I am happy to report that one of the Jet Set Zero crew is now employed in Saigon.  As mentioned in my earlier note, “Unemployed in Saigon”, last week I had an interview with the hiring manager of the Cleverlearn English Language Centre and today I had to prove my skills by teaching a mock English class.  Let me be clear that I have no experience doing this so it took my best acting skills to pull it off.  As preparation, I asked for advice from a couple folks currently taking their ESL certification in Saigon (certification which I do not have), youtubed ESL teachers doing their thing and googled ESL tips.  Man, the internet is a great thing.

I was pretty nervous about my demo class today, to be perfectly honest.  I had been given the outline of a lesson plan and no real instructions.  I was to teach (read: bluff) for 45 minutes.  It actually went really fast, I managed to get a few laughs out of my pupils and I didn’t break down in tears at any point.  Strangely, despite my expectations to the contrary, I began to enjoy it.

Afterwards, I spoke with the manager, who gave me some constructive criticism and then offered me a position with the language centre.  This is fantastic because in the initial interview it was suggested that I would be deployed to different public schools and potentially teaching children, which I was not stoked on.  In the language centre, I will receive an income of US$14/hour (net), have access to the centre’s teacher resource centre, and will be primarily teaching adults.  I can choose the amount that I work and the environment is friendly and professional.

So not only have I never taught, but I’ve never been employed in a foreign country.  Things should be very interesting.  Plus, being the first one of the group employed satisfies my competitive streak as well.  I’m still waiting to hear back about the web editor position but this will take the pressure off for now…and should provide many great stories along the way.