Exceeded Expectations

My husband and I have wanted to do a cultural immersion experience abroad for a long time. We also enjoy helping people, so the TEFL opportunity seemed like a good way to do both and be able to support ourselves at the same time. I'm 49 and he's 57, so we weren't sure how well we would fit into the TEFL class, but have enough experience under our belts to feel comfortable making a go of it. Honestly, we thought we would be the only people over 40 in the class, and were pleasantly surprised to find out half of our class of 8 were over 40 with us smack in the middle, and the other half ranged from mid twenties to early thirties. All were here to learn and grow as well as travel and experience a new culture; with that in common, we've been a tight-knit group, enjoying working and playing together and supporting one another through this valuable, but challenging experience.

As for the TEFL experience, I can't say enough about how great Maximo's program is or how amazing our trainer, Audra, has been. From the moment we arrived (and for nearly a year prior in planning), we've been fully supported. Andy, or representative prior to arrival, answered about a thousand questions by email and spent a full hour on the phone with us. Karen made sure we got to our destination and had a nice apartment lined up for us with a wonderful landlady (we enjoyed her hospitality and also a regular visit from sweet, adorable spider monkeys from the surrounding jungle). Audra kept us working our butts off with the TEFL class, but her fantastic energy, humor and encouragement, as well as superior teaching skills, brought out the best teachers in us and taught us more than I ever thought I could learn in a month's time. She gave us the tools to be excellent teachers, as long as we apply her advice and continue to learn and grow in our practical skills. Abby, Nella and Natty helped with quick-turnaround printing of lesson plans and other materials. And Noiley showed great hospitality with coffee and tea and warm, friendly conversation.

I could go on and on about how great the experience was, but the final proof is in the pudding, so they say. Not even two weeks into the class, Audra provided a plethora of job seeking information along with contacts for those she knew personally, and she reviewed our resumes to help us give them an international appeal. My husband and I applied two weeks ago and already have jobs lined up starting January 3rd. Area schools and organizations have a high regard for Maximo Nivel's training of teachers and Audra's recommendation was gold, making getting a job so much easier. This will be my first teaching job, and that's a little scary, but thanks to the on-site practical teaching experience I know I can do it. I am so grateful to Audra and Maximo Nivel for helping us realize our dream of living and working abroad.