Teaching English in South America
As an American, the experience of going to South America to become a teacher is one that is more than rewarding. It is life changing. My whole world was turned around when I decided to upend my life and move to Peru. My family looked at me like I was crazy. My mother told me that I was going to lose out on all of the career momentum that I had built up. My sister warned me that I was not a strong Spanish speaker and would never survive in a country where English was not the first language. My housekeeper told me something in Spanish that I did not understand, but her face definitely made it seem like the gist of it was that I was not going to survive in a foreign land. Even my wife told me it was a bad idea and that she would not come with me. But all of those people did not know what would come next, which was the most joy that one could ever experience.
My wife was nice enough to pack my bags for me and leave them outside on the curb for my trip. It was a sweet gesture for us as we parted ways. I kissed our kids goodbye and left for Peru. The first few days were a little difficult. I did not know where any of the grocery stores were and realized that I had confused the word for store with the word for architect, which is why I was having trouble finding one. There were not a lot of architecture businesses on the streets of Peru. Instead, I worked the land by scavenging for berries and fruits. I found a local banana grove that provided sustenance for the first few days and then moved on when a man started yelling at me and chasing me away. I believe that he had laid claim to the tree and I decided not to encroach on his territory.
I settled in with a group of ex-pats who had also left their American lives for the simple life in Peru and we worked together as a commune. I learned better Spanish from them and they started letting me work with students in Peru. That was where things really changed. I had never felt in my life that I could make an impact on the future generation. Being a nurturing father figure was something I always aspired to be, but I had never really felt the opportunity before in America, despite several attempts. These children were so grateful. They called me Senor Derek, which made me feel like one of the guys. My name is actually Kyle, but they said that my face reminded them of Derek Zoolander, which was one of my favorite movies. I loved that we could connect so well.
Teaching English to the kids made me so happy. We watched Zoolander together and they loved saying, “What is this, a center for ants?� I think that by the third week, they understood what the joke meant. By the end of my five year stay in Peru, I was a much better person than when I began there. I came home with experiences that I will never forget and I have absolutely no regrets. As much as I changed the lives of the students and turned them into English-speaking superstars, they also changed me and made me a better man.
source : https://dailygram.com/index.php/blog/536335/teachingenglish-in-south-america/