Interview with Laura Morine, Vietnam Q & A

Laura Morine, 23, USA.

I graduated from the University of Southern California in May 2017 with a B.S. in Geological Sciences. After graduation, I moved back home to Minnesota and worked at a nature center teaching kids about plants, animals, and the outdoors for about five months before packing up and heading to Vietnam to teach English in November 2017!

Growing up, I traveled to Europe with my family to visit France, Italy, Germany, Austria, and Switzerland on a few vacations. I also studied abroad in Auckland, New Zealand for five months during college, where I had the opportunity to take trips to Australia and the Pacific island of Tonga. 

My family has always made travel and having new experiences a priority in our lives, whether it be international or local. I knew I wasn’t interested in applying for a typical desk job after graduation, so I looked into ways to make money while being able to travel abroad and ended up reading so many stories of expats teaching English all over the world. I briefly worked at a nature center right after I graduated to save up some money and get some teaching experience with children, and that job completely solidified my decision to go abroad to teach English.

I really wanted to achieve the fact of taking the step to come here and do something I’m really passionate about doing instead of finding a comfortable job at home. My biggest fear is becoming too comfortable in my place that I never push myself to do new things and meet new people and I end up unhappy in the long run. I always want to keep moving forward. So far, going abroad to teach English has exceeded my expectations for fulfilling my desire for something new and exhilarating, and I’m so excited that I can spend the indefinite future doing this!

I applied on my own. Most of my friends from home went straight into a full-time office job or graduate school, but I felt that neither of those options were what I wanted to do. Almost all of the people in my program came alone as well. I think coming alone can be really beneficial because you don’t have anyone to fall back on and you’re forced to push yourself out of your comfort zone to meet new people, which is always so rewarding. 

My brother was actually also a TEFL teacher for a few years after he graduated college, so I think it was always in the back of my mind that I wanted to follow in his footsteps. 

Since I did come alone, I was a bit concerned about making new friends and feeling isolated in a new city.  This worry completely left my mind before my program even started, thankfully. We had a dinner party with the rest of the students in the course the night before it started and we all became friends almost immediately. The people that choose to do a TEFL course in a different country are almost guaranteed to be the exact type of people you want to be friends with. 

I knew getting a TEFL certification would make getting a teaching job in another country much easier, both for the employer to like my application and myself to feel more comfortable teaching in front of a classroom. TEFL Heaven stood out to me because of the overwhelmingly positive reviews from alumni and amazing network of people all over the world. It truly is a community of people there to support you every step of the way. 

The first reason was just my desire to travel as soon as possible. I didn’t really want to hold off any longer to get a TEFL back home. After completion of the course, I can’t recommend a face-to-face course enough. It was invaluable to get teaching practice in front of real students in the country of your choice before applying for jobs so you can get a feeling for how their classrooms are and how the students learn.

Teach English in Vietnam – Ho Chi Minh City.

I really enjoyed the practical experience we got from this course. We observed 8 hours of classes and then had 12 hours of teaching in front of real classes at different language schools around the area. This included teaching across all ages, from kindergarten through adults. Watching techniques of experienced teachers and gradually progressing to taking control of a classroom all on our own was extremely helpful. 

I also absolutely loved the group of people in my course. Meeting people from all over the world was an awesome experience. We spent 6 hours a day in class together and then got dinner together at night and explored the city on the weekends. I still get together with the ones teaching in HCMC on a weekly basis. It’s awesome knowing I have a network of friends around the city, country, and even the world!   

I felt incredibly prepared, and maybe almost over-prepared which was probably a good thing. There is a wide variety of jobs that you can get in Vietnam, some will give you training and observations for weeks and others will throw you into teaching a group of 40 high schoolers the next day, so coming in with as much experience as possible is preferable. 

I completed the TEFL course in the middle of December and spent the next month and a half traveling around the area and getting to know the city. I just signed a contract for my first job and will begin teaching in a couple weeks. I’m planning to stay for about a year, and then perhaps move to a new country to teach. But who knows, maybe I’ll end up loving my job here and will stay longer!

There are a few different Facebook groups that advertise jobs in HCMC, which is where I found most of the jobs I applied for. The job I have now was also advertised on vietnamteachingjobs.com. The companies provide an email address and all you need to do is send them a copy of your CV, teaching certificate, and degree if you have one, and they’ll usually get back to you within 24 hours to schedule an interview (oftentimes for the next day).

Since I’ll be working at a language center, weekends are primetime for classes, so my classes will start at 8am, and I’ll most likely work until late afternoon/evening with at least a two-hour lunch break. Monday and Tuesday are my days off, and then 4-8pm Wednesday, Thursday, Friday. The maximum number of teaching hours per week is 25 hours.

My company focuses on younger learners, from 2.5-6 years old. I’ll also have some classes with kids up to 12 years old.

I haven’t officially started with my classes yet, but from my practice teaching and observations, I can say that I love how curious the kids are. They love learning English, which makes them incredibly fun to teach, and they are also so interested in us as teachers. They want to know all about where we’re from and what our lives are like as well. 

My company supports us to get a work permit, we just need to provide all of our original certifications and a police background check from our home country. I also plan to get a temporary residence card for Vietnam, which will replace my visa and allow me to come and go from the country for a year. 

I spent quite a number of hours searching the web for accommodation in the area I wanted and price I wanted. There is an abundance of places to live in Ho Chi Minh City including basic apartments, huge serviced apartment complexes with gyms and pools, houses, villas, etc. You just need to know what you want. My searching led me to a website called saigonpads.com, where an American guy rents out rooms in a few houses exclusively to expats in District 7 of HCMC. I just moved into my room in a house of 9 people with my own private bathroom and balcony for $300 per month. 

​Vietnam is certainly a different place to live than most Western places. The first thing a foreigner will notice is the abundance of motorbikes and slight terror that comes with trying to cross the road.  You soon come to realize that the drivers are used to people crossing the road and they will just go around you as long as you keep a steady pace and don’t hesitate!! Vietnamese food is incredibly flavorful, and oftentimes fairly spicy. It’s quite diverse, with pho soups, noodle dishes, pork and rice, banh mi, and many others. There is also a lot of Western food in HCMC, but it’s generally more expensive than the Vietnamese food (although “expensive” is still just $5 for a pizza compared to $1 for a bowl of pho).

It’s incredibly convenient that Vietnam has a car service called Grab that functions exactly like Uber, and they have Grab motorbikes which are much cheaper and much faster than a car. They also do have Uber, but Grab is more common. After living here for a little while, many expats do end up getting their own motorbike. The bus is also a pretty good option if you don’t need to be anywhere in a hurry. You can get pretty much anywhere in the city for 25 cents. The center of nightlife in HCMC, at least for travelers, is Bui Vien Walking Street. It has bars and clubs lining both sides of the street and is crowded with people every night.

Rent: $280

Food: $150

Other bills: $25

Social life: $30-$50

Transportation: $40

Phone: $5

Absolutely. Everyone I know here is making between $1000-$2000 per month depending on their hours and location. The cost of living is incredibly cheap for food and accommodation, so there is no problem living and even making money on a teacher’s wages.

My advice to someone thinking about teaching abroad is to just go for it! So many people tell me, “Wow it’s so cool you got to go abroad and teach, I wish I could do that!” If you’re ready for a change from the life you know and want to experience something new, there really isn’t anything stopping you other than yourself. My TEFL course ranged from a 20-year-old still in college to a 60-year-old ready to try something new and every age and stage of life in between. I know that money is an issue many people worry about, and I truly cannot think of anything I would rather spend my money on than traveling to have awesome experiences with people from all over the world. Vietnam specifically is one of the best places to make money with the incredibly low cost of living and high demand for English teachers. If you can handle some dirty streets and crazy traffic, Vietnam will reward you with amazingly kind people, adorably curious children, delicious and cheap food, and unforgettable experiences.