From September 1st of 2011 thru December 23rd of 2011, I taught English to 350 5th and 6th grade student in Ventanilla-Pachacutec, Lima, Perú. I have never aspired and still do not aspire to be a teacher; however, I quickly learned that the skills required to teach are applicable to nearly every aspect of life.
I decided to go to Perú because I knew I would grow in a way I would not have the opportunity to in the U.S. I wanted to place myself in an uncomfortable position so that I had no choice but to adapt, and thankfully I placed myself in a positive environment and therefore adapted in positive ways.
Being in a country where I knew nobody and had only basic skills of the primary language was a feat in and of itself, but tack on trying to teach English with no experience and little to no guidance and say hello to mission impossible. I cried after every class my first two weeks, and wanted to quit so many times and in any other situation I would have, but not this one. Because I was alone and had no one to vouch for me, I needed to prove myself for the first time in my life and that I did.
Knowing that I was accountable for myself in ways that I never had to be before, I found success in an area that I had never thought I would succeed: persistence. I wanted to be better. I needed to be better. I made myself better. I woke up at 5 a.m. every day to rehearse what I was going to say that day in class; I met up with a tutor outside of my program to expand my vocabulary; and I even befriended a local elementary school teacher to get extra resources and advice on how to best teach my class.
Slowly but surely my class advanced and before I knew it my kids were welcoming me with hugs, kisses, “hellos” and “how are yous.” It took more patience than I knew I had, but I was able to teach them something. It didn’t hit me until I came back to the states, but they had taught me far more than I had taught them.
Because of my experience teaching, I learned the necessity to set high expectations for myself and for others; something I do now in nearly every aspect of my life. It also taught me that if I want to be my best self I need to be organized; something I always considered superfluous. It taught me accountability; even if I feel sick as all get out, showing up sometimes is all you need to do. Mostly, though, my time in Peru taught me that there is never a time to stop growing; there is always more to see; more to do; more to accomplish; and I have made a promise to myself to never stop.
I decided to go to Perú because I knew I would grow in a way I would not have the opportunity to in the U.S. I wanted to place myself in an uncomfortable position so that I had no choice but to adapt, and thankfully I placed myself in a positive environment and therefore adapted in positive ways.
Being in a country where I knew nobody and had only basic skills of the primary language was a feat in and of itself, but tack on trying to teach English with no experience and little to no guidance and say hello to mission impossible. I cried after every class my first two weeks, and wanted to quit so many times and in any other situation I would have, but not this one. Because I was alone and had no one to vouch for me, I needed to prove myself for the first time in my life and that I did.
Knowing that I was accountable for myself in ways that I never had to be before, I found success in an area that I had never thought I would succeed: persistence. I wanted to be better. I needed to be better. I made myself better. I woke up at 5 a.m. every day to rehearse what I was going to say that day in class; I met up with a tutor outside of my program to expand my vocabulary; and I even befriended a local elementary school teacher to get extra resources and advice on how to best teach my class.
Slowly but surely my class advanced and before I knew it my kids were welcoming me with hugs, kisses, “hellos” and “how are yous.” It took more patience than I knew I had, but I was able to teach them something. It didn’t hit me until I came back to the states, but they had taught me far more than I had taught them.
Because of my experience teaching, I learned the necessity to set high expectations for myself and for others; something I do now in nearly every aspect of my life. It also taught me that if I want to be my best self I need to be organized; something I always considered superfluous. It taught me accountability; even if I feel sick as all get out, showing up sometimes is all you need to do. Mostly, though, my time in Peru taught me that there is never a time to stop growing; there is always more to see; more to do; more to accomplish; and I have made a promise to myself to never stop.