In our day-to-day experiences as a TEFL teachers, teaches us how to relate to people in different cultures and races. Having different background creates diversity but on the other end, it also creates misunderstanding at times. However, our role does not end is just teaching the language, our roles include teaching because we not only give them what they need, improve their skills and abilities, we also touch their lives in ways we may never know. The surprising thing is that we start to create the feeling of affection.

Though students came from different countries and teachers the same, you will see cultures coalesce with each other creating a very healthy environment for the world and for these young people. This job creates a limitless boundary of changing lives and perspectives of people and if we try to look deeply, it changes our lives as teachers of the language and educators of lives.

My day does not start without a rush and a coffee on the go for the house I live in, is about a 45 minutes far from the workplace and it takes about 30 minutes to get out of the traffic that rush hour brings, so I take 1 hour 15 minutes to travel to work. Arriving at the gate of the building at about 7:30 to 7:45 in the morning, I climbed up the sixth floor and go to classroom, get another cup of coffee and prepare the materials I need in teaching such as radio, books, activities, my markers and an eraser. Every class has a break of 20 minutes and at this time, I prepare for the next class, checking attendance and making lesson plans for the next day’s lesson. When lunch break comes, eating is like running, everything is fast for you do not have enough time to prepare for a day’s lesson, so prepare in advance.

Teaching goes until 6:20 for other teachers who teach the regular subjects but as for me, I teach three classes for TEFL, two for TOEIC and a night class for grammar, that is from 7pm to 9pm. I work 12 hours daily. Going home at that time makes me stressed but fulfilled. I do not have much of the so-called social life for all of my time is spent at work.

The difficult part of this job is when these people you have learned to love and friendly with says goodbye. The time you realize that not everything stays, it somehow tells you that there are more lives for you to teach and more lives to change and though this experience is one of the most depressing aspects of being a TEFL teacher, you know that what you have taught them is something that will stay there forever. Teaching is a continuous process we have to keep, teaching them inside the four corners of the wall does not end there.

Then another day comes and I need to wake up early and prepare for the daily task and the job that I chose to have at this time. I know it is an unending journey, that we have to take but like our lives and their lives, we have to continue living.