Do you have a family that you are
responsible for?
How would they feel about moving
overseas and living in a foreign land?
Do you have a spouse or partner?
How would
s/he feel about giving up their job?
Will s/he be able
to find work overseas?
Is s/he interested in teaching
English also?
Do you have children?
How will
you educate them while overseas?
How might they feel
about giving up their friends?
Do you have debts that must be
paid while you are overseas?
Are there special medical issues for you or your family
that must be considered?
Do you have the financial reserves
to return to your home country and re-establish yourself
if things don't work out?
Have you ever taught English before?
Volunteered?
Do
you have any reason to believe that you might enjoy
teaching English?
Have you ever traveled or lived
overseas before?
Did you enjoy it?
Would you find the daily problems
of living and working overseas frustrating - or a
refreshing challenge?
This list is only a beginning - as
individual as each person is -
so are the questions that need to be answered in making
this decision.
What qualities are needed to succeed in
China?
-
They have
reasonable expectations about their new occupation
and what it can and cannot provide for them
-
-
They
understand that their new country is not like their
home country
- solutions to problems that work at home often
don't work overseas
-
-
They realize
that problems they had at home will probably also
exist overseas
-
-
They know
they will have good days and bad days - just like
"back home"
-
-
They know
they may experience good bosses, bad bosses, good
jobs and bad jobs - just like back home
-
-
They are
flexible people who can roll with surprises and
"punches"
-
-
They are
willing to work under different cultural
expectations,
willing to follow different cultural work rules
-
-
They are
resilient and can bounce back from a bad situation
-
-
They are not
generally moody or depressed
-
-
They view
their success as a personal challenge
-
-
They spent a
considerable amount of time researching their move
- before they moved.
