Everything from visa paperwork, to cultural differences to students not quite getting what you are trying to teach them; everything in TEFL requires some patience on your part.

If you are not a patient person, try to pick up some coping skills so you can manage gracefully while you are abroad.

A confession here: I am NOT a patient person. But I have learned a better way to look at and understand processes that I can not always influence.

I can’t control the mid-level bureaucrat who processes my visa. She can make my life pleasant or very difficult. It really is up to her, so it is always better if I approach her with a smile and patience in my heart and a willingness to smile and dance whatever dance she chooses to call.

Getting upset or wired up about it just won’t solve anything and is more likely to create even more problems.

Especially in your early years as a TEFL teacher you will find the bumbling along of bureaucracies to be somewhat frustrating. But you really only need to look at your own home country and remember a bit just how recalcitrant those people at the driver’s license place were or how difficult it might have been to get your first student loan.

Life overseas is not really as different as it might seem, it is often only that you don’t have a full grasp of the culture and language that is how you can get caught in little whirlwinds of paperwork and frustration.

I mention this now as I was recently helping someone process their visa paperwork to teach English in China when all of a sudden a specific form was needed from an authority from the teacher-candidate’s academic past. The form was found and sent to the requesting official who promptly overruled it as it did not have a “chop” or stamp from the school on it.

Now, as we all know, stamps don’t don’t mean quite as much in our culture and usually a signature is just fine. But not in this case. And all this was going on during an extended holiday time, with the usual difficulty finding and getting anyone to do anything.

It all got sorted out in the end, but the teacher-candidate just about gave up with frustration.

TED’s Tips™ #1: Realize that the frustrations you are facing before you even get to your job are probably less than those you will deal with when actually on the job.

TED’s Tips™ #2: don’t forget that there were things that frustrated you in your own country as well. Life is life. It is full obstacles but also full of wonder and rewards when we overcome those obstacles.

What’s up in China? Learn what kind of jobs are on offer if would like to Teach English in China

How to Teach English Overseas and Secrets to Success Abroad
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