PeaceBlondie

Thailand was being Westernized by King Chulalongkorn.

I'm no expert. But American bacon is thin, salty and crispy. Hash brown potatoes. Fresh juice. Scrambled eggs. Toast with jam.

Your g/f is mistaken. Red plates are used all over Thailand, not just in Pattaya. They should be on every new car/bike until it's registered and it's then that the red plates are exchanged for, usually, white ones. But sometimes, for reasons I don't know, they are sold without red plates and can be driven without any until the registration is completed.

I live in a Chinese village founded by settlers from Yunnan over 200 years ago, Two natives speak English. I 'm down to 5 mispronounced words of central Thai. People are friendly here. The mechanic services our bikes well. Local builders built our home with no input from me. The waiters at the Thai restaurant off Niemanheiman order my Thai food fine. I can order fuel. Why is it I do fine without Thai in my village and Thai and Western places?

I never had a problem at a dozen KFC's. Or McDonand's, Mister Donut, pizza chains, Burger King, Subways, etc, in Thailand. Never got my order right in 40 years in Texas. S&P was consistently lousy.

Always got my order right 100% of the time in Texas........we sure seem to have lived in different places. I am from the Nation of Texas. Unfortunately surrounded by a rotten place called the USA.

We need to care about our work. But an hour a week of grammar or just conversation is spinning our wheels. Most Thais have no use for English.

I keep track of my CBR150 mileage figures. I doubt most Thais do. They seldom fill up or compute. Mai pen rai.

Never had a problem with immigration. Great folks, not racist.

I live in a village; nearest service station is 15 km away. Sold by the bottle.

I took a Text-n-Talk course in Chiang Mai that taught me how to teach a huge class of Thai teenagers - which CELTA doesn't teach. Hired after my first demo class and was on payroll that day.

I live in a different Thailand. Bake and Bite in CMai serves the world's best Western sandwiches. Worst service is a burger chain in Texas. Best burgers are made in Texas by Thais. Worst Thai service is Thai food served by Thais.

Repeating seven years of full-time living in Thailand: my best service was by Thais who served me Western food, The worst was by Thais who served me crappy Thai food.

Good luck - ask questions.

The medical specialist should tell you. That's why you pay them the big baht.

Not even 100,000 Thais will march, even if you pay them.

It's a shame the leader of the Reds is Thaksin.

I never had a problem at a dozen KFC's. Or McDonand's, Mister Donut, pizza chains, Burger King, Subways, etc, in Thailand. Never got my order right in 40 years in Texas. S&P was consistently lousy.

Had my ears done twice in my life, Once by a ENT specialist in Tapachula, and once, in Hua Hin, by a nurse.

... The problem with it is, that it's primarily based on teaching adult classes of around ten or so I've been told by instructors. It needs a drastic overhaul to include a curriculum to aid the student in preparing for large classes of children where most of the bread and butter teaching is based here.

At the local international school which is a proper outfit with only extremely highly qualified teaching staff, they are all still expected to take a TEFL training course in the first year.

Your first couple of years teaching English here can be in an EP with classes of 30 max, three hours minimum per week. After that, you're wasting time teaching conversation. IMHO.

I order cow pat gai and chicken with cashews mai pet. Everything else I ignore.

A TEFL certification doesn't guarantee you a job. Or a work permit. Or a TL.

It's a 4-week course that teaches you how to teach EFL.

My Mexican Suzuki GN250 chopper featured a blue Pepsi box with a Ferrari sticker.

PB.... Glad to see you are back to, er, "normal"........ whatever that might be!

A chasm that makes it almost impossible for most Thais to learn English.

And that's why I don't work in Thailand.

Actually the comparo in Cycle World in 2001, price was $4,599, for the Ninja 500. It can't be 45% that much for 2009.