We eventually narrowed our options down to about five possibilities \u2013 including programs in Chile<\/a>, Peru<\/a>, Costa Rica<\/a> and Mexico<\/a> \u2013 but we decided on a 6-month contract teaching English to adults in Colombia<\/a>. We felt more comfortable teaching adults, and we were impressed during our Skype interview with the program representative. The school we went with also allowed us to have a flexible teaching schedule \u2013 something that was high on our priority list because we wanted time to explore Colombia and take long weekend trips.<\/p>\n Visits to Machu Picchu and Cuzco in Peru and Quito, Ecuador, were early entries on our must-see list.<\/p>\n Machu Picchu in Peru was a must-see for us on our ESL teaching adventure<\/p><\/div>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Jane and I quickly discovered that there is a lot more to the experience than just teaching English in another country. We bonded with our students, and we always look forward to visiting with them at their businesses for our 1 \u00bd- to 2- hour teaching sessions.<\/p>\n Soon after our arrival, we realized that things like getting our Cedulas (residency cards), bank accounts, national health coverage and iPhone, television and email service were challenges we had to deal with. Luckily, the staff at our school was there to help us.<\/p>\n Our advice to you is this: Do your homework prior to going on your new adventure. Learn about the country you are going to and do your best to learn the language \u2013 it helps. My basic Spanish has sometimes gotten me into trouble here. I ask a question, and people think I\u2019m fluent! As a result, we\u2019re both taking Spanish lessons.<\/p>\n Despite these challenges, we are more than pleased with our decision to come to Bogota, this bustling, teeming city of more than 8 million. Through a chance meeting at a coffee shop with a local real estate agent we found a great apartment in Chico Norte within walking distance of our students\u2019 workplaces.<\/p>\n Our flexible work schedules gave us a lot of time to explore our new city<\/p><\/div>\n Now, we\u2019re finding more time to explore sprawling Bogota, whose eastern boundaries cling to the edge of the verdant Andes Mountains \u2013 from historic La Candelaria, to blue collar Chapinero, to the upscale Usaquen neighborhood.<\/p>\n Bogota has lots to offer in terms of shopping with its mega malls and many retailers that are familiar to Americans, as well as corner tiendas where I can practice my Spanish making deals. We\u2019ve also learned how to negotiate with used furniture dealers in Chapinero.<\/p>\n The city also has myriad varieties of restaurants and bars that always seem to have customers. They offer a wide selection of typical Colombian food and menu staples you would find in any restaurant in the U.S. Enjoying a bite and a song at one of Bogota’s great restaurants<\/p><\/div>\n Bogota is a working city \u2013 not a place for a vacation in the sun. But with its large system of bike trails and its Sunday Ciclovia, when the city shuts off its major highways to traffic for bicyclists, dog walkers and skateboarders, it\u2019s a great place to get in some cycling.<\/p>\n Many of our students bicycle to work, as do I to one of my corporate clients.<\/p>\n Our students are well along on their way to English fluency. It\u2019s our job to refine their grammar, syntax and pronunciation skills and hone their speaking abilities.<\/p>\n Their language skills and desire to improve their English to better interact with business peers, allows us to have deep conversations about a variety of issues \u2013 including the Colombian presidential elections to the impact of the FARC peace talks and U.S. politics \u2013 all with the goal of helping our students. \nWritten by Rich Lee<\/p>\n [wp_social_sharing social_options=’facebook,twitter,pinterest’ twitter_username=’oxford_seminars’ facebook_text=’Share on Facebook’ twitter_text=’Share on Twitter’ googleplus_text=’Share on Google+’ pinterest_text=Share on Pinterest\\” icon_order=’f,t,g,p’ show_icons=’1′ before_button_text=” text_position=” social_image=’ \/blog\/wp-content\/plugins\/wp-social-sharing\/static\/socialshare.png’]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Like many people who decide to leave their home countries to teach English, my partner Jane and I grappled with an armload of questions \u2013 Is this the right decision for us? Where do we want to go? How long do we want to be away from home? How much money should we bring? What […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":4990,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[56,25,441],"tags":[453,267,323,412,392,308,291],"class_list":["post-4963","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latin-america","category-life-abroad","category-reviews","tag-bogota","tag-colombia","tag-esl-teaching-jobs","tag-grad-stories","tag-latin-america","tag-review","tag-short-term-teaching-positions-abroad"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.oxfordseminars.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4963","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.oxfordseminars.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.oxfordseminars.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.oxfordseminars.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.oxfordseminars.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4963"}],"version-history":[{"count":19,"href":"https:\/\/www.oxfordseminars.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4963\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4989,"href":"https:\/\/www.oxfordseminars.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4963\/revisions\/4989"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.oxfordseminars.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4990"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.oxfordseminars.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4963"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.oxfordseminars.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4963"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.oxfordseminars.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4963"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Machu](\"\/\/www.oxfordseminars.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/machu-picchu.jpg\")
<\/a>
\nWant to get started teaching ESL abroad?<\/h3>\n
Attend a Free Information Session<\/a><\/h3>\n
Find a Course Near You<\/a><\/h3>\n
\nArriving in\u00a0Bogota, Colombia<\/h2>\n
Exploring our new city<\/h2>\n
![\"Exploring](\"\/\/www.oxfordseminars.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/IMG_2975.jpg\")
<\/a>
\nIt\u2019s a cosmopolitan city with lots to discover in terms of its 16th-century beginnings to its place now as a 21st-century metropolis with corporate offices ranging from Abbott Labs and CitiBank to Liberty Mutual and Nestle.<\/p>\n![\"Bogota](\"\/\/www.oxfordseminars.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/IMG_2957.jpg\")
<\/a>Teaching our students<\/h2>\n
![\"Finding](\"\/\/www.oxfordseminars.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/IMG_3037.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n
\n<\/p>\nStart Your New Career Abroad!<\/h2>\n
Download our Course Guide<\/a><\/h3>\n
Attend a free information session about teaching ESL overseas<\/a><\/h3>\n
Find a TESOL\/TESL\/TEFL course near you<\/a><\/h3>\n
![\"Rich](\"\/\/www.oxfordseminars.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Rich-bio-pic2.jpg\")
<\/a>
\nRich Lee spent 38 years as a journalist, business reporter, and editor.\u00a0He and his partner Jane Lazgin earned their TESL\/TEFL\/TESOL certificates<\/a>\u00a0with Oxford Seminars. They\u00a0taught ESL as volunteers in Connecticut\u00a0before teaching business English in Bogota, Colombia.<\/p>\n