“I haven’t been everywhere, but it’s on my list.”

Well, I’ve come to a point where I’m once again no longer sure of what’s next. Not that anyone is ever really sure of what’s next. But I had a plan and now I’m not sure I do, and mostly I’m okay with that. But it’s no reason to stop doing, so I’m going to go ahead and keep doing – something that’ll get me closer to my goals.

Being realistic right now, I have to acknowledge how important it is for me to find myself a job that will allow me to pay back my student loans and live at a respectable level. Of course it would be utterly fantastic to be able to do this while doing a job I actually have skills for and enjoy. For the past few months I’ve been entertaining impractical ideas because I’m one of those foolish children who likes to live in a fantasy world where responsibility is just a word in the dictionary somewhere between ‘real’ and ‘ridiculous.’ But no more. Like the bolt of lightening that split a tree in my driveway this morning, I’ve had a lightening strike of reality.

So. Let’s forget the foolishness and embrace the facts. I need to find something that pays respectably and which will still be leading me towards my interests. I’ve landed back on teaching English. If I teach English in China or Japan or anywhere in SE Asia I can make enough money to pay back my student loans in just a few years. I can also be experiencing other cultures, travelling, learning, and teaching. That seems to hit all the requirements for ‘things I’d like to be doing.’ I have a friend living in China who has given me great advice, but I need more. So I’m looking for help, again.

I am looking for advice on online TEFL certification courses, preferably in an affordable range. I know that’s probably a tall order. I’ve been doing research and the more affordable courses turn out to mostly be scams, so it seems that the most legit way to do it would be to take an in person course, but those are more expensive, would require me to have a schedule where I’m not working, and they take longer. I can’t work with either of those factors. So it’s got to be online. If anyone has any experience with an online TEFL course, please please please let me know! I’ve fried my brain with all the internet searches and research I’ve been doing in the past few days and I don’t even know my name anymore.

Any words of wisdom or advice or experience are more than welcome. Thank you in advance!