Garry

Travel information

I am currently

Activities i am interested in:

Teaching English, playing Gypsy and Brazilian acoustic jazz guitar, teaching the Filipino martial arts (since 1976)

Description

ABOUT ME:

I am recently retired, native American English speaker with a bachelor degree in Language Studies and a 120-hour TEFL certificate. I am an advanced Spanish and beginning German and French speaker. I am taking a slow, relaxed trip around the world beginning in Southeast Asia. Since late September, I've toured Thailand, and have been teaching English in Laos and Vietnam. My plan is to spend the next four to five years (or longer) circumnavigating the world, spending at least one month in every country I visit. To stretch my modest retirement income, I am seeking volunteer opportunities teaching English that offer free room and board in exchange for teaching English. The only limit I have on how long I can volunteer somewhere is determined by the visa limits of each country I visit and how many locations within that country I want to visit.

This is something written about me by a friend which describes me better than I ever could. Please excuse the language. It’s his, not mine.

“Garry is cool as f**k. He’s like Osho (?) meets Bruce Lee meets Aristotle meets Einstein meets Mother Teresa meets Bob Marley meets Yoda or some s**t. Hella talented and just amazing person. Definitely one of my role models. My buddy Brian was saying if Osho (who he thinks is Laozi reincarnated), Buddha, Jesus, any other spiritual leader were in a room they’d all be listening to Osho. I said, “Yeah, until my buddy Garry got there.”

At the age of 67 years old, like most people my age, I have done a lot of things in my life, but in my case, even more so. As a child, I attended nine schools in four US states and two countries by the age of seventeen (ages four to six in Portugal and 10-15 in Germany), and as an adult I have continued traveling (17 countries, so far). After graduating high school in 1974, I moved to the San Francisco Bay/Silicon Valley Area to attend college where I lived for 30 years. Also, in 1974, I began my lifelong love of the martial arts, the guitar, and I have been a vegetarian since 1977.

EDUCATION :

I attended nine colleges and universities for a total of 18 years between 1974 and 2016, starting as a dual Fine Arts and Mathematics major, switching to Psychology my second year, declared myself a “Professional Student” my third year, studying everything from math and physics to music, philosophy, electronics, history, French, political and social science, commercial and fine arts, and more.

In my 10th year, I began studying computer-aided-design (CAD), spending my 13th year (1989-1990) in a one-year internship program at National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in Mountain View, CA as a mechanical CAD designer and drafter.
In December, 2012, I returned to school in the USA earning a Bachelor degree in Language Studies in 2016 with a focus on Spanish and 2nd language acquisition (TEFL), spending the final year in Costa Rica studying advanced Spanish.

WORK EXPERIENCE:

After NASA, I spent 15 years working in the tech industry beginning as a CAD drafter, then quickly moved into design engineering, CAD systems administrattion and application engineering. In 2005, I stopped working, gave away all of my possessions, except those which fit into a large backpack and my guitar, and began my 10-year “Spiritual Walkabout”, first wandering the US, then spending the last five years living in Mexico and Guatemala, giving lessons in Filipino self-defense, guitar, Spanish and English, and computers, and playing bass guitar in several bands. I’m also a pretty decent jazz guitar player.

TEACHING EXPERIENCE:

After graduating, I returned to Mexico, giving private lessons in English, self-defense, guitar, and computers until I moved to Panajachel, Guatemala in 2018 where I taught English as a 2nd language, English Language Arts, Mathematics, Social Sciences, History, and Computer Technology to middle and high school students for almost two years using Google Apps (Docs, Sheet, Forms, etc…) to manage assignments. From December 2019 until I retired in May 2023, I taught English online to professional adults and university students from various Latin American countries while living in Guatemala, then Mexico since November, 2021.Since October, 2023, I spent 3 weeks teaching English to children from ages 10-18 at a school in Lax Sao, Laos, 3 months teaching English to the employees of a resort in Tam Coc, Vietnam, and currently will be teaching English to the employees of a resort in Mui Ne, Vietnam until late May/early June. I've added one of my teaching letters of reference at the end of my description.

HOSTEL EXPERIENCE:

I am 67 years old but do not let that put you off because:

#1. ..., probably because I never got married and spent nearly 20 years in college between 1974 and 2016, most of my closest friends today are in their 20s and 30s.

#2. I have what I call the “Gift of Gab” with excellent interpersonal communication skills. With all my travel, work, and educational experience I can have an intelligent conversation on almost any topic.

#3. I worked in sales and restaurants for many years where I developed my excellent customer service skills.

#4. Over the years, I have stayed in dozens of hostels and managed two of them. I was introduced to hostels on a trip to Europe celebrating my 40th birthday. I remember thinking, “I’ll never stay in a hotel again.” Since then, I’ve stayed in dozens of hostels. My goal is to open three hostels/vegetarian restaurants on three continents.

#5. While living in Guatemala, I managed a hostel for three months for a friend. The person who I gave the money to each day to deposit in her bank account said the hostel earned much more money while I was there than with the owner. The hostel had an area open to the public and sold beer. People from other hostels hung out all day at ours. I played guitar all day and night and encouraged other musicians to hangout at the hostel and play. Many travelers said that they came to our hostel because they heard about us while traveling in other Central and South American countries. We even had a traveling circus troupe stay there! I also started a band which became very popular in the local bars. We played for just dinner and drinks, donating our pay to a school for children with special needs where one of the band members volunteered. Unfortunately, the second hostel I managed in Guatemala closed after my first month because of Hurricane Agatha in 2010.

That’s me in a nutshell! Right now, I am now in Laos, planning my next adventure. Hopefully, it will be at your school or hostel or helping with your special projects!

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TEACHING REFERENCE:

To whom it may concern,

I had the pleasure of working with Garry during the 2018-19 and 2019-20 school years while working as a senior education consultant at Atitlan Multicultural Academy. As an experienced school director, I was impressed by Garry’s enthusiasm for education, as well as the diverse set of skills that he brought to the classroom.

Garry is a talented professional with a creative and caring approach to his interactions with students. His grasp of technology and his innovative use of information and computer technology in his classes enabled him to deliver transdisciplinary lessons that incorporated aspects of different subjects. In addition, his background in English as a foreign language proved invaluable in initiating sweeping changes to how English is being taught in the school, with a move from immersion to bilingual teaching in subject classrooms.

Garry’s education and experience certainly make him an ideal candidate for teaching English. He speaks clearly, is structured in his approach and has an advanced understanding of the difficulties faced by learners of a foreign language. Garry has always been an early adopter of technologies and he always embraced the implementation of new pedagogical tools in the school, being part of the technology group that spearheaded the use of Google Education at the school throughout all his classes.

Garry is also well acquainted with the use of project based learning, initiating an ambitious project in his social science classes that involved research into social issues, liaison with community groups and NGOs and the production of a magazine.

Garry has a wealth of other knowledge that has often inspired his students. His skills in martial arts and training students provide an additional viewpoint on learning and student development. Conversations with Garry about pedagogy and learning have always been, and continue to be a source of inspiration to me.

I recommend Garry for your organisation.

Kindest regards,
Carl Piaf Msc PGCE
Senior Consultant
Atitlan Multicultural Academy
Panajachel, Guatemala
cpiaf@ama.edu.gt

Interests

Languages

Languages spoken
English: Fluent
Spanish: Intermediate
German: Beginner
French: Beginner

More details about my language interests
For 18 months between 2018 and 2020, I taught English as a Second Language, English Language Arts, Mathematics, Social Science, History, and Computer Technology to middle and high school students at an English-only school in Panajachel, Guatemala. Since 2020, I have been teaching English online to mainly adults and university students from various Latin American countries.

Find a language buddy

Skills and knowledge I'd like to share or learn

I'm interested in:  

Creating/ Cooking family meals

Eco Projects

Charity Work

Art Projects

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Able to teach about:  

DIY and building projects

Languages

Helping with Computers/ Internet

Teaching

Hospitality/Tourism

More details about your skills

My father was in the US Air Force for 25 years, so as a child, I attended 9 schools in 4 US states and 2 countries by the age of 17 (ages 4-6 in Portugal and 10-15 in Germany), and as an adult I have continued traveling (17 countries, so far). After graduating high school in 1974, I moved to the San Francisco Bay/Silicon Valley Area to attend college. Also, in 1974, I began my lifelong love of the martial arts, the guitar, and I have been a vegetarian since 1977.
I attended several colleges for a total of 18 years between 1974 and 2016, starting as a dual Art and Mathematics major, switching to psychology my second year, declaring myself a “Professional Student” my third year studying everything from math and physics to music, philosophy, electronics, history, French, political science, commercial and fine arts. In my 10th year, I began studying computer-aided-design (CAD), spending my 13th year (1989-1990) in a one-year internship program at National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in Mountain View, CA as a mechanical CAD designer and drafter.
After NASA, I spent the next 15 years working in the tech industry beginning as a CAD drafter, then became a CAD systems administrator and applications engineer. In 2005, I stopped working, gave away all of my possessions, except those which fit into a large backpack and my guitar, and began my 10-year “Spiritual Walkabout”, first wandering the US, then spending the last five years living in Mexico and Guatemala, giving lessons in Filipino self-defense, guitar, Spanish and English, and computers, and playing bass guitar in several bands. (I’m also a pretty decent jazz guitar player.)
In December, 2012, I returned to school in the USA earning a B.A. degree in Language Studies in 2016 with a focus on Spanish and adult 2nd language acquisition, spending the final year in Costa Rica studying advanced Spanish. After graduating, I returned to Mexico, giving private lessons in English, self-defense, guitar, and computers. In 2018, I moved to Guatemala where I taught English as a 2nd language, English Language Arts, Mathematics, Social Sciences, History, and Computer Technology to middle and high school students for almost two years. From December 2019-2020, I have been teaching English online to an average of 300 unique adult professionals and university students from various Latin American countries each month. I have been living in Mexico since November, 2021

Age

67

What else ...

PROFESSIONAL REFERENCE:
I had the pleasure of working with Garry during the 2018-19 and 2019-20 school years while working as a senior education consultant at Atitlan Multicultural Academy. As an experienced school director, I was impressed by Garry’s enthusiasm for education, as well as the diverse set of skills that he brought to the classroom.

Garry is a talented professional with a creative and caring approach to his interactions with students. His grasp of technology and his innovative use of information and computer technology in his classes enabled him to deliver transdisciplinary lessons that incorporated aspects of different subjects. In addition, his background in English as a foreign language proved invaluable in initiating sweeping changes to how English is being taught in the school, with a move from immersion to bilingual teaching in subject classrooms.

Garry’s education and experience certainly make him an ideal candidate for teaching English. He speaks clearly, is structured in his approach and has an advanced understanding of the difficulties faced by learners of a foreign language. Garry has always been an early adopter of technologies and he always embraced the implementation of new pedagogical tools in the school, being part of the technology group that spearheaded the use of Google Education at the school throughout all his classes.

Garry is also well acquainted with the use of project based learning, initiating an ambitious project in his social science classes that involved research into social issues, liaison with community groups and NGOs and the production of a magazine.

Garry has a wealth of other knowledge that has often inspired his students. His skills in martial arts and training students provide an additional viewpoint on learning and student development. Conversations with Garry about pedagogy and learning have always been, and continue to be a source of inspiration to me.

I recommend Garry for your organisation.

Kindest regards,

Carl Piaf Msc PGCE
Senior Consultant
Atitlan Multicultural Academy
Panajachel, Guatemala

PERSONAL REFERENCE FROM A FRIEND:
This describes me better than I ever could. Please excuse the language
“Garry is cool as f**k. He’s like Osho (?) meets Bruce Lee meets Aristotle meets Einstein meets Mother Teresa meets Bob Marley meets Yoda or some s**t … Hella talented and just amazing person. Definitely one of my role models… My buddy Brian was saying if Osho (who he thinks is Laozi reincarnated), Buddha, Jesus, any other spiritual leader were in a room they’d all be listening to Osho. I said, “Yeah, until my buddy Garry got there.”

Some more information

• 

  Smoker

• 

  Driver's licence

• 

  Allergies
  No

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  Special dietary requirements
  Yes. I have been a lacto-ovo-vegetarian for over 45 years. No meat, poultry, or fish. Eggs and dairy products are okay. (I love cheese.)