As a single mom, I
get so many surprised looks when I tell people that I taught English in Spain
last year and I actually brought my two
children along with me. As soon as they hear about my experience I always get
the same two questions:
First, why would I leave a pretty stable life to do
something like this? It was the right time in my life, my kids were at a great
age(11 and 9) and I had a career that I could come back to, so I decided to go
for it. However, I think the most
important deciding factor was that we all really wanted it. I have always
wanted to live abroad and my kids were up for the adventure.
Secondly, how did I do it?. To start, I simply Googled
“single mom teaching English abroad” and went from there. I had to weed through a lot dead-ends and roadblocks but I
just kept going. I finally found a program through the Ministry of Education in
Spain that didn't restrict bringing children along. However, they didn't provide any additional assistance
for bringing children and I had to do all the visa paperwork, register my kids in school and find housing myself, so it was a lot of
work. Also, I had to have all of my custody papers and agreements in order,
that is a dealbreaker, you can't get a visa without it.
Despite all the challenges, I can say without a doubt, it
was worth it. I loved teaching and working with the kids there. It was an amazing
life changing experience. We traveled
all over Europe and got to see life from a different point of view. My kids got
to see firsthand that different doesn't equal wrong, for that alone, I would do
it again in minute.
To any parents who are interested in teaching abroad, having
kids does not mean the end of your dream; if anything bringing them a long will
only enhance it. Don't be discouraged by the logistics. If it's something
you're passionate about, go for it!
