Living and teaching in Thailand

Twenty years from now, you will be more disappointed

by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did.

So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor.

Catch the trade winds in your sails.

Explore. Dream. Discover.

-Mark Twain

For almost a year now, I've been living in Thailand. This initial blog entry is an abbreviated account of my time here, and some practical advice for anyone interested in teaching English overseas.

I'll keep the first part of this fairly brief. If you're interested in a more detailed narrative, click on to www.coolworks.com/blog/greg.

When I landed in Thailand last November, my first few weeks were spent in Bangkok. In the past, this city had been a brief stop-over before heading south for R and R on the islands. This time however, facing no restrictive time-frame, I lingered to visit friends and just hang out.

It's a big city. The air is bad, and the traffic is the worst I've seen everywhere. Raised in Los Angeles, that last is really saying something. But Bangkok is a city with character. Contrary to personal predilections, I found myself enjoying its exotic blend of people, sexuality, marketplace and pure Asia-ness.

Still, after a time I was eager to move on. I decided to head north, which was new territory for me, and caught a sleeper train to Chiang Mai.

Chiang Mai is the second-largest city in Thailand, and draws its share of the backpacking and tourist crowd. I spent maybe a week exploring the city, and sandwiched in that time was a three-day jungle trek through some of the more remote villages.

My next stop was Kanchanaburi, home of the bridge on the river Kwai. In addition to the obligatory viewing of the bridge and museum, I also visited both Erewon National Park and the 'Tiger Temple.' The latter is a monastary where you can walk (closely supervised by monks) among full-grown tigers. Sort of like sky-diving, I probably wouldn't press my luck and make a habit of this. "And visions of Sigmund and Roy danced through his head...."

I spent Christmas in Kanchanaburi with a cool couple from Hungary, and I was here when the tsunami struck on December 26th. Although I was far north and inland of any impact, my email was pretty full for the next week with the inquiries of concerned friends.

Since my funds were limited and I planned to be in Thailand for awhile, I knew that finding work was a mandatory prospect. My best source of employment would be teaching English, and I'd made arrangements for a TEFL course before leaving the States. So after Kanchanaburi, I dropped down to the island of Koh Samui for six weeks of instruction in Teaching English as a Foreign Language.

Due to circumstances not worth relating in this entry, the class blew up (not literally) in its fifth week and I was given the option of taking a free course elsewhere. My time on Samui had been enjoyable and the teacher had been excellent, so I didn't particularly view this as a wasted interlude.

Faced with a geographic choice for the next TEFL course, I opted for Phuket. It was then about two months post-tsunami, and I thought it would be interesting to spend some time at the scene of such destruction. Suffice it to say, it was.

As my course on Phuket (It's pronounced poo ket. Come on, grow up!) neared completion, I began trolling the internet for likely job prospects. A position living and teaching at a buddhist temple caught my eye, and I made a quick three-day trip to check it out and seal the deal.

When the course finished, I spent a week on some nearby islands and then traveled to the North Eastern city of Korat (Nakhon Ratchasima). This is where I am now.

I live in a temple about 10 miles from the city. It isn't a plush lifestyle, but neither is it extreme roughing it. I have a large room to myself, which was the abbot's former residence. The room is actually a self-contained building, although accessing the toilet requires a walk outside and around to the back.

I always flick the light switch and wait for the flourescents to splutter on before entering the toilet. Snakes (big snakes!) have been known to reside here. I mean, they have cobras in this Country! I'm not sure if that particular species is attracted to tile flooring, but, well, I wait for the light to come on every time.

My current work schedule is as follows: Monday through Thursday I teach 5th and 6th graders at a primary school in Korat; sixteen classes per week, for a total of 800 students. Sunday evening I work with the novices at my temple, and on Monday night I teach a course for the monks. On Thursday I instruct two afternoon/evening classes at the Buddhist University.

There has also been other employment while I've been here. I taught at a language school, where my students ranged from five-year olds to adults. I had a three-month contract with the Royal Thai Air Force, and I've consulted for two doctoral programs.

At one stage I was juggling to the point of teaching seven days a week and most nights as well. The money was good, but I was either eating, teaching, lesson planning, or sleeping (and not much sleeping). I've turned down offers to work for the Red Cross, the telephone company, several schools, two radio stations, and numerous request for private tutoring.

But now, with the schedule above, I seem to have settled into a comfortable balance.

My committments will end in October and despite the (sometimes intense) pressure to re-up, I think at that point I'll move on. My plan du jour is a winter gig at Steamboat Springs, and then a summer of National Park-hopping and backpacking. Come next winter, a likely return overseas. Possibly back to Thailand, or perhaps China.

PART TWO

The following is what you need if you want to be an English teacher in Thailand:

1. You need to be a native English speaker, preferably from North America, England or Australia.

That's it! Come to Thailand as a native English speaker, have half a brain, a modicum of social skills; and you WILL find a teaching job.

Having said that, there are two additional qualifications that will increase your marketability and thus your options:

One, a college degree in any field; no elaboration needed on my part. Two, a TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) certificate or its equivalent. You can either take a TEFL course in the States, or after your arrival in Thailand. You can even do it online, but it carries more weight if it has included some real-life teaching practice.

The price of a TEFL course isn't cheap, but it isn't exhorbitant either. I recommend it not only for the credential, but because it will give you a good teaching framework from which to begin.

And my personal take? You might as well do it in Thailand (if that's where you're heading). The course will be geared towards working with Thai students, and you'll be getting your bearings on the culture at the same time. Also, the cost of living is cheap here. For me, the biggest carrot in this decision was: Why study in my hometown when I could be living on an exotic tropical beach?

The course I took was through 'Text and Talk' (www.langserv.com), but there are others. Do some web surfing. They're generally about 6 weeks in duration.

Another factor to consider is whether to line up a job before leaving the U.S.A. or waiting until after your arrival in Thailand. I advise waiting until you're here, and then you're not buying a pig-in-a-poke. Check out the location, see if you like the people you'd be working for, and then decide. The job options are plentiful enough that it's not a risk to indulge yourself this way. If the set-up seems bad, decline the offer and find something else.

The best source for available teaching jobs in Thailand is www.ajarn.com. Check it out.

Of course, Thailand isn't your only option, and it's not even your most lucrative one. There are some nice contracts coming out of Japan and China, for example. Thailand does have the reputation however, for being the most laid back workplace.

If you're considering other locations, tap on to the international job board at www.eslcsfe.com.

A couple more things worth mentioning. Bring copies of your birth certificate, diploma and transcripts. And for the initial job interview? First impressions are a big deal here. It may be the only time you wear them (and maybe not), but a tie and decent clothes go along way, even if it's not your usual inclination.

Will you get rich teaching in Thailand? Probably not. The salaries generally range from 20,000 to 40,000 baht a month. The U.S. dollar is currently worth 40 baht, so you can do the math.

But you can live well here. A decent place to live will run you 4,000b a month, and a good meal can be had for 50b. If you want to rough it, you can do it even cheaper.

Still, if money is your primary motivator, this probably isn't your ideal scene. It's more about immersing yourself in a very different culture and having some amazing adventures along the way.

If you have some questions for me, my email is greg23@ekit.com.

Chok dii (good luck)!