Young Teacher, the Subject of Schoolgirl Fantasy

I'm going back to school! It's nothing major, but I enrolled in a course to become certified to teach English as a foreign language. I was uncertain whether I should pursue this, but now that I've officially signed up, I'm really excited. Basically, I'm doing the course part-time (two nights a week, plus six hours on Saturday) for about nine weeks. Each session is supposed to be half receiving instruction and half practicing teaching. At the end, I'll receive my CELTA certification.

Since I was laid off, I've spent a good deal of time thinking about what I want to do with my life. I don't think I want to go back to practicing law at a big firm, nor do I think that is a realistic option anyway. Most of the big firms have cut way back on staff, and I seriously doubt they'll be back up to the kinds of numbers they were at before this recession for at least another five years. Besides, I hated it (except for the money, which was undeniably excellent). It's possible that I could stomach practicing law in another type of environment, such as a smaller firm or an in-house legal department, but I don't think I like law enough to make it worth my while to practice if I'm not earning mega-bucks. That said, I'm not in a position to foreclose possible career paths (especially those for which I'm qualified because of this expensive degree I'm toting around), so I'm still open to applying to jobs in those areas.

Anyway, a friend of mine from college had been working in Washington, D.C. for a few years. He tired of it, and he decided to teach English in Vietnam. He's been there for about four or five months now out of his six-month contract, and he loves it. He's taking a five-week break in November and December to tour India, and then he thinks he'll sign another six-month contract with the school where he currently teaches. He thinks I would like teaching English as a foreign language too.

That makes sense to me. I am good at grammar. I received perfect scores on all my standardized English tests in high school (IB, AP and three SAT tests in a row), so I must have a decent grasp on it. I also love to travel (a droll understatement), and this would give me a chance to incorporate work into travel and possibly stay in places a bit longer. Based on this year's romances (e.g., The New Guy, Goose), I think it's fair to say there is a decent chance I'll end up married to some foreigner, so it makes sense to have some kind of job skill that allows me to work outside the United States. I also think that if I choose to go back to practicing law, I can point out my public speaking skills have improved from teaching. So, it seems like a good move for me at this point, and I look forward to it. It'll be a good chance for me to learn something new and make some new friends.