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Mrkev · Joined: 02 Feb 2014 Posts: 11 Location: United Kingdom

Hi all,

I spent half of last year working as a native speaker in the Czech Republic, and am hoping to go and study for my TESOL over the summer. One of my biggest regrets whilst I was out there was choosing to 'pack light' to the extent I did - considering I had my own apartment (and the salary I got there) I ended up living a very spartan lifestyle! With that in mind let's help first-timers out: what would be your packing essentials for someone doing a 6+ month stint in a TEFL job be?

Edit: Let's try and stay away from the obvious ones (climate-appropriate clothes, teaching materials) that'll turn up in pretty much any TEFL packing list.

johntpartee · Joined: 02 Mar 2010 Posts: 3258

Depends on where you're going. Dental floss (some places it's hard to find and/or expensive), socks (in China), vitamins. That's all I can think of right now.

Mrkev · Joined: 02 Feb 2014 Posts: 11 Location: United Kingdom

I'll get the ball rolling.

Things I took with me that were great:

- A kindle. I had one of the older models at the time so no fancy games or browser included, but I do love to read and an e-reader is a really great choice for living abroad. No need to worry about portability or finding a book locally.

- A ukulele. Music is one of my weaknesses, and a guitar is too much of a pain when you're in an airport. Ukuleles are a great compromise, and mine turned out to be a great hit at the school (and a nice conversation starter when out and about!)

- A wall-planner/handy bits of stationary in English. Bit of a daft one really, but not being in a city I had great difficulty finding day-to-day stuff in English. Having a nice big wall calendar in English and other bits and bobs turned out to be much more useful than I thought it'd be.

- Lemsip. One for the UK people, I'm still convinced there's nothing as good at knocking a cold out of the way than lemsip, and you'll seldom find it (or anything like it) abroad. You can pick it up in the departure lounges of most UK airports, so if you're nervous about taking something like that with you simply buy it in the airport, put it in your hand luggage, and keep the receipt handy.

Things I wish I'd taken with me

- A proper laptop. I took a 9" netbook with me that's maybe 5 years old at this point, and it simply didn't cut it. By 'didn't cut it' I mean it struggled to run Itunes and couldn't handle full-screen videos. There can be quite a lot of down-time in TEFL work, and especially in more rural settings you won't have a great deal to do. A laptop with an internet connection means access to English language TV/film, radio, and games, not to mention getting in touch with friends and family. Don't take a brick like I did!

- Something to make coffee in. I'm a coffee junkie, and I like to make good coffee at home, and not bringing my stovetop percolator was a real rookie error. Doubly so considering how little room they take up.

- Formal clothes. Packing light meant I forwent bringing a suit and instead only took shirts, trousers, and jumpers. Though these were fine for working at the school, there were a handful of times when there were events that called for smarter attire, leaving me looking out of place. A suit's also doubly useful if you're actively looking for work when abroad, too.

Shroob · Joined: 02 Aug 2010 Posts: 1339

A lot will depend on where you're going, not just the country but the individual city/town/village. In this day and age, the internet has allowed people to purchase 'home comforts' without too much difficulty.

I can only speak of China, but along with the normal packing stuff (clothes, laptop, phone etc), I was thankfully I took spices (which could be bought online Taobao in hindsight), but really thankful I took a year supply of medicine and vitamins/minerals. Especially in China, where you never know what you're buying. An odd one, but deodorant and razors, again you could get them off taobao, but with razors especially, the quality just doesn't come close.

johntpartee · Joined: 02 Mar 2010 Posts: 3258

Lack · Joined: 10 Aug 2011 Posts: 252

Prescription medicines, a good e-reader, and a laptop that is good for travelers.

Mrkev · Joined: 02 Feb 2014 Posts: 11 Location: United Kingdom

johntpartee · Joined: 02 Mar 2010 Posts: 3258

JoeKing · Joined: 30 Apr 2008 Posts: 519

johntpartee · Joined: 02 Mar 2010 Posts: 3258

Mrkev · Joined: 02 Feb 2014 Posts: 11 Location: United Kingdom

A month without coffee sounds terrifying. Dealing with nescafe was tough enough

JoeKing · Joined: 30 Apr 2008 Posts: 519

TeacherTim · Joined: 10 May 2005 Posts: 89 Location: Deep undercover

A decent towel (Korea)
Decent deodorant spray (Taiwan,Korea)
A good, reliable laptop
An ESL teaching materials book as your new home probably won't have a decent bookshop or it will be expensive
Family photos
Originals of certificates, in case you want to apply for another job before returning home

Try sticking your life on a USB drive. It will save space.

Mrkev · Joined: 02 Feb 2014 Posts: 11 Location: United Kingdom

Something I just remembered - you should aim to have four copies of ALL important documents.

1) The original
2) A photocopy backup
3) A digital scan
4) Another copy left back home with parents/someone you can trust

coledavis · Joined: 21 Jun 2003 Posts: 1838

I agree with the Kindle. I would also suggest researching the type of electrical socket and taking adaptors (assuming you are bringing your own electrical equipment). If you have a laptop, it would be a good idea to bring the back-up operating system CD, as in the event of a system collapse, you don't really want an OS in a foreign language.