Santosh Kurumbang

From Nepal to China and now in Thailand, bringing education to life. Certified international teacher (MA Education, CELTA) sharing classroom stories, teaching strategies, and cross-cultural adventures from 10+ years abroad.

Hi everyone, I’m currently residing just a stone’s throw away from Fashion Island, a popular shopping mall in Bangkok, the bustling capital city of Thailand. I have been living here since I left China in 2023.

I was born in Panchthar, a hilly region in the Koshi Province of Eastern Nepal, where I grew up immersed in the rich, indigenous Limbu cultural heritage and completed my studies up to high school in Phidim, the headquarters of Panchthar district.
Even though I still have so much to learn about the English language, I am nevertheless teaching and traveling. People often assume I must have had a solid English foundation since childhood, but my reality was quite the opposite. I still vividly remember my very first English class in Grade 4, repeating the alphabet (a, b, c, d) after my teacher. To attend school, I had to carry a heavy bag full of books and walk non-stop uphill along a steep, twisting path for three hours to reach school. Looking back, I am grateful for those childhood struggles that built the resilience and confidence that drove me to step out into the world and explore different countries.

One unforgettable childhood memory of mine that often makes me laugh involves an old man, an ex-British Army veteran, whom I called Uncle. He was the only one in our entire village who owned a radio. And the interesting thing was, he would listen to the radio only once a day to save battery life. He would turn it on to listen to the 8:00 PM news. I never missed a broadcast, sitting right beside him. The funniest twist, however, was that the news was broadcast in English and I could not understand a single word! I think anyone born around 1988 can relate to that. Perhaps those hilarious incidents gradually made me fall in love with the language, transforming it into an indispensable tool for my life, teaching, and traveling.

I completed my primary and high school education in Nepali medium at Shree Indrawati Secondary School in Hangum, Panchthar, where I was taught all subjects through traditional lecture methods. Unfortunately, I cannot recall a single instance of pair-work or group-work activities and discussions in class.

I had a big dream of speaking fluent English. One of my teachers told me that if I wanted to fulfill that dream, I had to move to the capital city, Kathmandu, for higher education. After a year of perseverance, my parents finally managed to send me to Kathmandu to live with relatives and continue my studies. I was strongly advised to join the Faculty of Education majoring in English, as English language teachers were in high demand and deeply respected back home. I enrolled at the Mahendra Ratna Campus.
I barely completed my bachelor’s degree after several attempts and decided to look for a job and continue my studies, but due to poor speaking skills, I could not find a teaching job in private English schools. After learning of my weakness, my relative helped enroll me at the British Council for three months to improve my speaking skills. That became a turning point; I began teaching at local language institutes and private schools.

After working in Nepal for a while, I decided to go abroad and experience the world. Despite systemic biases regarding native versus non-native status, passports, and skin color, I successfully secured a position in China, where I worked and traveled for three years. Seeking new experiences, I carefully planned my move to Thailand. To upgrade my qualifications, I completed a TQUK Level 5 TEFL online course, a face-to-face Cambridge CELTA, and earned my Permanent Thai Teaching License from the Teachers’ Council of Thailand (Kurusapa).

Today, I am thoroughly enjoying my teaching and traveling journey here in Thailand.