What is your favorite travel memory?
One of my favorite travel memories was being "adopted" by a group of local Vietnamese friends who lived in Nha Trang.
We met them at a waterfall and while I spoke no Vietnamese and them no English, they invited us to join their picnic. We had a lovely afternoon together and went and had drinks and coffee with them afterwards. This progressed to being invited back to their house for dinner, where we all sat on the floor and ate a communal meal - again communicating using lots of gestures, hand movements and smiles.
After, they invited us to go dancing with them as it was Halloween and there was a big party happening in town. At 2am, they told us that we must meet them the next day so they could take us fishing! It was lovely to be shown around by such friendly locals.
How have you changed/grown since working for your current company?
As the director of this company, it amazes me how much people appreciate the service which we offer. It has made me realize that the biggest part of moving abroad is actually the small things - the tiny nagging questions, the uncertainty, the unnecessary stress.
I've learned that taking care of the small stuff often makes everything else fall into place. This means a lot of work and forward planning on our behalf, to make everything perfect for the teachers.
Our number one aim is to make everything as stress free as possible.
What is the best story you've heard from a return student?
As a start up company offering year long contracts for teachers, all of our teachers are currently still in Vietnam. One girl planned to be in Vietnam for four to six months and within two weeks had signed a year long contract - perfect!
Some teachers stay in touch with us regularly throughout their time in Vietnam, sending us the odd question such as the best places to eat, places to visit and advice on anything and everything, while others spread their wings and fly the moment they land - because we prepared them well for everything before they arrived.
We are happy to put you in touch with our current teachers already in Vietnam to hear what they have to say!
If you could go on any program that your company offers, which one would you choose and why?
Currently, we only offer programs to Vietnam, because it's one of the best countries for teaching English. The people are friendly, the wages are high, the cost of living is low and the scenery is incredible!
However, in the future we hope to expand our services to other South East Asian countries such as Japan, South Korea, Thailand and China.
What makes your company unique? When were you especially proud of your team?
Our company is unique because it is built by teachers, for teachers. We have all been there, made the mistakes and come out stronger for it.
Our aim is to get you there, and make you stronger but with as few mistakes as possible and a lot of fun on the way. We made the mistakes, so you don't have to.
Also, we aim to be not just a company but a friend to our teachers. We go far beyond the demands of the contract and really offer our expertise as a friend, not a business. When comparing prices for other similar Teach Abroad programs, we are by far the cheapest and offer the most value, time and support to our teachers.
What do you believe to be the biggest factor in being a successful company?
The biggest factor in the success of our company is the people and the excellent customer service.
Everyone here has lived in Vietnam teaching English or is a local, so we all know the place like the back of our hand. We all LOVE Vietnam, and so get just as excited when sending people on their trips as the new teachers do!
I love seeing the results that we provide, and taking away that first time abroad stress.
