English teacher. Nice to meetcha. Blog post #1: Who am I? by Shannon Norman

Who am I? - by Shannon Norman

Who am I?

If you’ve never asked yourself this question, you’re either lucky or naïve. So, who am I? As clichéd as this might sound, I’m not sure. But I’m getting there. What I’m meant to be discovering right now is not all that clear, but I’m certainly learning more than I anticipated.

I do have a few details to share with you though. Before I get started – take off your shoes, feel amused for I’m about to take you on a quick cruise. I’ll start with the usual – my name is Shannon Norman, I’m corny and almost 23 years old. I can’t draw, but I like to think that I’m creative. I hate peas, but I love my cat, Jeffrey, even though I’m allergic to him and every other cat.  I’m as Capetonian as can be, except I care about being late. I did, however, live in Johannesburg for a year and a bit – so at least I’ve managed to experience life outside of Cape Town. If you think that you haven’t travelled enough and feel slightly embarrassed about it, meet me and you’ll feel a whole lot better. I’ve been almost nowhere.  And yes, you guessed it. I haven’t been overseas – not even to Robben Island! :)

Anyway! I started the TEFL course at The Knowledge Workshop (TKW) on the 24^th of November 2014 and graduated on the 19^th of December 2014. I used to be a Content Marketer and Social Media Community Manager, but resigned a month before I started the course at TKW. I knew deep down that letting go of the known and embracing the unknown was what I needed. A ‘TEFL adventure’ sounded perfect to me. Older, wiser people in my life always suggested this “teaching English” thing, but never did I think that they knew exactly what I needed to be doing. Perhaps there are a few people out there who know you better than yourself…

As soon I stepped into the wooden-floored classroom and met the people that I would be surrounding myself with for the next three weeks, I knew that I was doing the right thing. And the more exposure I got to the course content, alarms started setting off in my head; a voice spoke to me: “Shannon – this is totally the right thing, girlfriend. You’ve just made the best decision of your life. High-five!” After that, everything felt right. 

English Teacher. Nice to meetcha.

So, what happened after I completed the TEFL course? Well, besides the fact that it opened my mind and forced me to think differently about the English language and life in general (I’m serious); I became a teacher at TKW. Escalate quickly much?  But thanks to this escalation of fabulous events, my learning and discovering is increasing by the second. So, a big thank you goes out to TKW. 

Now, it’s been almost two months and I haven’t looked back. If you want to find out what it’s like teaching English in South Africa and what my travel plans are for the near future, stay tuned for there are more of these to follow!