"CELTA was indeed a roller coaster ride"

CELTA was indeed a roller coaster ride. From the moment I met my fellow trainees we shared our fears about the course, its intensity, the workload, and those fears were not without warrant. The first week must have been the toughest; the apartment I was staying at had poor conditions for someone doing an intense course. It was a dungeon, with little light coming in during the day, and bright lights intruding at night from the corridor and the neighbouring rooms. With such thin windows and curtains, I could hear the neighbours making noise all the time which was a problem for me because I had to sleep early and get up early. As the stress piled up and the anxiety built up, I experienced a night of insomnia, and had to teach an elementary class the following day because CELTA required 100% attendance. It was the most difficult lesson: my concentration was a struggle and the tutor’s TP feedback said, “Tiredness got to you today, Edgar, which affected the way the lesson ran. The students got to listen but the atmosphere was flat and some stages dragged on too long. I know that you are capable of much more effective teaching”. The miracle that I was able to pull together a lesson that was “to standard” was not highlighted in the feedback. The course only had one direction, forward. The tutors guided us towards improvement. I took all the feedback, from the trainees and tutors and improved my lesson planning and execution as much as possible. My most treasured conversation with the tutor. which literally helped me attain balance and finish the course, came two weeks in. My anxiety was so high, I was straddled at the drop of a pin – it was bad. I wanted to take some time off during lessons to exercise and unwind – these was a yoga studio nearby but the schedule clashed with the CELTA timetable. The tutor advised me to go to Virgin Active Sports Centre for a swim early in the morning instead and make it back in time for class. I took that advice and ran with it. Swimming early during the week, doing yoga on Sundays and taking one hour afternoon naps after school made a HUGE difference. I worked more diligently, my lesson planning improved and my lessons were sharper.
The good relations we had as a CELTA group also helped  – we were able to help each other, set up the board, print, find books, and I was the “tech guy” – being the only male and person with an IT background I would usually find ways to troubleshoot technology problems. We also shared many laughs and were able to joke during stressful times. Chatting to the students, teachers, receptionists was also very enjoyable – it helped me unwind. I really treasure my time there and at the end of the day, it was worth it!