From Tallahassee to Lima: Vinnie Whibbs (FSU 2025) on Teaching English in Peru

As FSU History alumnus Vinnie Whibbs would say, “There’s a moment, when you realize no classroom can fully prepare you for the experiences of living abroad.” After graduation, Whibbs agreed to teach English to upper-level management at a pen manufacturing company in Lima, Peru. His first English lesson came with a sense of nervousness he hadn’t quite anticipated. “You just have to throw yourself into it,” Whibbs said. “No amount of classroom preparation fully gets you ready for that moment.”

Whibbs, a History major, found himself teaching English in South America based on a combination of academic preparation, sheer will power, and chance. However, this journey truly started right here at home, on the FSU campus through the Center for Intensive English Studies (CIES).

The CIES program offers preparation for international students in English for university-level coursework. Through this program, Whibbs was able to get his first real taste of language instruction as he logged hours of one-on-one tutoring and class instruction. As Whibbs explains, “The CIES program opened my eyes to teaching and working internationally… It set everything in motion.”

Whibbs likes to credit the hands-on, in-person format of the program which allowed him to practice his skills and the proper methods of teaching until he felt comfortable. With these skills, Whibbs was able to find a small private language company and land a contract teaching business English. However, this time, his students were not fresh-faced undergraduates, they were skilled professionals of Faber-Castell, an international pen and stationery brand.

Finding your way around Lima was not always the easiest of tasks. “Lima has like 15 million people,” Whibbs said. “Super diverse backgrounds, super diverse people, at times I felt so out of place.” The setting required some mental recalibration and effort on Vinnie’s part to make himself comfortable and established in this new environment. Whibbs grew up in San Diego and had been learning Spanish since high school. Still, he sometimes found having conversations with people “tough with the speed of conversation and the different dialects.”

Lima’s climate also came as a surprise, as for roughly seven months of the year, Lima is blanketed in low coastal clouds. Living abroad was not always sunshine and street food, at times simple hurdles such as Visa issues can cause headaches and stress for travelers. However, the unexpected moments were truly what made things special. “It’s the little experiences that stick with you.”  Whibbs said. “Like little kids waving at you from their cars as you walk by.”

For current FSU students considering taking a similar path, Whibbs has this advice: “Don’t wait. Don’t overthink. Just try. The more you hesitate, the more reasons you’re going to find to not go,” he said. “Work will always be there. Go experience life. … Just throw yourself in the fire.”

While he emphasizes courage, Whibbs also mentioned the importance of preparation. At college, seek out programs that interest you and prepare you for what you want to do after graduation. For Whibbs, that turned out to be teaching business English in Lima, Peru and looking back, he wouldn’t change much. “The biggest impact was just being that far away from home for the first time and feeling isolated at times. Going through the ups and downs of life in a foreign country is really challenging. But it made me grow as a person.”

Vinnie Whibbs graduated from Florida State University with a degree in History. He taught business English in Lima, Peru. FSU’s CIES program provided instruction and certificate training.