The 4 Ms of TEFL Teachers

The 4 Ms of People Who Go to Afghanistan
The other day I was reading The Kabul Beauty School and the author mentioned the three types of people who come to Afganistan . . .

• Misfits
• Missionaries
• Mercenaries

The 3 Ms of TEFL teachers Who Go to China
This made me think of what I heard about TEFL teachers in China years ago: there were 3 types of TEFL teachers. . .

• Misfits 
• Madmen
• Missionaries

A Link Between the Two?
It's possible to teach English almost anywhere in the world. Take Afghanistan, where you can go with Fulbright or the US army, how about merging these lists together?

• Misfits 
• Madmen
• Missionaries
• Mercenaries

Don't think that this list is totally negative. I personally think that I fit into two of these categories: misfits and madmen (madwoman). How so? When I go back home I don't fit in. I'm not saying that I'll never go home, but for the moment I'm a misfit there. As far as being a mad person, let's face us, those of us who live abroad have to be a little mad to put up with many of the daily occurrences we deal with (motorcyclists driving on the sidewalk, old ladies putting your hood on because it's cold outside, women giving your baby hard candy because they're crying, people refusing to talk to you because you're a foreigner, and the list goes on!)

Granted not all TEFL teachers are nutty, but most of us have something in us that allows us to put up with all the craziness of teaching and living abroad. There are a lot of normal TEFL teachers out there, but if you've taught English for a year or two you're bound to have run across some crazy people.

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