Back home in South Africa, I'd already decided months before that I would do my TEFL course in Thailand. My plan was to stay in a guesthouse while I did the course and explore the city, and then get a job immediately afterwards. And that's exactly what I did.

Myself and all my lovely course mates.

I have met and heard of countless people who had done their TEFL course online, and then arrived fresh off the plane in the country they wanted to teach in. In my opinion (and the opinion of many others in the real and virtual world) this is not the way to go. I had never set foot in a classroom as an authority figure and mentor before, and here I was at the naive age of 22 standing in front of 30 unruly teenagers. I believe that having my instructors there to guide me was invaluable, and the feedback received from them afterwards set me on my way to becoming what I hope is now a fairly awesome ESL teacher. On top of that, I had instant friends from all over the world, with all sorts of stories to tell, who were all doing the course with me. It made for many nights out socialising and stressing over teaching practices and grammar tests. Being a bit of an awkward person with a penchant for chatting up stray dogs, I doubt I would have made many foreign human friends within that first month of being abroad.

If you're interested, I did my course through SEE TEFL, which I've learnt is one of the most reputable courses in Chiang Mai. It cost me US $1000 at the time, and I chose to find my own (incredibly cheap) accommodation. I would recommend doing the same, as I had friends from the course stay in the accommodation you can book through the course, and we ended up nicknaming it "The Prison". I'm sure a few reviews online actually confirm that sentiment.

Check out the rest of my photos and some useful links below:

Spoiled with breakfasts at Eagle House.

Eagle House, where I stayed very cheaply for a whole month.

The soi (little road) where Eagle House is.

Another shot of Eagle House, where I sat and worked on my laptop over muesli and smoothies every day.

A nice enough place I stayed initially called Dutch Delicious, but I met a few too many creepy old men here for my liking.

An area of bars popular with foreigners in Chiang Mai.

A confession/warning scribbled on a bar wall.

Another poetic bit of advice, probably from a drunken falang.

Very dirty bathroom walls.

Recommended TEFL Courses and Cheap Guesthouses:

- SEE Tefl - a really nice bunch who offer a lot of support, whether you find a job through them afterwards or not.
- Green Tefl - I've heard good things about this course, and they seem to be the most similar to SEE Tefl, ie: offering job support, teaching experience in real schools, etc. The only difference I could find is that they don't offer you basic Thai lessons which SEE Tefl does.

- Uni Tefl - Another course I've heard good things about. The only downside for me is that it costs $1500, which seems a bit steep compared to some others.
- Eagle House - a cheap and friendly guesthouse - also one of the oldest in Chiang Mai. Even if you don't stay here, you should stop by for some Western comforts - muesli, fresh yoghurt, and sammiches!
- Julie Guesthouse - another cheap and friendly guesthouse that might be good for a longer stay, like Eagle House above.

It was 38°C, and I was standing outside in front of a whiteboard. It had been wheeled to me only moments before by a burly Thai boy of around 21. He was covered in tattoos and had a scar along his forearm. He was my student, and one of the most polite young men I'd ever encountered.

My first taste of teaching was at a juvenile correctional facility in a town north of Chiang Mai. It was also one of the best things I'd ever done in my life. The young boys that I met there were the most well-behaved students I'd ever met, albeit they had the same English language skills as a six-year-old. They were respectful and listened with intent, and each of them had a story behind their eyes.

I realised as I was standing there, identifying classroom objects in English, that the majority of these boys had come from a dysfunctional family, riddled with either alcoholism, violence, drugs, abuse, and a myriad of other problems. Some of them might be there because they stole a bicycle, three years ago, and there is nowhere else for them to go (this was really the case with one boy that I heard about).

What I learnt from this place was far more valuable than what I had managed to teach them. In fact, teaching them random vocabulary like "ruler" and "duster" seemed trivial. I knew that these children and young adults needed far more than vocabulary or modelling and drilling - they needed love, acceptance, and care.

NOTE: This was a teaching practice I did, along with a bunch of other TEFL students, with SEE TEFL. I'm pretty sure everyone else had an array of profound, funny, interesting, or heart-warming experiences that day too.

Gentlemen.