Teaching internship & TEFL Certification (Thailand, Vietnam, Europe, China, India)

Why did you choose this program?

The fact that we could travel, teach and gain a worthwhile qualification all at the same time, really spoke to me. I love to travel, experience new cultures and meet new people and I’d never been to Thailand. As a solo traveller on this adventure, Thailand was the best place for me to find my feet and give me the confidence to grow. I have GoToCo to thank for that.

What did your program provider (or university) assist you with, and what did you have to organize on your own?

We were advised what dates to book our flights best for our programme start, we had to book the flights ourselves; but the assistance was there. GoToCo were a great help with our visas too. That was a long process because we weren’t aware of the new paperwork they wanted for our visa but GoToCo were super helpful and made sure we had all relevant documents. All our transport was sorted and at first we really didn’t need to think about anything.

What is one piece of advice you'd give to someone going on your program?

For me, personally, I wish I had packed lighter. You actually don’t need all the things that you think you might need and there’s so many cool things to buy out here that you don’t want to have no room to be able to take stuff home. So yeah, really think about what your packing, I know it may be a favourite thing but do you really need all those pairs of sandals?

What does an average day/week look like as a participant of this program?

When we were placed at our school, we were fortunate enough to have accommodation right by the school which meant we didn’t need to get up super early but the school day started at 7:45 and ended at 3:45. Some days would be full of teaching but some you may only have two lessons, so they were more chilled. When the school day ended we would normally go back to our rooms, chill out and then meet for dinner in the evening. It was pretty chilled.

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?

I guess not knowing where I was going to be placed for my teaching and where I would be living for 6 weeks was a bit mad. But in actual matter of fact when I got here, I was kind of in the mindset of what will be will be. Like just take everything in your stride, there’s not a lot than can be changed now. So just be grateful
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How did you find living in a different culture?

Honestly, I loved it, I’m a pretty laid back person anyway and this trip just solidified it, you just have to accept things as they are. After all it’s a completely different culture to what you’re used to, you’re not here to change the culture and you must remember that, you’re here to embrace it. Once you’re in that mindset you’ll have the best time.