Dear Mom & Dad;

I know you’re worried about my decision to become TESOL certified and take a job overseas as an English teacher.  I don’t discount any of your objections and anxieties about my decision, so I thought I would take a moment to try and answer them all in this letter.

First of all, you seem pretty suspicious about my ESL teacher training course.  TEFL International.  Are these people legitimate?  Can they deliver what they promise?  Will it be a waste of time and money’  I just want you to know that I have done my due diligence on them; I’ve been in contact with them via email and chat, and one of their representatives even called me after I sent in my enrollment to find out if I had any immediate questions they could answer.  They have been very upfront and immediate with answers to all my questions.   

Dad, you’ll be glad to know that TEFL International belongs to The Better Business Bureau?  I’ve checked through the Bureau, and they have a pretty good rating.  TEFL International has been in business for 11 years, so they are not a ‘fly-by-night’ operation.  As to their promises to me, they really haven’t made any except to promise me 4 weeks of intense study and student teaching which, if I am not a complete dunce, will qualify me to receive a TESOL certificate a very necessary piece of paper, along w/my college degree, to teach English overseas.  

They’ve also promised me professional help in looking for ESL teaching jobs in the country of my choice, but ultimately it’s going to be up to me to sell myself and my abilities to a school administrator so they will hire me.  You two have given me a good upbringing and I feel confident I can present myself well at a job interview.  I’m taking a chance, I know, but you’ve both told me over the years that nothing comes easy that’s really worth having.   

Nothing ventured, nothing gained right?

As far as your objection that I am ‘running away’ from my responsibilities to find a good job here at home, all I can say is what job”.  You remember my close friends from college ‘Jim, Joyce, Ed, and Toni’ Well, Jim just moved back into his parent’s house after looking for work in his field for over six months.  Joyce is working part-time as a librarian, hoping to get on full-time in another two or three years (if they don’t cut the library budget even further).  

Ed just joined the Air Force; in return for paying off his student loans he gets to be a human target over in Afghanistan!  And Toni . . . well, she found that great job right out of school, like everyone dreams of, and was doing well until 3 months ago when she was downsized.  Now she’s living on unemployment and food stamps and has been offered some free government retraining to be a court reporter!

Mom & dad, let’s face it; the job market here at home is lousy and it doesn’t look like it’s going to get any better any time soon.  I’d rather have a 2 or 3 year teaching gig on my resume than a blank space of unemployment and part-time, meaningless, jobs ‘ like the one I’ve got right now.
Now, mom, you’ve shared your concerns with me that I’ll get killed either by a terrorist or from some horrible disease if I move to a place like China or Brazil.  Believe me, I do not have a death wish!   

I’ve checked out the political climate and the health issues in every country where I’ve considered working, and all I can say is that I’m in more danger of getting murdered in Chicago, Illinois, than I am in Bangkok, Thailand.  As for my health’ if I keep up on my booster shots and don’t drink the tap water I’m not going to have anything to worry about overseas.  Sure, I could still come down with something serious’ But that could happen right here at home!  Besides, as a working professional teacher I’ll probably be provided with a health insurance plan through my school.  And do you remember when grandpa had to get that surgery done that wasn’t covered by his health plan’   

He and grandma hopped on a plane and had it done at a hospital in Bangkok for a third of what it would have cost him back home.  He told us all that the doctors and nurses were great and they all spoke good English and he’d go back again to flirt with those cute Thai girls if grandma would let him!

I do agree with you that it might get pretty lonely for me if I’m in a school overseas and am the only foreigner for miles around.  But, hey, this is the 21st century’ I’ve got my Blackberry and my laptop and WIFI is practically everywhere right now, so we can email each other and call each other on Skype whenever we want.  So I may feel a bit lonely from time to time and yearn for a slice of pizza or a Ding-Dong, but I am definitely not going to be isolated.  

Besides, like I said, you two have given me confidence in myself and I feel that I can handle being immersed in a new culture and new language 24/7, no prob.  Besides, I’ll get some long school holidays and can always come back for a visit.
Long story short, I’ve made up my mind, sent in my application, and should be headed overseas in another two months.  It’s the off-season for tourists so I’m pretty sure I can book a flight for a decent price, and the tuition at TEFL International is less than what I’m paying for monthly rent on my apartment right now.

Speaking of which, mom and dad, I was wondering if you could let me have a little bit of cash to help me buy that plane ticket . . .