Volunteering as a TEFL teacher in Mexico

Finding where UBELONG

About an hour ago I finished the interview with the American volunteer for the organisation UBELONG. Without sounding dramatic - though I think too often we suppress just how poetic and deeply we are feeling for fear of sounding dramatic - I feel as though so many things that I have been missing, desperately, though I didn't quite know it, I have been reminded of. Let me share the experience of the last few hours with you.

I never write immediately after I have been at a school. Maybe I should. It’s just not the way I have worked on this trip. I usually like to let everything settle in my mind for at least a day before I put pen to paper. It is different this time. I feel as though unless I captured how I felt in this moment, I would be doing an injustice to the organisation, teachers, myself, anyone seeking this information, and most importantly, the students.

Maybe I should have known from the beginning. The initial emails passed between Martina and I (who actually founded the organisation in Merida) were helpful and enthusiastic and bright and open. She then passed me on to her coworkers who would meet me at the school in Merida. The lovely Linda and Leo, two warm women who I imagine provide excellent support for the volunteers and for the cause for which they are working. Two inspiring women. On arriving at the school I knew I had already decided it was a place I was going to remember for a long time, though there was nothing particularly special about it. It was probably incredibly normal as far as Mexican high schools go. But it was something about the orange sky as the sun was beginning its descent, the palm trees  there were so full and so tall and so green - and the fact that there were palm trees at a school at all, I mean, heaven right there - the students hanging around, though increasingly becoming aware of someone who didn’t quite belong amongst them. I felt foreign. I always do but being in a school environment, something that gives you togetherness even if you do not get on with your classmate or teacher or caretaker, you are still as one, a part of something, together - it made me feel even more foreign. I could almost feel myself begin to doubt my confidence and ability as a teacher, and more so, as a person… but before I did I was met by multiple pairs of warm eyes. When I smiled at them they beamed back at me. And I wasn’t so scared anymore.

Josue Blanco, the main teacher had said I could peer in at the back of the class. I should have known, this translated to, take over the class for as long as you would like. The class were a mixed ability English class, and whilst I set the task of discussing what made a good a teacher, my heart started to fill watching them. The minutes passed and the students who had started the class half chuckling at me wondering what I was wearing, half open eyed and open mouthed, were now beginning to raise their hands. They contributed. They helped each other translate their ideas. They got excited to give another idea once they had realised their first one a good one. It was incredible.

It is easy sometimes to feel distant from the thing that caused you to begin in the first place. Sometimes you forget forever. Sometimes it just takes something to jog your memory. The UBelong programme not only sounds like a fantastic organisation, but they reminded me of so many of the reasons as to why I am a teacher. Why in this moment and probably for many moments after, I will give as much as I can to my students. Something important worth remembering when considering to volunteer in any country, for any cause, not just teaching English, is that you have to acknowledge that it is not guaranteed that you will be in charge of the jobs you are assigned, and therefore coming with an open mind is encouraged, if not crucial. Flexibility is key. It is romantic to imagine a few months or weeks volunteering in an exotic country, working in an idyllic setting with perfect students hanging on to your every word. The reality is, sometimes you might not even be in the classroom.

Linda Finkel, one of two great local team leaders in Merida at Ubelong passed on some advice for people applying for the volunteering process. The program offers volunteering positions from medical assistants to teaching English, so even if you apply for one certain course it is likely you will meet a range of different people taking part in a range of different things. In addition to flexibility she also mentioned the people. It is apparent that Linda and fellow team leader Leo, offer a great amount of support to the volunteers, and maintain excellent relationships with them. However, the most important thing is the people. The local people. This is the cause in the first place, and why everyone has joined together. To help and make a difference - and to hopefully have an incredible experience at the same time. After all, if you’re not working to help the local people and the cause then you really need to think about why you are applying.

I want to finish on what I think is the most important point. In order to be a successful volunteer you should maintain flexibility and be happy to work where you are needed. It would help if you are open to your own personal development. Arriving anywhere with an open mind and an open heart will lead you to the places you need to go. You should have the right aims and interests of the people you are going to help. You know when you have the right kind of fire burning inside you, you know exactly when you are the right person for a cause. “I do this with my passion” is something Linda said to me in a few different ways over the course of our conversation. I knew this before she had spoken the words because of the way she spoke of Merida. Of the volunteers, of the teachers and the students, and of her colleagues. It is sometimes a rare thing to witness in a person's eyes. I am lucky because I get to see it whenever I speak to a good teacher. If Mexico is the place and teaching is the dream, then let go of the fear and allow the path to take you there. You will soon see that really, UBelong.