Essential Things to Pack for Teaching English Abroad

Moving Abroad To Teach English?

Here’s What To Pack…

You’ve got your plane tickets in order and the dream TEFL job in the foreign country all fixed up. Now all that’s left is figuring our how a lifetime collection of valuables and closets are going to fit into your suitcase.. Easier said than done.

In TEFL MADRID, We know that one of the most unexpected challenges people face when moving to a new country is deciding what to take with them and what to leave behind. While the issue isn’t that big of a deal if you’re going for a few weeks, in the case permanent or at least prolonged emigration, this could become quite a daunting task. Rest assured that you’ll be spending the last minutes of departure debating whether to take the shower curtains, but what should not be up for question are certain items without which you could not even dream of stepping off the house.

Pack Your Bags, But Not Too Heavily

While often the items to take with you differ based on where it is that you’re planning to move, such as clothes depending on the dress code of your academy, weather of the region, etc. there are essentials which are applicable to every country.

• Adapters and converters

Your computer and smart phones are quickly going to run out of power because the electrical points will be totally different in design to your home country. And don’t even think of buying a new charger in your host country because the rates are absurd most of the time.

• Clothes for the season

Choose versatile wardrobe to carry around and make sure you’ve got ones that suit the weather; you dont want to be wearing linen at 10°. Try getting clothes that can do double duty, wherein they are formal enough to wear them at work but comfortable enough to sleep in at home. Do carry layers; they are both stylish and a utility clothing for winters.

• Books/music

If you’re the type who reads, it would just be prudent to pack, or better courier your books to your new home. Unless you move to a English speaking country, which makes no sense as a TEFL teacher, you’re unlikely to find a good collection of books. And even if you do, import duties would make them quite expensive. Likewise with your music/movie collection. Just open a yearly Netflix/Spotify account before you embark on your journey. If the internet costs are too high to stream, then the best bet would be to download all your music and movie collection into a hard disk and carry it around.

• Home souvenir

This may sound sentimental but homesickness is real and almost everybody suffers from it, at least during the first month. So carry something from home that’s close to you, something small that reminds you of home. If you’re staying in a home stay, its good manners to gift your hosts something as well.

• Little less of everything else

This actually is one of the main points to remember. In our zeal to not miss out on stuff, we tend to carry a lot more than we can handle. But this only make your baggage costs higher and tires you fast as you slug around with dispensable junk especially if you’re traveling a lot, or are staying in a hostel/home stay.

Moreover with globalization in full force, you’ll get almost anything from back home in your new country. What’s more, the longer you stay, the more local items you’ll be purchasing. So the less you take, the more you can bring home while coming back

Finally, it’s about time you learn to live a simple life abroad. Trust us, you’ll love it.

If you are planning to take your TEFL course in Spain, please share your comments or questions with us. We will help you as much as we can.