Being a teacher is one thing. Teaching English as a foreign language in three different countries is quite another adventure.

“I was originally inspired to teach because of the influence of my fifth grade teacher. She created a classroom atmosphere that encouraged the acceptance and appreciation of other cultures,” said Valerie Trujillo, who graduated from Fresno State in 2004 with a bachelor’s degree in linguistics.

Trujillo believes her initial interest in other cultures and languages came from volunteering at a non-profit organization that helped immigrants prepare for their citizenship exams.

When she was in her early 20s, Trujillo visited Ecuador, Europe, and Mexico.

In 2004, just months after graduating, she visited a friend in Thailand, where she accepted a job teaching EFL (English as a Foreign Language). She taught at two different international schools in Thailand, one in the province of Saraburi and one in the city of Bangkok.

“Teaching abroad is empowering because it offers the kind of education you cannot acquire any other way. It really forces you to get out of your comfort zone and to be creative in your teaching, especially when you, as the teacher, do not speak the mother tongue of your students,” she said.

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