How Did I Make a Living Overseas During the Pandemic?

I was in Chile with working holiday visa, and I decided to teach English and Japanese online.

In this article, I will share how I managed to live overseas for two years.

Situation

It was during the pandemic. We were in lockdown, and I did not have an ID that allowed me to be employed in the country.

I had a working holiday visa, but I needed a “carnet” to work for a company in Chile.

It took forever to issue the “carnet” because all administrative clerical work was completely paralyzed.

My host family allowed me to stay at a generous rate, so I was able to survive the entire year on a small income.

And for my income, my host brother, Andreé helped me post my English and Japanese classes.

How to Post

I used the Marketplace on Facebook.

I had never used the “Marketplace” on Facebook in Japan.

Instead, there are platforms like Coconala and Mercari in Japan.

I posted a description:

I didn’t want to put my photo because it made me feel embarrassed, but Andreé told me to be more “Chilena”.

So, I posted it with my face.

Platform

Facebook

Mercado Libre

Most of the applicants came through the Marketplace on Facebook. They sent me messages through Messenger, and we negotiated the class schedule and price.

Six Months Later

I had more than 15 students.

Thanks to my host brother and his family, I was able to teach Japanese to make a living in Chile. And the biggest factor for this success was the pandemic.

There were many children who couldn’t go out and wanted to do something interesting.

Therefore, there was a high demand.

I actually didn’t put much effort into finding customers.

I didn’t even have any strategy to gain more customers….

Teaching Online

It was terrifying at first to post classes online. My Spanish was merely at an upper beginner level, and I didn’t have any confidence.

But I’m glad that I tried.

What My Teaching Experience Taught Me:

1. Move First　Just move. I was a beginner in Spanish when I started teaching, but I somehow managed to teach English and Japanese grammar in Spanish. I looked up key vocabulary before each class.You will never be fully ready for a challenge. Take action now.
2. Seize the Moment Don’t wait for opportunities to come; monitor trends and seize the moment. In this case, it was the unforeseen disaster of COVID-19, so this is hindsight, but such significant shifts in the situation are opportunities.