One random day in November of 2013 I saw an ad on Craigslist for teaching English abroad. It was around the time that I was thinking San Francisco was no longer the place for me, so maybe it was divine intervention. I went to the info session and nothing more came of it since I needed another two years to take the plunge. Fast forward to 2016 and I finally had enough of the Bay Area and was ready for a change. Through the magic of the internet, I was directed to TtMadrid. After endless research and many emails to the school (and a recognizance mission to Madrid in 2014 to make sure they were legit), I was ready to do it. I graduated a week ago and let me say they aren’t lying when they say “it will be the longest and shortest four weeks of your life.” Honestly, I wanted to quit after day one, but thanks to my awesome friends back home, I stuck it out. And, I’m so glad I did!
The course was definitely intense and had a heavy workload, but the trainers (and staff) at the school were amazing and made an otherwise stressful experience fun and engaging. I was absolutely terrified to do the six required teaching practices since I had never taught before nor wanted to…but the support and encouragement you get from them will get you through it. Aside from the trainers and staff, the people in my course were such an amazing and interesting group of people…there was the usual contingent from the U.S. and U.K., but also people from South Africa, Australia and Venezuela. Learning about other cultures made me realize that there is a lot more to the world than just the United States. I can’t imagine having never met these cool, fun people.
So, graduation is now behind me and I am officially certified to teach English anywhere in the world. If you’re looking for a TEFL program that is well-respected, full of awesome people and lots of fun (and hard work), then I 100% recommend TtMadrid. Shout out to Helen for her patience in listening to me debate for over two years on whether or not to do it. My advice…do it!