Genesis

After working in the IT field for over 14 years, I got laid off and now I have an opportunity to set my sights on a new beginning.  I was taking it easy for the first couple of months - started exercising a bit more, went on a trip to LA and Vegas after being away for a month overseas, been going out more, got a real tan on my arms (haha) and just trying to be more social.  However, I needed to do something more and the lasting impression I had after being in India, Hong Kong and Vietnam for that month made me realize let's do something totally out of my comfort zone - let's live and do business abroad!

My entrepreneurial spirit emerged and I wanted to see what business opportunities I can build from my experience living and working in the US. My dad was really optimistic about building a hotel and restaurant in Vietnam after his 1.5 months stay, but I had no practical experience with its local market so I needed to figure out a way to build the relationships and knowledge needed to get started.  I started looking around and discovered that there were many opportunities for English language teachers abroad.  The requirements were simple enough - native speaker (check), college degree (check), TEFL equivalent certification (needed to get), and desire to live abroad (check).  I seem to fit the bill so I dug a little deeper and tried to expand my options - Vietnam, Hong Kong, or Japan.  Where am I going to teach?  After some Googling around and talking to a few people, I believe I have settled on teaching in Saigon and starting my business in this city.

First step was to get this teaching job so that I can sustain myself in this foreign land while I soak in the local market, people, and economic landscape.  The first hurdle and milestone was to get the certification (work in progress).  In the meantime, I got my resume, cover letter, reference letters and documentation in order because they will be needed as part of my application package to these schools.  I also checked out what schools are popular in Vietnam and there are quite a few, but I was able to narrow it down to a few.  I was still going to apply to them all to see where fate takes me and what opportunities presents itself.  Looking forward when this month is over because I will be done with my certification and should be actively applying.