You can’t miss her; she’s the light in every room–especially the classroom– and you’ll hear her laughing from a mile a way. When I first met Danon in May 2017 she asked me “What’s on your bucket list?” –and then promptly pulled out a paper document of compiled goals, travel dreams, and pending adventures.
After earning her TEFL certificate in 2016, Danon (aka Ms. MicKim) began teaching at Instituto Estelar Bilingue in Liberia, Costa Rica. After a year of teaching in Costa Rica, Danon endeavored to cross another experience off her list–a trip to Asia.
Mission complete! She recently spent a month in Thailand learning a form of combat sport called Muay Thai, or “Thai boxing.” She has also traveled
to Panama and Nicaragua.
Despite her affinity for the lands of far-away, the TEFL graduate still appreciates her home city, Philadelphia.
“My city has all 4 seasons, so you get to enjoy the pleasures of a hot summer, see the dance of picturesque colors, have snowball fights and the awakening of Mother Nature all over again,” she says, “There’s never a dull moment in Philadelphia. It’s a melting pot of all cultures so you get to appreciate diversity in food, historical sites, social events and nightlife.”
When she isn’t travelling Danon enjoys going out to dance with her friends or hunkering down for a movie with her beloved grandmother.
Before she packed her bags and made the move to Playa Samara, Ms. McKim was well into her teaching career. She explains, “I had already been in education for over 10 years, but TEFL was the challenge and the next level I needed to teach English as a second language. It was a great reminder of the basic English grammar and it was taught/retaught in the most active and creative ways. TEFL prepared me so much that once I started teaching English as a second language, my confidence and classroom preparation was on a whole other level.”
Danon’s plan for the coming months is to find another project abroad. “Next on the list is Dubai or Africa!” she says. We look forward to future destination reports from Ms. McKim!