Trent’s Story

“Okay let’s do that.”

There was a pause on the other end of the phone.

“Wait, what?”

And just like that it started. What exactly? Well, the adventures that eventually lead to me becoming a teacher here at CTE. CTE wasn’t where I first starting teaching English (although it is where I have been the happiest), nor was Vietnam the first country where I taught. In fact, for me, it all started in Southern China. How did I end up there? Well, I can thank my best friend for that. Talking on the phone one day in 2014, he briefly mentioned he had been thinking about teaching English in China. My immediate response was:

“Okay, let’s do that.”  

Clearly he wasn’t expecting this answer, but the truth was I didn’t need much convincing at all. Since first travelling to East Timor in 2012, all I had wanted to do was to leave Australia and explore all that the world had to offer. Teaching gave me opportunity to live out that dream. So, I ran with it.

 This grand adventure had a less than ideal start, however. After travelling through a number of countries (including Vietnam), we eventually found ourselves in Nepal and India. And that’s when we got sick. Horribly, violently sick. Not only that, our future employer, in Guangzhou in Southern China, was making things difficult too.

On a whim, we were forced to cancel the rest of our trip and head to Hong Kong, where he promised we could get our paperwork, sort everything out and get to work ASAP.

As it turn out, he lied. When we arrived not only were our papers not there, we were also informed we no longer had a job. Now that’s bad luck.

We were still sick, exhausted and running out of money fast.

****

Days of desperate searching followed. We were prepared to go anywhere in China where there was work. Eventually, he we landed a job in Fujian, in a small city called Ningde. And just like that we jumped on the bus and our English teaching days had started.

What can I say about my China experience? Well, it, like other parts of this story, merely ended in disaster (though it was an enjoyable experience). In short, I was eventually forced to leave the country due to visa issues. And that’s where Vietnam enters the story. It was during Tet 2016 I touched down in Hanoi, on route to Nha Trang.  The Vietnam part of my adventure was now in full swing. Why Vietnam?  Well, once again I have a friend to thank for that. She suggested that I live with her family, in Go Vap, and that me and her could open English classes in her home. That didn’t end up happening, surprisingly, but I shortly found a job and got to work.

 As the years passed, my love of Vietnam never diminished. I loved everything about living here. The people were (or are) great, the weather’s great and the food is also something I enjoy. But I slowly began to realize that my passion for teaching had left me. Not great when that’s your only employment option. I was simply fatigued from teaching so many children for so many years. It was exhausting and I needed a break.

*****

At the end of 2018, me and my wife made the fateful decision to move to Vung Tau and start again. Not the best move as it turned out. Although I loved living in Vung Tau, things just didn’t go my way there. I couldn’t find much work and there was a multitude of other problems I was forced to confront. It was a long and difficult year. Eventually, with no other options, I was forced to return to Saigon, at the end of 2019, and get back into the world of teaching.

Luckily, though, this time there was a happy ending.

The first job I landed, teaching adult communication classes, was a great re-introduction to teaching for me. I realized that, after everything I’d done, I did still want to teach. I still got a kick out of it. From there it only got better (minus a few pesky COVID interruptions). In fact, at one point, I was working three separate jobs (in Phu Nhuan, Binh Chanh, Binh Tan), all of which I enjoyed for the most part.

But that’s not where this story ends. What came next? Well, it was CTE.

 It was a happy, and very lucky, coincidence finally saw me land my current job here at CTE. Perusing Facebook one afternoon, I saw that there was a event for foreigners to learn Vietnamese for free. Great. I wanted to improve my Vietnamese and there’s nothing better than something that’s free. So I came along. As it turns out, I came on the wrong night, but I still enjoyed it and came back again to brush on my Vietnamese (as well as help others here to practice their English). After that? Well, I kept coming back, I got to know people here and soon found I really enjoyed coming here. Not long after, I found out they needed foreign teachers. Perfect. And that was that really. Since then (July of 2020), I have been happily working here at CTE (although mostly online in 2021 as a result of COVID).

What do I like about CTE? To be honest just about everything. The people are great, my students are amazing and I simply love getting the opportunity to help others study a new language (something that I myself love to do). And, of course, most importantly, my boss is great. (and I’m not just saying that because she’s reading this). All of this, and more, really does make me feel incredibly lucky to have been given the opportunity to teach here at CTE, an opportunity I could well have missed out on had luck not been on my side. That’s something I do think about a lot.

 Looking back on my entire English teaching journey to write this, I realized that it’s been difficult at times, even exhausting, but, given where I am right now, it was definitely all worth it.