My Calling to Vietnam

I've chosen a destination for my Fulbright ETA (English Teaching Assistant) application: Vietnam.

The questions remain for myself and the evaluators: 

Why this country?

Why do you wish to teach English in this country? (as opposed to being a tourist)

What are your qualifications to teach English in this country?

The glaring obvious reason of this choice is that I'm first generation Vietnamese-American. However, it's not all that simple... I've never had an impulse to visit Vietnam, I've even been afraid of the idea, until now. Perhaps it was my parents' stories of their trip back to Vietnam and other parts of Asia last year (My dad photographing over Da Lat, Vietnam on the left!) that sparked my interest and my own research in Asian American literature last semester, but I think it's time to connect with my culture.

My Teaching Experiences

Let's get personal!
Whichever path you endeavor, having some experience, whether volunteer or work, is a definite plus. For me, that would be for teaching.

On the left, you can find me, almost centered in the red shirt, blending in with my 1st/2nd grade communion students. I volunteered to co-teach Bible study at my local church for 3 years before I left for college. Although I want to teach older kids (high school), being the head of this classroom really energized me and reminded me every week of the passion I had for teaching/becoming a part of these young lives.

Though I haven't been teaching since college, I've been doing fieldwork (observing a 7th grade English Language Arts class) for almost a year now. And it excites me to say that I will be student-teaching in Spring 2018. I am definitely fast-tracking through this whole credential process, but I am learning so much on the way and very little has discouraged me from continuing in this career path. This is when I can proudly say that I've found my passion. Although I have so many skills to work on (one being public speaking), I know that through these experiences, I want to be a positive and inspiring image to young minds as a teacher. I imagine myself happy when I can see the development of my students.

And that's my quite short experience with teaching, and the story is still going on. Experiences like this will enhance my chances when I apply to scholarships such as Fulbright, but the most important thing is that it fulfills me as a growing individual.