Travel With A Purpose

People have asked me "Why? Why teach abroad? You have everything at home. A support system: family, a girlfriend, a job. Why do it?"

Nowadays, with company cut-backs and layoffs, seniority is no longer a factor. It's about the business's survival not yours. Job security is dead. You can no longer rely on working for an employer for 20-30 years and then retiring with full benefits. The economy will eventually recover and companies are slowly starting to increase hiring. But you can't be fooled into trusting your financial security with another seemingly-reliable company ever again. If the opportunity comes up, of course, take it, but people are learning not to rely solely on income from a job. This recession has proven that companies will not honor their end of the bargain when the going gets tough.

In the movie "Con Air," the character played by Steve Buscemi sums it up perfectly: What if I told you insane was working fifty hours a week in some office for fifty years at the end of which they tell you to piss off, ending up in some retirement village, hoping to die before suffering the indignity of trying to make it to the toilet on time? Wouldn't you consider that to be insane?

So, what recourse does one have when companies no longer have your back? How do you keep from becoming "insane"?

Branding. Branding yourself. Outsourcing yourself. Outsourcing isn't just for big businesses. It's probably the best way to fend off financial doom when you've lost your major source of income. Outsourcing, or freelancing, is the new job security. Sell your skills to those who need it. Go to where the jobs are. Sell your brand locally or abroad.

But why do so many choose to work in Cambodia? Are they running towards something or running away from it? This really hit home when, during an interview for a teaching position, the school director explained to me that there are three different types of teachers:

-the teacher who failed back home and is seeking a fresh start;
-the teacher who is altruistic and truly wants to give back; or
-the teacher that is only interested in drinking and partying.

It was clear he was trying to size me up, but I don't believe I fit into a specific category.

I began this journey as a way of gaining a more realistic picture of a culture rather than reading about it in a book or googling it. I wanted to see the world and return home with the satisfaction of having contributed to a community and experienced a new culture as no tourist can. So, I traveled nearly 9,000 miles to sell my brand.

Teaching abroad has allowed me to use leadership skills to conduct a class, pick up a new language (even just conversationally), build an international network and communicate across cultural barriers. Back home, my extroverted personality has always gotten me into trouble but, in Cambodia, it has been my saving grace. I'm more confident in who I am and in my abilities. I may have been selling my brand, but I am getting something much more valuable in return.

Would I do this again? Probably not. But, if I can go to a strange land and find success and a better version of myself, I can handle whatever challenges life throws my way. I may not have all the answers but I won't run from it.