Welcome fellow HIVERS!🙋🏻‍♀️I am new to this platform and this is my introductory blog post. I also hope to meet new friends here.😊 In this blog post, I will be sharing to you about myself and my life. So, sit back. Relax. And enjoy reading!😉

So, here we go!

I am Sunshine Jarbadan, or you can call me @shineeshimmeree, currently residing in the town of Tupi, Province of South Cotabato, in the beautiful island of Mindanao. My town is known as the fruit and vegetable basket of the South because we have plenty of fruits and vegetable plantations here. So, if ever you travel to Mindanao island, please do visit my town.😊

I graduated Bachelor of Education Major in English at Ramon Magsaysay Memorial Colleges, General Santos City. When I was young, I really wanted to be a chef or anything related to cooking because it was kind of my passion back then. Since cooking related courses are quite expensive, my mother suggested I take Education course instead, which I did. My college days were very fun and exciting. I met new friends, hung out with them during our vacant times and made lots of beautiful memories.

I am a former English teacher in Thailand way back 2015 to 2020. I am currently an online ESL teacher catering to Japanese students. I am also a wife and a mother to a beautiful 2-year-old daughter. So, how did I become an online ESL teacher? And why I didn’t continue my teaching career in Thailand?

In 2015, I flew to Thailand. Actually, I didn’t know that there’s a country called Thailand. My elder brother went there first, and after graduating college, he convinced me to go there. So, I went.

Thailand’s weather is just like the Philippines, so I didn’t really have difficulty adjusting to the weather. But the language barrier made my first year there very difficult. Only a very small percentage of Thai people can speak English. So, I had to learn their language to be able to communicate with them. Also, I taught kindergarten kids. Most of them don’t have a background in English – AT ALL. So, learning Thai language is really a must.

At the end of February in 2020, I went home to get married. Unfortunately, in March, the Philippines was locked down due to the rapid spread of coronavirus. I wasn’t able to go back in Thailand on my scheduled flight. My school back in Thailand was very kind enough to wait for me. Seven months have passed, and still the lock down wasn’t lifted, so my school had no choice but to terminate my contract. That was the MOST PAINFUL thing that happened to me – losing my job.

Fortunately, a very kind friend suggested why not try ESL teaching. I had no idea about ESL teaching that time, but still I tried applying to some companies and luckily, I was hired in 51Talk – the company that believed in my capability and became my training ground in the ESL industry. I only stayed with the company for six months because there was a double reduction policy in China and our salary decreased, so I had to look for another company that pays well. And then I found, Engoo – a Japanese ESL company. I am really enjoying my time here. I also had quite a few regular students already that I am very excited to see every time they book my class. I have been teaching on Engoo for three years now, and I am looking for more years with the company.❤️

Thank you for reading my story. And before I end this post, I want you to remember that “There is always rainbow after the rain.”🌈

See you on my next blog post!❤️

Thank you also to teacher @antonette for introducing this platform to me and for guiding me how to use this.😊