Top 5: Destinations For Adventure TEFL

Looking for a little adventure? While your first instinct might be to turn to the Adventure Travel Logue, take a moment to consider the kind of adventure you can have in TEFL. Check out these locations for thrill value:

1. Sudan
I don’t know how she’s managed it, but this woman did tefl training in Egypt and then moved on to a volunteer post teaching English in Khartoum, Sudan, where woman are required by convention if not law to cover their hair and taking pictures is officially forbidden. (Note that she’s currently on the lookout for a mobile phone, so if you can help her out by sending her an old one of yours, consider getting in touch with her by posting a comment on her blog.)

2. Oaxaca, Mexico
I need hardly link to stories of protesters turning a local university into a stronghold or huge leftist marches…but I will anyway. LanguageCorps participant Anna is witnessing it all first hand and is getting regular support from her Corps Advocate.

3. Thailand
Quite a TEFL hotspot, Thailand recently made the news for the coup which took place in September. Most EFL teachers, such as TedKarma, report that little has changed…but they are seeing history in the making. Due to its news-making neighbors, you may also have the opportunity to volunteer with Burmese refugees in Thailand, for example here, here or here.

4. Bosnia Herzegovina
Okay, I like to think of myself as adventurous, but as you can see from my typical day teaching in Sarajevo based on working there a few years ago, things are peaceful now. There isn’t a huge EFL market, but aside from meeting locals who have lived through some pretty wild events, you can witness the social and political changes in a region which has always been on the front lines of history, so to speak.

5 Your own location!
Working and living in a foreign country is an adventure of its own. It may not be a two-week stint with white-water rafting and a bungee jump, but you’ll find plenty of unpredictability and challenges, such as shopping, going to the doctor, and dealing with moody machines.

So if you are in search of a long-term adventure which you will remember for a life time, think: TEFL.