Sadly for some people, as of June 9th I can no longer be labelled a “travel bum”. Let me explain…
Regular readers may remember that one of my travel New Years resolutions was to spend some time teaching English abroad. It’s been on the agenda for a few years, and I took the time whilst at home to brush up on a few TEFL qualifications. At long last, I’ll be putting these certificates to use.
A friend from school has been teaching in Singapore for a few years, and got in touch with me a while ago to ask if I’d be interested in a short term position at her school. I visited Singapore last year and loved it, so naturally I jumped at the chance. Having sorted out the formalities over the last month or so (including a wild goose chase round the Cameron Highlands looking for a scanner), the plans are in place and I’m in Singapore to start a two month position teaching English on Monday.
I’m really looking forward to discovering more of Singapore.
My last trip to Singapore was an absolute blast but I’m under no illusions that this one will be the same for a few reasons.
Firstly, the last visit was a three day stopover on the way to Australia so it involved lots of sightseeing and general touristy antics. There wasn’t a day’s work in sight! Thankfully I’ve spent plenty of time on this trip negotiating local transport systems, so getting back into the swing of commuting hopefully shouldn’t be too big a test.
Also, last time I was I Singapore I was with my parents staying in a decent hotel. This time round, I’ll be living out of the same hostel for two months. Being with the parents meant that there wasn’t a great deal of expense on my part which, in such an expensive city, was an absolute godsend. I think I’ve done ok with my budgeting so far on my trip, so managing a wage should be fairly easy I hope. Safe to say there won’t be many Singapore Slings in Raffles this time!
There’ll be none of these this time around!
Believe it or not, I’m really looking forward to back into something of a normal routine. Travelling is awesome, but I’ve discovered there’s such thing as “travel burnout” and I’ve been going non-stop for the last three months. Two months of working will definitely see to this and get me refreshed for travelling again! First world problems, eh?
Rambling Northerner 
Haha, I’m so worried about travel burn out that I have more days laying around in the sun than I do actually exploring! Then I end up having to stay in one place longer. I’ve been in Tarragona, Spain for two months now… Still haven’t seen everything I want to, but feeling super relaxed!
If you have any tried and tested tips on landing TEFL jobs could you send a note my way? I’m dying to check out South Korea!
Thanks 🙂
Hey Zoe, thanks for reading!
That’s awesome – I’ve had some great times in Spain, most notably at the Benicassim festival in 2012! Would have loved it to go on forever!
As for TEFL jobs, I’m afraid I won’t be of much use as I got my job (or old job – I finished on Friday!) through a friend, who put me in contact with the relevant people. From what I gather there are plenty of schools hiring in Korea though, it’s just a case of applying for the right ones.
Sorry I can’t be of much help! Have you taught before?