(bright electronic music)
(engine humming) (bright electronic music)
(men speaking foreign language)
(Guillem speaking foreign language)
(Allen speaking foreign language)
(Guillem speaking foreign language)
(Allen speaking foreign language)
(Guillem speaking foreign language)
(Allen speaking foreign language)
(men speaking foreign language)
- So, we have a confession to make.
Yesterday was a very beautiful day
and we visited the island of Koh Mad Sum and Koh Tean,
and we wanted to show you that the islands
are open for us here and that we travel,
but now, since we're back on Koh Samui,
we're going to show you our breakfast.
(rhythmic instrumental music)
- [Server] I'll leave this right here.
For you.
This is for you.
(Allen speaking foreign language)
So you can pour (indistinct).
- Thank you. - Enjoy.
- [Allen] Oh, wait, my name is spelled wrong.
One second.
(customers chatting)
- Hello, everyone. - Hi, everyone.
- Before we talk more about ourselves,
there will be a question box somewhere on the screen,
and you can ask any question you'd like
throughout our entire takeover,
and we'll be sure to try to get back to you promptly.
So.
- My name is Guillem.
I am from Barcelona, Spain.
- And I am Allen Tunstall and I am from Omaha, Nebraska.
- I have a bachelor's degree in art and visual media
and I took my TEFL certification in January of last year
back home in Barcelona.
- And not have a bachelor's degree in communication,
more so in journalism, with a minor in French,
and I took the TEFL course online back in 2014.
- Allen and I met in 2017.
I was still in university.
Allen was already teaching in Barcelona,
and it wasn't until 2019 that we decided
to start traveling together.
What we didn't know is that COVID-19 would hit
and put all of our plans on hold.
- Our original plan was to teach English online
while traveling through various countries in Southeast Asia.
We had planned to start in Thailand,
however, when the borders closed in Thailand,
I was already there,
but Guillem was stuck back in Barcelona.
- I had to wait for almost stuff full year
before I could get on a plane and come to Thailand.
I had to prepare a lot of documentation
because I have to quarantine for 14 days.
Although being quarantined for 14 days
wasn't a very enjoyable experience,
the thought of being reunited with Allen
after a full year of not seeing each other
and starting my teaching while traveling journey
is what kept me motivated.
- Since Guillem's quarantine,
we have lived in three places here in Thailand,
in Hua Hin, Bangkok, and Koh Samui.
- Right now, the online ESL industry is changing a lot.
Recently, the Chinese government
created a new policy that affected
all the companies based in China.
- Right, so most companies
are in the process of shutting down,
have shut down, have reduced their staff,
or have changed their staff from foreign teachers
to those who are local and based in China.
- So, where does that leave us?
In my case,
I still have all my students, I have all my lessons.
Unfortunately, I know that this
will gradually disappear until I am let go.
- And for me, as of today,
I was let go from Whales English
as with the rest of all their teaching staff.
However, during my two-year journey
of teaching English online,
I always had a backup plan, and that was iTutorGroup.
So, currently I'm still teaching with iTutorGroup,
and as of today,
I'm opening up more slots
in order to work with them in the morning
as well as in the evenings.
- Currently, we're both looking for Plan B's,
which could be finding other companies
that are not based in China
or trying to find a work here in Thailand.
Although the Chinese market was the biggest one
in terms of teaching English online,
that doesn't mean that teaching online
is no longer an option.
There are still plenty of other companies
based other countries.
- Right, and ITA put together a post,
and we'll share that with you now.
In the next slide,
we're going to show you more about our work,
and in the meantime,
we're going to head home so we could show you a house tour.
Before we get started with our house tour,
we want to let you know that
we spent most of the morning in Chaweng,
which is the most active part of the island,
and we live in Lamai.
Let's get started.
This is what a typical menu looks like here in Thailand.
You always have a, not always,
but most of the time they'll have a picture,
Thai, sometimes English, and the price.
(speaking foreign language)
(upbeat electronic music)
- [Woman] Be careful. Come here.
Alene, come here.
- [Child] What?
(energetic music) (crowd cheering)
- We're finally home,
and we're going to get to some of your unanswered questions.
We are on Non-O immigrant volunteer visas,
which is a mouthful,
and they last for one year.
We both didn't know any Thai before coming here,
but after taking Thai lessons for some time,
it does make the day-to-day conversations,
as well as ordering food or getting around easier.
- Thankfully, finding a job online was faster than expected.
I knew how to approach teaching,
but the challenge was managing a classroom
in an online setting.
With time, it became easier.
Thank you all so much
for watching today's Instagram takeover.
- We're so sorry we didn't get to all of your messages,
but please feel free to DM us here.
Have a great day and...
(both speak foreign language)
(upbeat electronic music)