Big Move… After All… Any REGRETS?

Peaceful streets of Siem Reap, Cambodia. Photo by Destiny Dickerson.

I landed in Cambodia on January 13, and I’ve officially been out of the United States for two months. I will say there is so much that I have learned since leaving the United States. I have always been open about wanting to teach English, and one of the reasons why I left the US is because of teaching English. Teaching English is one of those careers that provides an individual with the luxury of doing something like this, especially in Cambodia, which is not only an inexpensive country, but there aren’t many requirements to teach English compared to other countries. I will say that during the first month in Cambodia, I could live my soft life, which is one thing I have never been able to do my entire life, even when I was back home. After the second month in Cambodia, you get past the romanticized feeling of being in another country, and reality sets in. What I mean by reality will set in because often people have this idea of saying I’m going to move abroad, and all of my troubles will get better, which for some people might be accurate, but the reality is, for most, it might not always be correct. Before leaving the United States, someone needed to thoroughly do the proper research, which I did before leaving. I didn’t set my expectations too high because I didn’t want to get a considerable culture shock, and I didn’t want to be disappointed. I slowly began finding myself and found something interesting about myself I didn’t think about before. Yes, I wanted to teach English like the YouTubers did in South Korea in 2012-2013, but I found I was better at teaching English online. Teaching English online provides me not only the luxury of having a career but also the luxury of taking my work anywhere I want to. Since being here in Cambodia, I had difficulties just like in any other place, but I have no regrets about leaving the United States. I plan to stay in Cambodia just for two more months. Cambodia is one of many countries I plan to live in, and I can’t wait to keep fulfilling my dreams of living abroad.