Taking a Leap of Faith
I'm Headed to China
By Kelsey Muskin
Some people find that their career is not
working and decide to change jobs, but more and more African American women are
taking transformation to another level. Among them are women giving up traditional
9 to 5 jobs in the United States for unconventional ESL (English as a second
language) teaching positions abroad.
Brittany Shook, a Nashville native, recently departed on her
way to Chengdu, China for a six-month teaching assignment, and we had the
pleasure of chatting with her before she left.
When we asked Brittany why she was traveling to Chengdu
China, she states that she wanted a new exciting change in her life. Brittany
was in a contract position that was about to end, tired of working in a
corporate position; she wanted to do something completely different. When the opportunity came to travel abroad
and teach, it wasn’t that difficult to consider.
“I was contemplating and praying if it was the right thing
to do and I just felt like it was. All the signs led to China” says Shook. “If
I go over there and I do not like it I can always come back home, but for now,
I want to just try it out.” In most cases, teaching abroad assignments are one
year, but Brittany is choosing to do six months for that purpose; she wants to test
the waters before taking on a full yearlong assignment.
In college, Brittany’s major was Liberal Arts with a minor
in Business Administration, but was working in the field of Information
Technology. “I was looking at ways to travel with what I studied and worked in,
but there weren’t many options at that time. I would have to stay in those
positions for five to ten years just to move up and I did not want to be in
those positions for that long.”
Another factor that initiated Brittany’s decision to go to
China was that she planned to go and visit the country previously. She was originally going to visit China with
friends but some problems occurred that caused them to back out of the
trip. Still wanting to go to the
country, Brittany looked at other ways of traveling.
Brittany said, “I was thinking, why I would pay to go to
China when I can have someone pay for me to go there instead. When I applied for the teaching job, they
said I would be located in China and since I wanted to go there anyway, I felt
that it was just the right opportunity.”
This will not be Britany’s first time traveling abroad. She
had previously traveled to Mexico, Italy as well as Jamaica, but states that
they were all trips for vacations and she now wants a more educational
experience abroad.
While many young people are afraid of stepping into the
unknown Brittany is very open to traveling to a foreign country and having a
different experience. However, she isn’t the first person in her family to
spend time abroad. Her father was in the military and has been to over 40
countries.
“Just go for it and if it doesn’t work out you can always come back home. If you do not try, you will never know how the experience would be. ”
While growing up, Brittany always saw her father leave, but
wanted to travel with him. She says, “I always wanted to go with my father when
he traveled, but I was in school and had to stay here with my mother. So, he
would bring back souvenirs, but it is not the same as going overseas and
getting the experiences for yourself. So seeing my dad travel made me want to
get out and travel too.”
It is only rational that fears and apprehensions will go
through a person’s mind when they first live abroad and Brittany is no
exception. Besides her anxiety and procrastination about moving far way, her
main fear is about her making the right decision to go abroad. It is a major
step in someone’s life, but Brittany feels that even though it is a major
decision, she trust herself that she is making the right one.
Her expectations for her trip is to gain more personal
growth and independence. “I am the only child in my family so I am use to being
spoiled and sticking to my comfort zones. I feel that this trip will make me
become more social and to gain my own independence. I also expect to find
myself and continue to grow more as a person.”
If Brittany could tell herself anything in a year, after her
experience living in China, she hopes to say that she made the right decision
and congrats, on getting up and moving even though she was scared and
procrastinating. She would also want to tell herself thank you.
Lastly, we asked Brittany what advice she would have for
someone else that is currently in her situation, contemplating leaving, and
going abroad. Brittany states “Just go for it and if it doesn’t work out you
can always come back home. If you do not try, you will never know how the
experience would be. You do not want to be elderly and look back on your longer
years and wish that you traveled. So just go out and go for it.”
