we couldn't believe it when we compared the exchange of our own currency, (try the Papa rejinas when in Peru!), And had opportunities on the weekend to explore other places (on our second weekend we swam with turtles).
Going into your experience abroad, what was your biggest fear, and how did you overcome it? How did your views on the issue change?
My biggest fear was and still is failure. I felt like this a few times in the course, that I hadn't been as good as I could've been, that I was useless at being a teacher and that with all the culture shock, occasional bad stomach aches (it'll happen now and then but it's part of the experience you'd say), and being there on my own, it was too hard to go on.
But going back to class the next day and getting up in front of a class full of students and teaching them, and seeing their understanding and appreciation made the difference, as well as the support from TEFL Zorritos.
