Costa Rica TEFL Graduate Ryan Clark honored by his students in Buga, Colombia - Costa Rica TEFL - Earn your TEFL certification
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Costa Rica TEFL Graduate Ryan Clark honored by his students in Buga, Colombia

August 3, 2016

Estudiantes de la institución educativa Académico, le rindieron un homenaje de agradecimiento a uno de los docentes extranjeros, que estuvo con ellos por espacio de 6 meses enseñándoles el idioma del inglés.

Posted by CNC Bugavision on Friday, July 1, 2016

We’ve just received a great update from Ryan Clark, one of our July 2015 graduates, who was featured in the local news. He’s been honored by his students for his outstanding ESL teaching.

“I teach grade nine and grade ten students in a public school called Academico Buga. As far as public schools go in Colombia, this is one of the best with a two story library, Olympic swimming pool and plenty of tech.That said, all of the challenges of teaching in a different culture still exist and is magnified in Buga because, for many, I am the first westerner they have interacted with.

Buga is a town of about 100,000 people an hour north of Cali. It is very popular with domestic religious tourism because of the famous ‘Lord of Miracles’ Cathedral. There are few western tourists and only one genuine backpackers hostel in the town (which doubles as a restaurant, bar, and microbrewery). The weather is very hot and the city is one of the safest in the region.

On weekends I like to explore the small but not terrible nightlife options in my town, go out for food, read the news, and watch Netflix.

The organization I teach for provided a two week training course before I began but compared to Costa Rica TEFL it was absolute rubbish. Had I not done my TEFL previously, there is no way I could possibly have walked in and taught in a Colombian classroom. Instead I have enough knowledge and confidence to not only teach my students, but the other teachers as well.

Since graduating Costa Rica TEFL, I have travelled to Guatemala, Nicaragua, Honduras, Panama, and Cuba.

My next step is to meet my Colombian wife and/or return to Australia and un-pause my life!”

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