Cait

Cait Tutor Interview

Q. Hi Cait! According to your profile, you have teaching experience in Costa Rica, China, and Nepal! What is the main reason that you have taught in such countries? What motivated you to teach English?

A. I love to teach English because it is an opportunity for me to get to know people from other cultures, and I learn a lot from it.I taught in these countries each for a different reason! In Costa Rica, I was going on a service learning trip with my university, and we were helping with reforestation projects…so in the schools, we taught the kids all about environmentally-related vocabulary in English. We also planted trees with them! I wanted to teach in China because I was very interested in experiencing the culture, and was able to find a very fun teaching job there working with some very sweet young children and teaching them reading and writing skills. I taught in Nepal because I was living there while a boy I was dating finished his university studies there. We were living in the Tibetan neighborhood, so I taught English to Tibetan Buddhist monks and also taught at a Tibetan orphanage! During that time, I also began to teach on skype, and now I have taught students from Indonesia, Malaysia, Russia, Greece, Spain, Turkey, and Japan!

Q. Oh, you lived in many countries! How’s your life there? Please tell us about any interesting experiences you may have had. And which country do you want to visit for next travel?

A. Yes, I love to travel! I think it is actually an addition…I cannot stop! The most interesting travel experience I had was when I was sort of “kidnapped” by a Nepali family. At sunset, I arrived in a small mountain town, and I wanted to go visit and sleep at a famous monastery there. I asked a family who was walking up the mountain how to reach the monastery, and they told me I could walk with them. To my surprise, they did not take me to the monastery…instead they led me on a 2-hour mountain hike to their house! They really wanted me to come with them to a wedding in a faraway village, because it is good luck to have a foreigner at your wedding. Although I had not wanted to go to their house, they were very nice hosts and it was so interesting to get to know some local people.

However, that night, I became very, very ill because I was not accustomed to the food they gave me…but in Nepal, it is rude not to eat food you are given, so I had to keep eating! In the morning, I was very sick and very dehydrated, so I asked for some water. It turned out that they weren’t drinking water…they were all (including the children) drinking some very strong homemade alcohol instead, at 7 in the morning! I was very weak, but finally I found my way to the monastery, walking very, very slowly and stopping to rest every minute. When I reached the top of a mountain and went around the corner, I could see it spread out below me, carved into the mountain, full of colors…I felt like I had discovered Shangri-La, and I was so happy! Although the experience was stressful at the time, it gave me the chance to really see some of the local culture.

I have also lived or traveled in India, Thailand, Malaysia, Denmark, Germany, England, Lithuania, Israel, Jamaica, Grand Cayman, Mexico, and Canada. In the future, I hope to travel to Australia! Many foreigners are coming to Australia on a working holiday visa, and it is possible to travel around, see the country, and work at short-term jobs. My friends who have done this say it was an amazing experience and that they made friends with many wonderful people! I can’t wait.

Q. I’m interested in your interests. As I know, you love visiting/living in ecovillages. Could you please tell us about ecovillages?

A.Yes! An ecovillage is a community (usually just a few people, sometimes a few hundred or a couple thousand people) who are trying to live in a way that is more sustainable than the way we live our everyday lives. In ecovillages, some people grow their own organic food, construct natural buildings to live in, re-use and re-cycle many things, use natural materials to make household items (such as soap, for example), use alternative economic systems, and at some ecovillages people practice yoga and meditation. They say that there are four types of sustainability: Environmental Sustainability, Economic Sustainaiblity, Social Sustainability, and Cultural/Worldview Sustainability. All four are important and connected. I am very concerned about the environment and interested in sustainable living, and I want to learn to live in ways that are compatible with all four parts of Sustainability.

So far, I have visited ecovillages in India, Thailand, Sicily, Denmark, the USA, and Israel. At an ecovillage, there is usually a very strong sense of community. People who live at ecovillages are often kind, open minded, interesting, and interested in the same things as me. Having the chance to meet such interesting people is my favorite part about visiting ecovillages! Recently, I came to stay at an ecovillage in Thailand for 2 weeks…it is called Tacomepai, and I have learned how to weave a bamboo basket, harvest and make my own coffee, how to harvest and husk rice, how to cook over a fire, how to sow seeds, and more.

Q. Do you have any other interests? If you have, why don’t you share with us!

A. Sometimes in my free time, I really like to go to dharma talks, meditate, or read about Buddhist Philosophy. I am only a beginner, but I find Buddhism and meditation very interesting! I love talking about it. I even studied Buddhism at a school in a monastery in Nepal for one term.

My favorite thing about Buddhism is the idea of learning to live in and accept the present moment, and I especially like the concept that instead of turning away from whatever is uncomfortable or negative, we should face it and be with it in order to accept it and finally find a way to move through and past it, while learning something and becoming stronger.

I also like rock climbing and bouldering, and I bake the best chocolate chip cookies in the whole world. When I’m not too busy, I like to host couchsurfers. I have met many new friends this way, and have had the opportunity to get to know people from Switzerland, the USA, Belgium, Spain, Ireland, China, Israel, Denmark, Germany, Venezuela, and the UK.

Q. What is the feature of your lesson?

A. I feature many unique lessons. For example, I can help students practice for school interviews or job interviews, I can help with proofreading and editing written application materials, resumes, or other documents and I can help students prepare for the IELTS speaking portion. I also have discussion lessons—we can discuss a current event such as environmental problems or something else, we can discuss Buddhism or another religion. My funnest lesson is “Conversation Games”, and I think my most popular lesson is “Natural Speech” in which I make and send you a written correction of any errors you make in our conversation. I can also help you with reading and listening comprehension, writing skills, grammar, and speaking skills.

Q. Finally, is there anything you would like to share with our students?

A. If you want to have a lesson with me but I don’t have the lesson you are looking for in my list of lessons, you can tell me what you would like and I will add it to the list ☺ I’m happy to prepare a lesson about whatever you want!

I also have a lesson called “Free Counseling Session” and during that lesson we can talk about whatever you want to learn or practice and I can make a new lesson based on what you want or tell you about a suitable lesson that I’ve already made.

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Cait

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