Teacher Recruiter - Job Placement Overseas

Visiting with the elephant drivers in Myanmar who were pushing teak logs through mammoth forests, or attempting to converse with Laotian villagers who, upon our arrival, chased their only anorexic chicken around for 20 minutes to sacrifice for a "feast" (thankfully we were able to stop them),or the night in the ruins of Angkor Wat listening to the chant of a parade of monks that came at sunrise to meditate in the bowels of a temple that peaks its way through the twisted vines of the jungle are the experiences that cause me to travel. But traveling is not enough. What does one learn in 2 weeks, or 3, or even in a month? To understand and appreciate what is around and what causes the phenomena that are the basis of a culture can only be understood if one makes an effort to immerse him or herself in the culture ... and that takes time. What better way to do it than to live there and be an English teacher?

When I first entered this profession it was solely with the idea that I was going to travel and pay off my loans. Life would start when I got this out of my system and had enough money to come back and get established with the house and the picket fence.

Accomplishing both initial goals, I found that I could never get used to the fence idea and I realized that I found the profession that was my calling. My first 5 years away saw the birth of a teacher. Teaching requires a number of skills but the fortunate circumstance of teaching English as a second language allows you the opportunity to develop them without specifically studying them.

From teaching a police officer who had seen more pain and suffering in the killing fields of Cambodia than I could ever completely comprehend, or pounding kava, teaching English and throwing a frisbee to the ever-smiling children of a Fijian highland village, to the organized classes and chaotic natures of institutes, corporate classes, and university lectures in Korea and Japan, teaching has always been fulfilling.

Never is one student the same as the other, though some have similar problems and skills. The classes are always changing and so too is the opportunity to take on different classes and find different materials with which to use to reach the students. I feel an immense satisfaction when I know my lesson got them all, held them and caused them to leave my class, the camp fire or the bamboo bure (hut) with a smile on their face and a new thought in their head.

So it is. I am a teacher. Teaching is about sharing information and allowing students to find their own path. I want to share my experience with you, the world is our classroom and the paths are laid, where it takes you is up to you.

Jeff Strachan

Co-Founder - Managing Director