TEFL Institute Community Relations Coordinator Helen lived, studied and taught in Buenos Aires for a 18 months. Since returning to the US and moving to Chicago, she has been helping others get into the TEFL field with the TEFL Institute.
After graduating from college, I was completely lost as to what I wanted to do with my life. A friend of mine suggested getting TEFL certified and teaching English abroad, and though I had never taught before, I felt it would be a rewarding and enriching challenge.
After completing my course, I was in Buenos Aires, Argentina applying for jobs in the month of February. Within two weeks I had two great jobs! One job was at a small private language institute tutoring college students and business professionals, and the second was teaching classes in businesses. I taught all levels of English, from beginner to advanced, within any given day in the two large companies I taught for.
"It was incredible to see how much my students advanced in English socially and in their business careers as I taught. A student emailed me just last month telling me he received a contract to work in California and thanking me for how much I had helped his career.
"Working in Buenos Aires also gave me the opportunity to travel the incredibly diverse country that I was living in. I traveled to the north and saw Iguazu Falls, which are the most incredibly beautiful waterfalls. Also in the North was Salta; the salt flats there go as far as the eye can see. I did a road trip with a friend in an old 1980's Peugeot through the province of Córdoba, a land strewn with beautiful lakes and mountains. I dr ank my way through the province of Mendoza, where most of Argentina's famous Malbec wine is made. In the winter, I took a trip to the South and skied the Andes Mountains in Bariloche.
Altogether my experience is something that I am extremely grateful for and I cannot wait to return to Argentina again! Before then, I will be on to my next adventure teaching and traveling in Thailand this fall! I encourage everyone that has the opportunity to teach abroad to do so!
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