Teaching English with FEBA in Albania and Morocco was truly an eye-opening and enlightening experience. There many reasons for this but the biggest and most important reason is the affect you have on the students you teach. All of us in a particular way seek understanding to develop ourselves and share with others. And personally, I feel that partaking in that experience with children is one of the most ultimate feelings in the world. Even though I can barely communicate to many of my students, I can see in their eyes that I’ve inspired them to study English and examine the world in a way that is bigger than themselves. Although there are many challenges to overcome, such as controlling the children and staying up late planning a class schedule that will last an entire school day, I felt honored not just to teach them English, but to represent it to them. What is amazing about this experience is even though you travel to teach others, there is really no one who learns as much you yourself will learn. You learn about traveling, new foods, people, culture, and gain valuable life experience. You leave much of what you thought about yourself, your family and close friends and spent time gaining insight to refine who you truly are as a person. You meet some of the most genuine and selfless people who make these schools a reality, who not only care about the success students you are teaching, but also care about your success as individuals. They have a passion for changing the way we too see the world. I have made friends and decisions that will likely become an astoundingly important part of my future successes. I have no idea how they certainly will, but I know that as long as I choose to use everything I learned then, now, then I will unquestionably end up someplace where those skills are beneficial, if not essential. Benjamin Franklin once said, “Tell me and I forget, teach me and I may remember, involve me and I learn.” Teaching English was my chance to get involved with students to have a lifelong effect on these children. That was enough as a reward for me. FEBA’s Teach and Travel program gave me a chance to be involved with them for a summer and have a lifelong effect on myself, and to them, I will always be thankful for giving me this wonderful opportunity. They have no idea how big of an impact that made on me and my future career goals. If I get the chance to go teach English again in the near future, I would in a heart beat. I would recommend to anyone to do the same.
