Rachael McGettigan

Euan (00:01)
Okay, welcome to I taught English Abroad. I'm here today with Rachel McGettigan, who's got a very unique story in terms of in terms of how she got into TEFL and in terms of what she's done since starting teaching. So I'm really excited to talk to you. So for our audience and for people who haven't read your student story, for example, what was life like for you before you got into TEFL? What were you up to?

Rachael (00:25)
was, I don't want to say life was terrible, life was fine. But I was working like a conventional corporate nine to five job. And it just wasn't me. I just knew it's not what I wanted to be doing. I wanted something different. I was working in an engineering office. I was working like 8am to 6pm, very scheduled meetings all day surrounded by engineers. I was working in the marketing department. And it just wasn't

the life that I wanted to be living. And like it was fine, but it just was great. I had financial stability, of course, that you have the usual 95 job, but yeah, there was just definitely something missing. And so, yeah.

Euan (01:10)
imagine then, had you already completed the type of qualification? Was it something you had real interest in while you were sort of doing the engineering job? Or how did that kind of come together?

Rachael (01:21)
So I actually, a friend of mine had mentioned a few years before that she had done a TEFFL course, but she had never really done anything with it, I think like a lot of people. And then September before, I went to visit my friend Carly in Spain, and she was working as an English language teacher over in Spain for about a year or so. And she gave me a call when I got off the plane and she said, look, I think I'm going to be a little bit late coming home for work. If you want, you can.

by the school, come meet the kids. She was teaching evening classes there in Spain. So come meet the kids and we'll go for a bite to eat. So I went into the classroom and just as I was walking in, her students were leaving and they were like high-fiving her and saying goodbye teacher, we love you teacher and they were just such little angels and they just were so happy to be leaving her class. They were like skipping out of the class and then I walked into her classroom

It just, I don't know what or why or how, but it just like sparked like that feeling you hear about the people talking that ignited inside of them and I didn't think that actually existed, but I really felt that I was like, well, this is amazing and this is what I should be doing and this is what I want to do. So that was in September. Um, and then in November I bought the temple course in Black Friday and the Black Friday sale because I had got like an advertisement for it on time.

my social media or something. So I did the course, or I bought the course in November, and it wasn't until I listened to the I taught English on Broad podcast that it actually reminded me that I had bought it because just like everything else, it goes to the back of your brain, and you know, you buy it, and every intention's like that gym membership that you pay for and then you never go. It just went to the back of my head, and it wasn't until I listened to the podcast that I was.

Euan (03:10)
Yeah.

Rachael (03:15)
where they could actually really do that. Like this is really a thing I could do. So, yeah.

Euan (03:23)
Well, that's amazing. And obviously, you know, we're really, really glad to hear that. But what were the kind of so, so you remembered you had your Tefl course and you kind of had all this inspiration. What were kind of, where did you want to go with it? Um, did you want to kind of follow your, your friend who was teaching in Spain or what were you sort of, what were your thoughts around the whole thing at that time? Did you see like, did you still think of it as a feasible thing? Like, yeah, I can, I can move. I can have a completely different life. Or does it still seem kind of abstract?

Rachael (03:51)
It definitely, it was definitely something I wanted to travel with. I had heard people doing the course and then saying they didn't understand and I didn't teach them and that was not what I wanted to do. Like this course was going to be my ticket out of here. So when I discovered the podcast I actually just binged listening to every episode because it just got me so excited. I was like, oh this, I'm going to do this. I'm going to listen to every episode. I need to get all the information I can. And so I…

A lot of the episodes I had listened to, people were teaching in Asia, specifically South East Asia. And, you know, I suppose these days you see all these influencers and, you know, travel bloggers and everyone like going to the likes of like Bali and Thailand and India and all these places. They just, like I felt so drawn to go to that part of the world and to see then the people were using this career and this job to be able to do that and travel.

And that was definitely the first place I wanted to go. And it was originally I had planned for that to be my first destination. So when I started doing the course, I contacted my friend and I said, Oh, you know, I'm going to do what you told me to do. You know, like you really inspire me and so on. And then I'm going to I'm going to go work abroad, work in South Asia. And she was, oh, why don't you call?

to Italy first and going in two months. And I was like, hmm, okay. My plan was to save up. I still didn't really know where I wanted to go until I had listened to Daniel's episode where he had mentioned Cambodia. I still had no idea where I wanted to go. So I was thinking maybe I'll go next year, maybe in six or seven months. But she was like, no, I'm leaving. I'm going in June. Do you wanna come? And so what started off as a plan to maybe go to…

to Southeast Asia next year sometime became me handing them my notice to my full time job about four weeks later.

Euan (05:52)
Yeah, no, it sounds like we talk about career changes a lot on this and we talk about, you know, people kind of deciding that they're a bit fed up of what they're doing and like Teffel is a really good route to the rest of the world. I've been kind of hearing that happen so directly. So what did the people around you, what did friends and family sort of think when all of a sudden you were just like, no, I'm away? Like, what was the sort of reaction?

Rachael (05:59)
Thank you.

A lot of them were like, right, OK, yeah, sure, we'll see. Like, you know, it was just another phase that Rachel had taken and she was saying, I'm going to do something, just I'm going to do it. And a few of my friends, I think they could tell they were like, well, we can really see that this is something that you really want. And I've been talking about wanting something different. I was pretty happy in my career at the time. So I think a lot of my friends were just happy that I had, you know, I had picked something and I had found something.

You know, my family, of course, thought I was half mad, but I think, you know, once I kind of gave them more information and explained to them and, you know, I was showing them, look at this blog and listen to this podcast and look at these people are doing it. And of course, like growing up in rural Ireland, it's not really something that you hear people doing. It's like quitting their day job and going off to change their career in a different country with no experience. So, yeah, there was definitely a few.

you know, odd looks and a few are you sure? But you know, I'm very lucky, I have very supportive a family and friends. So I think everyone was just so excited for me. I think we were the jealousy as well, I suppose. People were like, oh, I always wanted to do that. And I would have loved to do that. So, you know, it's good. It always, you know, I always, you know, growing up, you hear older generations saying, you know, travel while you're young, we're doing this very young. And I think.

Once I got out of my head that I was actually going to do that, the excitement just overcame me so much that everybody around me was just so excited for me.

Euan (07:44)
Yeah, that's amazing. And that's the point actually, I haven't asked. So whereabouts in Ireland are you from? And were there people sort of around you that were interested in travel? I mean, did you travel much when you were growing up? Was there any kind of influence from that side of things?

Rachael (07:58)
So I come from a county called Dunagall, a wee village called Kilmacronan. I suppose this is why it was such a big change for me, or such a big new thing for me to hear about people travelling. Not a lot of people from my hometown around me were travelling really. You would hear someone's older brother, but it wasn't a big thing.

you know, a normal thing and I don't think, you know, still isn't really. And there's a lot of, you know, I said, well, I'm sure about a small time mentality and people, you know, like it's stuck in jobs and stuff. And as I said, when you hear older generations saying to you, you have to travel, and it was like a recurrent thing that I only noticed that people said to me, and I was like, this is this like universal regret that people have that they don't go traveling and you know, why is nobody doing it, I suppose.

When I did decide that I was going, when I started actually really making the plans and looking at the flights, everyone around me was like, well, fair play to you, you're actually doing it, you're actually doing it. And I don't know why, where I got the brewery from or where it came from, but I just kept thinking, well, you could do it too, everyone else can do it, but I suppose it does take a wee bit of brewery. But yeah, I definitely am from a very small village, so not a lot of people did it around me, but you hear the odd person.

it always really inspired me and I thought whenever I go over something.

Euan (09:34)
I love that because it's kind of, I mean I haven't done extensive traveling but definitely I kind of relate to this sort of small town thing from a sort of Scottish perspective and people can never be like, oh well look at you with your big ideas of doing something different or like you do, or you've got like supportive people and you kind of feel like you're taking them with you on your journey if you like. So yeah I can definitely relate to that and Cary Donogall is beautiful by the way, I love it. So what was your first job like?

Rachael (09:46)
Yeah.

Yeah, for sure.

to that.

Euan (10:01)
So where did you go and why did you pick there? I mean, you talked kind of a little bit before about Italy. Was that where your first were based?

Rachael (10:07)
Yeah.

Yeah, so Italy wasn't my first teaching job, but it was my first time using my TEFL course, you know, to get a job. As I mentioned, apparently my friend said, you know, I'm going to Italy for a month, so why don't you come and see if you like it? And it was a really cool idea, this South African guy, he had this summer course in Italy, and it's basically Italian kids.

And English speaking kids, so they call them the Anglos and they're from England, Ireland, Scotland, America. They come together in a full immersion English speaking course or summer camp. So it's 50% English speakers, 50% Italian speakers and they do classes together, do activities together. So the point is that when the Italian kids aren't in class, they're also doing activities.

going on excursions and hiking and even sleeping in the same room as English speakers. So it was really, it was really, I'm so privileged to know that was my first job because it gave me such a good insight into and a good view of what the English learning environment was like. So I worked as an activity leader there so I wasn't really teaching English but I was my first time working with English learners and then after that I went to Monza and that's where I

And it was a month, it was my first actual job where people called me teacher, where I became teacher Rachel. So that was my first actual English teaching job. But yeah, Eddly was kind of like my toe, dipping my toe in the water.

Euan (11:52)
And just before we kind of move on to your experiences in your first job because I do want to you know cover that quite extensively, but I have to ask because You know the kind of immersive experience I can see the point of view of kids and well parents when they send their kids there because it's very much like going Into the deep end you kind of have to use a language you have to use all you've learned and you've got to try and adjust to it what's it like from the sort of teacher or at least like auxiliary kind of point of view like is

Do you feel that you're completely immersing yourself as well? Do you also feel that kind of like, oh, right, okay, I've got to be completely kind of involved here. What does it feel like?

Rachael (12:29)
It's weird because having all these English speaking students as well that were experiencing the same thing that we were experiencing maybe for the first time working with non-English native English speakers, it felt like I had, if I was in a class of 20 and half of them were English speakers, it felt like I had 10 other teachers in the class with me because the kids were just so determined to help the Italians speak and they knew that was what they were there for.

they were so excited for the students to be learning their language. So it definitely, it was, it was, it was a lot and it was very different, but I think it was probably the best thing I could do for my first job because I wasn't just being fully immersed into only non-native speakers. It was, you know, I had all these little helpers with me and you know, they might be five years old, but you know, just sitting in here to make and hear them correcting each other. It's like, oh, like, no, it's not, he's not going to be, he's not going to be, she's not.

You know, it's not was, it is, and you know, it was definitely very different, but it was great because I just had all these sweet helpers around me, so it was great.

Euan (13:36)
So can you tell me about how you adjusted to being a new teacher? Was there anything that kind of shocked you when you did your first lessons out in Malta?

Rachael (13:45)
Yeah, so the thing about Malta is that Malta is an English speaking country, so they have two first languages there. I think it's like 80% or 88% or something of the country speak English. They do have their own language Maltese but a lot of them speak English, so it's a very popular destination for Europeans from all over Europe to come to this tiny island to learn English because first of all it's cheaper for them to go there than it is for them to come to England to learn

It's also warmer and sunny and has beautiful beaches and you can go, you know, scuba diving and you know, it's a very, very popular destination for people all over here. So specifically the thing that shocked me most working in Malta was just the cultural diversity in every classroom. It was a huge change as well from Italy because the non-Native speakers that I had in Italy were all Italian.

Whereas in the classrooms I was teaching in Malta, kids were coming. It was summer time, so this wasn't I wasn't teaching in their usual school. They were coming maybe for the first time ever leaving the country, never mind being in the country without their parents. And they were coming to live in the summer school and work, you know, go to school every day. But like the thing that shocked me was just how diverse the culture was and how many different nationalities. Like I remember one of the classes I had.

They, every student, I might have had like 21 students and like every three, you know, third student was from another country. They were even coming from Japan and South Korea and like it wasn't only Europe, but you know, a lot of like French, then people from Switzerland, like all over the world. So it was a big thing that shocked me just going into that job specifically was the amount of, or the range of countries where these things were from. It was cool and it was amazing.

I learned so much from them but it was definitely a big shock. It was something that I wasn't expecting at all. It's expected maybe just a few times a year so people can see me but yeah.

Euan (15:55)
That's amazing. And the fact that, you know, that's your first job. And because so many people get into teaching and teaching English specifically, so they can meet people from all over the world. But the fact that you were able to meet so many different people from so many different places in your first job in Malta, like such a beautiful place. I love that. That's so unique. But was there a moment early on when, and some teachers are more modest than others and will say, this is, this is, hadn't, it hasn't happened to them, but they've still carried on. Was there a sort of moment when you figured out in the classroom, like,

Rachael (16:23)
Mm-hmm.

Euan (16:25)
Oh, I can actually do this. But this could be, this could be my long term job. Or was it, was there like several different moments that sort of added up together and made you feel sort of comfortable as a teacher or yeah, if you could sort of talk me through that kind of early stage when, you know, you turned your learning from your certificate kind of into practice, what were the kind of key moments for you?

Rachael (16:44)
Yeah, I think, you know, the idea behind teaching and being a teacher and then actually witnessing yourself being a teacher is, you know, two completely different things. Like and I am a big believer in positive self-talk and self-belief and that like I left Manchester being like I can do this and I'm going to do this and I'm going to be great at this and I'm not going to fail at this. And like it was what got me there and it's what made me book that ticket but it was actually being in the classroom.

And you know maybe teaching something like an idiom or maybe like a phrase that you know that the student wouldn't have known or that you taught them. For example, I was over the moon, like to them they don't know what that means, it's just an idiom that we use in English language and then for them to come in the following week and be like teacher I saw a dolphin yesterday and I'm like really? Yeah I was over the moon.

And like it's like, it gives me goosebumps now even thinking about it. Like it happens still to this day where, you know, where the kid is actually saying things that you're teaching them and it's coming from your brain and to their brain. And it's just so amazing for it to be sent back to you. And that's where I really started to realise that, well, I'm actually a teacher. Like there were smaller moments, he's being called teacher for the first time. Or the first kid that put my hand up said, can I go to the toilet?

Euan (17:40)
Oh.

Rachael (18:07)
do what you want to do, I thought you were wrong. But like I think when I started to pick up on these kids using the phrases that I was teaching them and using the little word and little saying that I was teaching them, I was you know you just think to yourself, I actually taught them that and if it hadn't been for me they would not have known that phrase and I think that's where I was like okay this is like this is I'm in this for the long haul like this isn't just a three month

Euan (18:09)
Thanks. Hahaha.

Rachael (18:37)
I want to do this for as long as I can and I want to experience it as deeply and as much as I can.

Euan (18:45)
In terms of, you know, not just because I do feel like I'm some of the big guests are particularly good at answering questions like multiple questions at a time and I sort of scramble and go like, oh, okay, what do you know, but it seems like there's kind of more to mine here. So I'm going to ask this even though you've given two perfectly good as there's already. What do you enjoy most about teaching early on apart from, you know, when people can have repeated phrases that you taught them, and the sort of range of diversity of different kids meeting people from different kinds of experiences?

What else was it about the job or about the lifestyle that you really, really liked early on that sort of made you think like, okay, yeah, no, I could see myself doing this for a long time.

Rachael (19:24)
I think one of the main things was definitely the difference in the life that I had before and the life that I had then. And, you know, going to this swimming pool my class and like being able to live and fulfil this life that I really wanted, but also being in a job where I was making a difference in people's lives and going home every day and feeling fulfilled and feeling like I had poured.

something into these little humans instead of just, you know, adding more money into like some CEO's pocket at the end of the day. Um, that's definitely what really, that was the reason I did it, but it's what, it's what made me, you know, stick it out and really start to enjoy it was at the end of the day, going home and not being like, well, I've literally made no difference in the world. Like nothing I have done has changed anything. Like I've made a few flyers.

know, mark percent of female fit in meals. But it was like every day there was something new. It was like every day it was an inspiration. Every day there were so many students saying something that was making me well up or want to cry or like laugh my head off at them. And I think that was definitely it. It was like having that dream life that I wanted but also not just when I went home at night, it was like in the classroom as well.

Euan (20:48)
Yeah, I love that. That's such a great answer. To kind of on the flip side of that and not say that, you know, there are negatives, but what did you find most challenging to begin with in your teaching career?

Rachael (21:01)
I think at the beginning, because I was teaching in some other schools, these schools, they try their best to level test the kids, but the level testing sometimes is only done in maybe a day. And even at that, if the kids are well level tested, you might have an intermediate student, but there might be a very big jump between the lowest kid in the class and the highest kid in the class. And I think one thing I really struggled with is the fact that I was teaching in a school

maybe not everybody that starts off in this career would have the same struggles. If for example, they didn't start off in a summer school, is that my lesson plan and my class and what I'm teaching has to cater for a very wide range of levels. You know, one kid might completely understand what you're saying and another kid that is in the exact same level, so to speak, has no idea what you're talking about. And I think that was something, and something still to this day, I think,

is a struggle for me and for a lot of teachers that I talk to is trying to cater for every kid in the class and trying to cater for every need. And I mean, we're teachers, we're not magicians, unfortunately, some people think that we are sometimes. It's one of the big struggles in the job. And, you know, I'm starting to learn obviously now, I've been at it a while, but at the very start, it was nearly you have this guilt that if the lower-

I want to say lower kids, but I'm just saying the lower kids with the kids with less ability that might not be getting it. And then if you try to cater to them, maybe that the higher level kids in the class are bored and not paying attention. So it's a skill that I'm working on every day. But that, you know, I definitely struggle with at the start, it's just that basically range of level.

Euan (22:57)
No, I mean, there's so many, there are so many theories about class management, so many books about class management. Like, I don't know if anyone's ever fully nailed like that exact quandary because, you know, people tackle with, with how to how to kind of manage a class their whole career. So the summer school in Malta ends, did you have a temptation to kind of stay there? I mean, obviously, it sounds like you really liked it, or was it always a plan to kind of move on to the next place? Where was your mind at that time?

Rachael (23:05)
Yeah.

Mm-hmm.

Cambodia was always the final destination. I don't wanna say final destination, but it was the destination. Like the main reason I went to Malta was to get the experience and to make sure that I enjoyed the job. That's not to say that Malta wasn't like the best time and it wasn't amazing. And like I met some amazing people and learned so much, but once that three months was over, I was getting on the next plane. And I was actually…

I went to India for a while, I took a little break from teaching and I went to do my yoga teacher training in India, which was something I always wanted to do. I've always had such a great interest in going to India. And I thought, well, if I'm going on my way to Cambodia, I might as well hop out and take a wee break on the way over and go to India. So, yeah, like it was, you know, the plan was three months in Malta and, you know, it's a small island. I feel like I did, I did all the touristy bits, I swam in every week.

I did all the things I wanted to do, met lots of people. I fully enjoyed it and I loved it, but by the time the end of those three months was up I was well ready to get on a plane again.

Euan (24:31)
Fair enough. And just before we take our next break, and I can almost hear like listeners screaming at me to ask, tell us more about India, about this, about becoming a yoga teacher and that kind of thing. Like what was all that about? That sounds amazing.

Rachael (24:44)
Yeah, I mean, I could probably start my own podcast talking about how amazing India is and how much I love India. It's just like, it's a different world and like, I mean, Asia in general, of course, it's a different world. Like everything is just such a culture shock, but in the best way possible. Like, you know, I can't go on without mentioning the fact that growing up in the West, do you hear the worst things about these countries? They're dangerous and

dirty and the people are rude and it couldn't be anything different. Yes, maybe they're not as clean and sterilised as everything back home. India was just amazing. As a lot of people, I did my yoga teacher training. So you're not fully immersed in the culture. At the beginning, I think it's a nice little step to take into if you wanted to video India and you had an interest in yoga.

doing my yoga teacher training, it was just amazing. And I 100% will be back. It was just unbelievable. And I visited the tiniest, smallest city in India and it's really massive. Like I can't, you don't realise till you're there how big the country is. But yeah, I can go on forever about India, the people, the culture, the music, the food, the food. Like it's just unbelievable. Yeah, yeah, it was, yeah.

Euan (26:05)
Yeah, yeah.

Rachael (26:09)
If anybody even has the slightest idea in the back of their head that they want to put it in the end, I'd 100% book the ticket now. Do your research and go. Because it's just, out of all the countries I've been in this year, I think I was in 11 countries this year so far. And it's like, what's out of that, my favourite.

Euan (26:27)
So I have to ask about the meeting that you had with Daniel Gillard because it's, I've worked in a few podcasts in my time and never has anyone been so inspired by something that they've actually gotten a guest from that podcast. It was, hearing about that was just a huge moment for me personally. I can't, I can't lie. So he was our first ever guest in the podcast and it was a very, very strong start because, you know, it's a very popular episode and…

obviously kind of helped inspire you to move to Cambodia. So what was the meeting like and what kind of advice did he give you?

Rachael (26:59)
So yeah, he was your first guest, but he was actually one of the last, he was the last of the series that I listened to because I actually did that thing where Spotify does it and sort of some, you know, all the scenarios. So I ended up listening to his last. So I had really built myself up until I got to his and I was like, right, this is it. And you know, Daniel's like podcast has inspired me so much. He just seemed that such a great guy. He was from Manchester, which is where I was living at the time.

Euan (27:11)
Right.

Rachael (27:28)
You know, I think one of the things that was in the back of my head was like, am I too old, am I too long in life to be doing this? Am I in my 30s? And then he came out with this story that he was 35, 36 when he just decided to change his career completely. He was a politician in England and decided then to move to Cambodia. Just everything that he was saying about Cambodia. And I hadn't really heard a lot about Cambodia. A friend of mine had visited and talked about Cambodia.

And yeah, it just inspired me so much. And the first thing I did when I listened to his episode was search for him online. And it was like searching the name everywhere. And I actually found him on LinkedIn and I messaged him. And I just said, you know, I just want to let you know that your podcast episode has really, really inspired me. And I think you're a credit. Like what you've done is amazing. Like I wish you best.

he came back with probably the best thing he could have said to me. He got me at the right time. He just said, Rachael if you're thinking about it, do it. Don't even hesitate. The fact that you're even messaging me shows how much this means to you and how much it's inspired you. And so that was what, you know, that was what made me, you know, fish through my emails and look for that original course that I bought. And I think if it wasn't for listening to his episode and for his message back to me, I probably never would have even finished the course.

So yeah we kept in touch, I let him know when I got my first job in Malta and if I ever had any questions for him, we would be straight back with an answer. And yeah I had mentioned that I would probably come to Cambodia in the New Year and he just said Cambodia will welcome me with open arms. So then when I left India I decided to do a little bit of travelling before I would settle in Cambodia.

Euan (28:54)
Mm-hmm.

Rachael (29:23)
Vietnam and I went to Thailand and I went to Cambodia to see what part I wanted because a lot of people were telling me you know you can go to Phnom Penh and there's more work there, it's a bigger city and there's also same Rafe which is like a smaller kind of town and so Daniel was working in Phnom Penh so that's where I went I went to Vietnam to Phnom Penh on a bus and I just met him in his local pub and he was literally the exact same

person in person as he was online. Like I just felt like I was still listening to the podcast while I was talking. He even told a few wee stories to me and my friend that I was like, wait, you told that story on the podcast? And it was just so surreal. Like meeting him in person, it was amazing. We got a few selfies and sent them over to you guys. But yeah, it was just great meeting him.

Euan (29:55)
I'm gonna go get some water.

Rachael (30:15)
I think when I went to Phnom Penh, even though I was so happy to meet Daniel, it was still those city vibes that I was still trying to get away from. And I was like, oh God, is it like, did I just throw my whole life away to come here and I don't even like it? And he was like, look, go to Samory, it's quieter, it's a nice, like laid back, lazy town. Go there and see what you think. And so I got the bus to Samory a few days later. And that's where I am now. I ended up coming back here to teach.

Yeah, Daniel's the best. He's just so lovely and he's so passionate about what he does and he gets so much advice from me and stuff, so yeah, it was lovely meeting him and hopefully he'll call in and say, right, where he comes by.

Euan (30:59)
Well, Daniel, if you're listening, we need to set up a new podcast, two of us. But yeah, so obviously, you know, you're really excited about going to Cambodia and you said you had those kind of initial reservations about Phnom Penh, just because it's so huge and so busy. Had you built up kind of an idea of Cambodia in your head and when you were actually there, you touched down, did it meet the expectations you had or did anything surprise you that you didn't expect to like as much?

Rachael (31:03)
laughs

I think a lot of my culture shocks got were over and done with when I was in India. And I like a lot of people say like, you're lucky that you went to India first because like you get through it, you get through everything and the culture shocks and then they were big and then I had done Vietnam and Thailand before I went to Cambodia. So you know, there wasn't anything vastly different to Vietnam to Cambodia.

I mean, people have mentioned that people are nice, but I think people always say that about everyone. All the people are lovely. As long as it's not home, the people are lovely. But in Cambodia, like, everyone is just so welcoming, so friendly, so nice. Like, they love to see Westerners or foreigners or whatever you want to call us. Like, you know, they wouldn't even look twice, you know, at you come in the door. Like, it's like the brown and we're like, hello, welcome, hello, bomb, they say. And like, people are just so, so nice.

Euan (32:00)
Heh.

Rachael (32:21)
I don't know, I think maybe a lot of it may have to do with the history here, and there is such a sad history in the whole of Cromwellia, obviously, with the genocide that happened here and all of that. And maybe it's something to do with that, but they're just so, so lovely. The people are just so welcoming and so nice. So that wasn't a huge shock. It was just…

A nice wee addition to what I was expecting. But yeah, I think Siem Reap lived up to the expectations I had of Cambodia. And I think that was when I went to Phnom Penh, I was like, wait, this isn't what I signed up for. I don't want this. I'm still in a city. There's still high-rise buildings. Where's the sun? But it's sort of a keep the Siem Reap, all that to use. It was just exactly what I was hoping.

Euan (33:13)
Yeah.

And so, you know, tell us about where you're teaching now and how that's been.

Rachael (33:24)
So I'm actually teaching in an international school at the minute and the job I have right now is not a conventional English language teaching job. I'm actually a preschool teacher. So I had done a few interviews in the town and a few of the more primary schools, secondary schools, like English language schools, and one school that really stood out to me. And it might be the fact that my boss is Irish as well. The principal of the school is Irish.

Euan (33:35)
Okay, all right.

Wow, that's so…

Rachael (33:53)
But one school were looking for a preschool teacher. And I had done an interview not really the one one. I was in the interview for and I forgot even the name of the school. I had done so many in those few short days that I had arrived. But she gave me a call and said, you know, we've got an opening for a pre-K class. You can teach one class in the morning, one class in the afternoon.

get two hour break in between, which is why the schools work here in Cambodia. They take a little bit of a break in the middle of the day. She said they're three to five years old, they've got basic level English. So, you know, a lot of the kids in my class have the same level of English as a three to five year old in England or Ireland might have. So although I am teaching them English, I'm also doing art and doing music and doing dancing.

It's a nice little break from just teaching English, not that I don't love teaching English, that's why I'm here, but you know it's just so fun. It's like every day is a fun day and you're putting in doing yoga and doing that teaching and you know it's not just your verbs and your adjectives and you're you know so yeah it's amazing so and that's an international skill so you know a lot of the students are like Kamaian students or Cambodian students but we also

Euan (34:50)
Yeah.

Rachael (35:11)
students from Japan and China and all of the world. So yeah, it's amazing. I've been there just over a month now. And yeah, it's great. I love it.

Euan (35:23)
I can only notice if I felt like you did mention that you still teach English, there's not going to be a point where like, oh, you're disqualified from the podcast now. That absolutely counts. It sounds like an amazing job. And it's also such a kind of funny coincidence that your boss is Irish. Do you think there was a sort of element on their part where it's just like, oh, great. Okay, I've got a fellow Irish person working with me now. Or do you think that was irrelevant?

Rachael (35:31)
Yeah.

Yeah, I think it might have been a part of it. Like she did say in an interview, I kind of see myself in New York City, you know, a part of me in you. And I think it is just that, like, you know, sympathising with someone that's coming from, you know, the other side of the world. And it would fall away a bit if I were leaving for her. I heard

don't worry she's Irish, she'll have her great worst work ethic. So I think that was one of the things, she's one of her own and she'll be a good worker. But yeah, it was definitely like I had got it, I had the job offer some different skills, I think my Irishness enticed her and her Irishness enticed me.

Euan (36:12)
Ha ha.

Yeah, sometimes it's meant to be, you know, sometimes it's just meant to be. So you're I love that you talked about travel and the places that you've been to and kind of the process before moving to Cambodia after sort of the post-Malta Cambodia, but and that kind of leads me to another question. And it's maybe one I don't really ask enough in this podcast, but what kind of practical advice would you have for people like yourself, teachers who?

Rachael (36:32)
Yeah, yeah, definitely.

Euan (36:54)
want to move around from country to country or maybe do a bit of traveling before they start a job, what kind of practical travel advice do you think you've, you know, you wish you maybe had beforehand that other people could use? Because there's always something.

Rachael (37:09)
They're definitely just really like research and make sure where your goal is, where you want to go. Like I was fortunate enough to not experience this, but I met a lot of people, you know, that were traveling and they hadn't a clue what they were getting themselves into. And like, don't get me wrong, I ended up in some situations where I was like, wait, why did I not plan this? So this is not how I thought this was going to be. You know, if you're going to go and do the backpacker life and do the travel life, which is what I did.

is, you know, be prepared for the sleepless nights and be prepared for the moving hostels and jumping around. And I suppose it just depends on what level of backpacking you're doing and what level of travel you're doing. But it's definitely to just, it might sound obvious, but you know, just the amount of people that I met, it just had never dawned on them that like, I really need to do research on, you know, the culture of the place I'm going and the, you know, the food that I should eat and can be.

vaccinations and the shots that I should be getting and just things like that are definitely like, as I said, seem so obvious but they're not to a lot of people. Luckily I had a few friends that I had met in Manchester and had met in the early stages of my travels that had done what I was going to do, you know, jumping from city to city every other night and I got a lot of good advice from them.

You know, like we have all this information on the fingertips. You can go on TikTok with one and you can search for anything now. You know, just go on and watch the videos and watch, you know, read the blogs, watch the blogs, like just do, you know, you don't have to fully like build up a whole catalog of knowledge, but just have a bit of idea of where you're going and what you want to do. Another piece of advice that someone gave me early on.

I tell everyone that asks for a bit of advice is learn a few words in the local language, like even if it's hello, goodbye, thank you. Like the first thing I learned to say when I moved to India was thank you. It's not just that it can get you by. We all have Google Translate these days, like you can get by without knowing any of the language, but just the appreciation you see in people's face and you get that wee smile from someone that's like…

Euan (39:29)
Yeah.

Rachael (39:32)
Well, like, it took me two minutes to learn to say thank you in Hindi. You know, I could put a smile on someone's face and it just, it helps you along the way. You know, you might get that wee friendly smile and then you might get that bit of a discount or you might get that extra bit of help that you might need. And every little help is going to travel. And you know, you'll meet people along the way that will be happy to help you. And the nicer you are and the kinder that probably leads me to the third thing, piece of advice I would give is just be nice.

you know we're all out here trying to make by trying to get by and especially when you're traveling you know just you know have your wits about you and just be nice to people that's when that goes for everything but yeah that's probably it.

Euan (40:14)
Yeah, no, I love that. I'm gonna sound like the oldest man in the world now, but like, you know, good manners cost nothing. But it's such an important thing.

Rachael (40:23)
Of course, of course, yeah.

Euan (40:26)
Alongside some of the skills you've already told us about, you know, class management and dealing with people who have different proficiencies, that kind of thing. What other skills have you have you do feel like you've developed since becoming a teacher and not necessarily just like, you know, direct classroom skills. How do you think you've developed as a person since you became a teacher.

Rachael (40:46)
I think the word that springs to mind is Sabhar, which is Hindi for patience. I have learned a lot of patience, I think, in travelling but also in teaching English. You know, it takes a lot of patience to communicate and be able to have a conversation with someone who might only have a few words of English. And, you know, it's maybe something that I don't… I mean, I obviously had a little bit of patience.

Euan (40:49)
Hello?

Rachael (41:13)
Now when I look back to how I used to communicate with people and even communicate with my friends and dealing with problems and situations in my life, the patience that I've developed from this job is like a sound and it definitely has taught me a lot of that. And I suppose that leads to another skill that I think I've learned is just the skill to be able to converse with someone that doesn't have a lot of English, like training as an English teacher.

I'm sure listeners know that TEFL is based around the fact that you don't know the language so you only speak English in the classroom and if that means that you have to show a picture to say zebra this is a zebra instead of saying like it's this in your language and this in my language and you know you know I've developed that skill of being able to communicate with people with

very low level English or maybe no English at all. And I did make people travel in, you know, in like in India and Thailand and stuff and made friends that were like, oh, like you're really, you know, you're really patient with the way you speak to me. And a lot of people brush off the fact that, you know, I can't speak English and they don't want to talk to you. And they don't, you know, people don't have patience for people that don't speak a lot of English. But for me, it just comes naturally to me now because my students, it might take them 20 minutes to tell

Euan (42:33)
Right.

Rachael (42:40)
I can sit there and help them with what they're trying to say and it's just gone that way. I think they're the main things that stand out is patience and communication, verbal communication with non-English speakers.

Euan (42:53)
Absolutely. And when you look back on your sort of pre-Tefl life, could you kind of conceive of what you're doing now? You know, do you think younger Rachel would be both extremely proud and extremely surprised with how your life looks now? Like, what do you think the younger you would think of what's happening now?

Rachael (43:14)
It's funny you should ask that because there's this thing that I learned. It's this little thing that I do, me and my friends do, where we write letters to our younger self and our older self. And it's just like a fun little thing where you kind of look back at things that you've changed in your life or you look forward to things that you want to change in your life. And just recently me and my friend sat down and we wrote letters to our younger self.

Euan (43:29)
Oh.

Rachael (43:42)
don't worry, this works out and this will happen and blah blah. And like, it just made me so emotional thinking about it because I never, in a million years, thought I would ever be a teacher. Like I've had every job you could pick on and I've managed in my club, I've worked as a photographer, I've worked in engineering. But I remember when I was younger, all I wanted to do was be a teacher. Like that's all I ever wanted. And, you know, I wasn't the…

I don't know if I wasn't the brightest student, but I wasn't the best behaved student in school. So I think that idea went out the window with my grades and just looking back and thinking like if I could see me now in my thirties and travel in the world and teaching and like travel in the world wasn't even something that I thought was ever possible. Even when I look back to four years ago, three, four years ago, like it wasn't something that I ever even thought was on my radar. So yeah.

Yeah, it's like emotionally thinking about it. Like it's just amazing. And, you know, the only thing that was holding me back forever from ever having this life and would have ever held me back for half this life is myself and, you know, you know, but the least that I had would get some society or whatever. So, you know, and it was listening to podcasts like this that made me realize that, you know, it was possible. So if there's anything anyone could take from listening to me.

Euan (44:43)
I'm sorry.

Rachael (45:08)
I burn on about this is that like, you know, no one can do this. It was not like I don't know if I should be saying that, but it was easy. Like it was great because all you need is the dedication and the passion. And that's what I had. And, you know, that's really all it is. Like it's just, yeah, it's great.

Euan (45:29)
So actually, I'm going to touch on a whole kind of time capsule idea for my last question, but just before we get there, what advice would you give to people who maybe have a Tefl certificate or they've bought a Tefl course and they haven't quite done it yet and they're kind of withering over, okay, should I do this? Should I use the certificate? You know, what advice would you give them?

Rachael (45:51)
The first piece of advice I would definitely give is there is a reason why you bought that course. Like there is a reason and there was something for me it was walking into that classroom in Spain and getting that feeling and I nearly let that go, like I nearly let that slip but you know that feeling went out of my head and it wasn't until listening to the podcast that it reminded me. So the first thing you need to do is remember why you did it like and maybe it's just

change a career, maybe it is because you want to be a teacher, because you want to change lives, because you want to travel the world. There's a reason for everything that we do. So the first thing I would say is just try and sit down and even journal it, write it down. Why do I want to do this? Why did I do this? And the second piece of advice is just do it. Don't think about it. Don't think about the what ifs. Everything will always work out if that's what you want in life.

you have the determination and the passion as I said like that's all you need so just do the course like I did struggle sometimes in school and you know that was one thing that I think maybe did put me off like continuing the course was you know putting aside the time but I made it like a little kind of you know bit of self-care for myself like I would be like right if I sit down three hours now I'm going to order a coffee or I'm going to go to a nice my favorite cafe and

dedicate that time for doing that. And I think that's definitely something that helped me get through the actual learning process and the studying of the courses, you know, getting that wee bit of time for yourself. And it's that time that you're taking for just you. And there's such an amazing outcome from it. And so, yeah, that's probably the main thing.

Euan (47:41)
Brilliant. I just want to finish this off and I don't want to put you in the spot too much, but I kind of want you to talk to like this. I mean, hopefully nothing goes, you know, hopefully this podcast is up for years and years and you know, people are still listening to the first series and second series. I certainly from a personal selfish level, I hope that, but I'm imagining a scenario where you're listening to this again in five years time. I was wondering if you could give

Rachael (47:45)
Okay.

Euan (48:05)
advice or tell Rachel in five years time what your plans are for the next few years. Where do you want to go? What do you want to see? So yeah, just kind of briefly, if it's not too weird, do a sort of audio message for yourself in five years time.

Rachael (48:18)
Don't look!

Yeah, oh God. Well, I think like there's so many places that I want to travel still. But I love Cambodia so much now. I don't even, you know, in the near future, I don't even think about having to leave. I just got here. But, you know, to future me, I would definitely. I could picture her maybe living in India. Like that's probably, you know, if I'm not back home, I'll definitely be in India. But I will have hope. I hope to have visited South America. I want to go to Africa.

I want to do more of Europe. Like, it's definitely, you know, I know they say no regrets, but one of my regrets is definitely just going to Italy, and then jet-nocked to Asia. Like, there's so much of Europe that I want to see. And, you know, particularly it's such a need for English teachers there as well as in Egypt. So, yeah, I think I'll hope that I have done that. I hope I'm still teaching. I hope.

you know running around after preschool kids all day doesn't drive me insane because there definitely has there's there are ups and downs of that job but yeah I think just yeah it's interesting to think about it's just something it's crazy really and it's something that I think that people should definitely do because I think we do get stuck in autopilot sometimes and you just you know you just think things are going to work out the way they work out but like it's

the creator of our own reality, like we're the person that the terrarium's for in our future. So I think it's a really good thing and it's really healthy thing to think about, you know, what you're going to be doing in five years time. Definitely something to think about. It's definitely something that we'll, especially in this job, like you could be anywhere doing anything in this job. And that's like, it's both a blessing and a curse because, you know,

Euan (50:03)
I'm sorry.

Rachael (50:15)
So, I mean, you can find stability, of course, unless you just want to stick somewhere, but it's, I feel spoiled for choice, having these qualifications now and this experience where I really can, it almost feels like a waste saying it all. But it's like, there's so many opportunities for going and doing whatever I want to do, really. Like, I'm so grateful for that. And it's definitely one of the highlights of the job is just that freedom, which is the word. Like, that's the word I always.

Euan (50:36)
Mm-hmm.

Rachael (50:45)
use what I thought very what do I want in life and it's freedom and I think it's what everyone wants really.