What a year it's been... 1 of xxx

Sheesh, I can't believe it's almost the end of 2016.

What a year it has been. There are so many things to be thankful for.

In the next few posts, I'd like to have a look back at this wonderful year before I welcome 2017.

Lord Grantham did say, "If we don't respect the past, we'll find it harder to build a future"

The year started with me staying in Bangkok for about a month. Some time last year, I started thinking about what to do moving forward. I love Singapore. I really do. What I wasn't comfortable about was having to renew my work visa every two years. So after having my application for Permanent Residency rejected for four times, I thought it was time to consider my next move.

That's how I thought about teaching. I believed it was something I could do. It is something I think I can do for a long time.

I looked for some English language teaching courses to beef up my credentials. Initially, I found a few courses in Singapore. Continuous research led me to a blog post about CELTA. I got in touch with the blogger to ask some questions. I read some more about CELTA. I was convinced that it was going to be useful.

The next step was deciding where to take it - Singapore or a neighboring country like Thailand. I could take the course in SG but it cost an arm and a leg. I decided to take it in Bangkok. I found two centers that offered the course. In May 2015, I sent my application to IH Bangkok. I did the Skype interview. I got accepted. The next few months were spent preparing for the course. I bought English language teaching books. I signed up for an online grammar course for a refresher. I prepped as much as I could for six months.

Come January this year, I felt ready for the course. It was a good one month in Bangkok. I made some good friends. It was a foretaste of living alone in a country where I don't know anyone. Above all, it was an enriching experience. I'm glad I did the course. I was also happy that I decided to indulge in books and online courses. They were most helpful.

By the time I returned to Singapore in the first week of February, I already had a plan in mind.