By Thiago Silva
The initial uncertainty of moving to a new country can be both exciting and frightening, but after you’ve lived abroad for a year or two, what happens if you don’t feel like returning to your home country? Once you have passed the culture shock phase and created a social circle in your new home, you might want to stay a bit longer – or a lot longer.
Many teachers have decided to continue their international teaching career after their initial contract. Kit Cheung, a Teach Away teacher in South Korea, did just that. He hadn’t planned to stay overseas for a long period of time, but after teaching abroad for two years, he was not ready to return to Canada.
“I didn’t see myself staying overseas for more than 2 years. I’m currently finishing my second year and I can’t even fathom returning home yet! I can’t imagine being anywhere else,” he said.
If you find yourself in this situation at the end of your assignment, there are some options. The first step would be to talk to your employer and find out the possibilities of extending your contract with them, as long as visa regulations allow you to extend your contract. Your Teach Away placement coordinator can also help you to find another position that matches your qualifications in your current host country, or somewhere else – after all, an exciting international teaching career doesn’t have to be restricted to a single country.
On the Teach Away Community page you can read all about other teachers’ experiences teaching abroad, to help youdecide if it’s the right move for you.
Thiago Silva is the Teach Away blogger.
