PeaceBlondie

Amazing. It's like the Texans who don't believe that Galveston Bay could freeze over, but it did, once, before the great hurricane.

But hail can occur when it's 35 degrees Celsius. How fast did it melt?

Great photo.

Good discussion. I'm sure this has been thought of before, but imagine this scene:

Straight guy walks into psychotherapy office, "I need to see a therapist, please."

Receptionist or therapist: "Sir, what seems to be your psychological problem."

Straight guy: "Well....I don't like to tell this to everybody, but...I think my sexual preference or orientation is...uhhhh...straight. You know, 'heterosexual.'"

Therapist: "Oh, sir, we'd love to take your money, but the professional therapist directory doesn't have a billing code for that as a mental illness. You'll have to solve your problem by yourself. Why not visit a gay sauna?"

Straights don't have to defend their orientation; nobody's bugging them or bashing them about it. They don't even have to think about it. They don't understand their own orientation well. That may be a contributing factor to divorce rates.

Hi first time on this site thanks to my big brother (soon to move to your neck of the woods, what I need to find out is - My wife and I are both qualified teachers with centre approval (city and Guilds) to deliver levels 1. 11. 111. in Hospitality, Teaching awards and Assessor awards, we are also approved to deliver Higher Level Qualifications that could lead to an Honers, who do we contact thanks Herby

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Herby, in addition to the fact that your post, above, has already been edited by a moderator, I'd like to point out that you've already started a thread on this issue separately, and your brother did an even better job.

Kenk, might you delete this post and about five more directly above, so we can either get on with the topic or close it without destroying it? Thanks.

Replying to myself here, I guess - the brother in law has now posted separately as Herby. He uses technical terms for career qualifications in the hospitality industry, that may only apply in the UK; but the original poster here said it better.

Indeed, many well educated Americans can't distinguish a Scottish accent from an Australian one. It still amazes me that a modern tiny country that calls itself "England" barely understands their fellowcountrymen after a brief journey. Even Texas barely has two accents.

So, could Herby and wife possibly teach staff in the big resort areas such as Phuket and Bangkok?

Trying to be helpful and courteous here:

Herby, You might contact somebody within your profession or speciality or craft who understands what those qualifications mean. You're internationally qualified, right? There's an international association with a website, right?

Most of us in Thailand who read this part of the forum haven't been in the hospitality industry (except I spent a year as a night auditor and manager on duty at two Holiday Inns, but didn't learn much).

No offense intended, Heby, but within your career occupation, you should know who to contact better than we do. Ask your guild leader or master craftsman extraordinaire or whatever his title is.

If the hotel industry in Thailand doesn't know what you're referring to, your quals aren't worth much here. You might try to phrase it in simple non-technical English, as your brother(inlaw) did in his post earlier here.

oy, there's no excuse for a scouse spouse, is there?

You just want us to tell you the negatives? That's easy, but it's not balanced. The pay is enough to survive, but if you have qualifications like B.Ed. and proper certification and solid gold references, you should be getting 50K or more. The kids will be lumps. They may be spoiled if it's a private school or private program, and it's probaby one or the other. Junior high kids aren't lumps, but they're noisy. What is the class size? Thai educators think 31 is a small class, but it ain't when the kids are under the age of 16. I taught 17 year olds this week and they're miles more mature and quiet than the 13's are.

Thai kids haven't been trained to think or work independently. Cheating and copying is rampant and accepted. You probably can't flunk anybody. Academic standards are low or confused, and school administration is usually chaotic, unpredictable, and your contract isn't worth much. It's not Japan.

IJWT is one of the regulars on this forum who's taught in both places. If you just want to get away from cold weather, try Singapore. Thailand is not usually considered a step up in the EFL career world. But if you just want to get away from homophobia, come ahead.

Chiang Mai meets a lot of your apparent requirements, except it's about 11 hours by nice train or bus or car, 1.5 hours by airplane to Bangkok. Plenty of expats, nearby green areas, but noticeable air pollution and traffic congestions (just not half as bad as BKK). Expats and tourists abound, you don't have to be fluent in Thai, you can get anything you want.

Condos abound in CMai also, of almost all types. I'm totally opposed to owning real estate, so I'm biased. Regardless, I'd recommend to anybody moving to a new country that you rent for 12 months to figure out the local situation.

Most folks think Chiang Mai is charming, even if it's lost some of its original charm. You don't hear that term applied to BKK. You didn't mention wanting to be near the water; we're at the foot of the mountains.

As I think I pointed out seveal weeks ago on another thread, the immigration officials are the winners, and the junta in Rangoon are the losers. I think that shows how desparate the Burmese generals are for hard American currency like greenbacks. Maybe the American administration is putting the economic screws to the ******************** regime in Myanmar.

Let's hear a round of applause for Aung San Suu Kyi.

Great point, Indo-Siam. I only go to Buddy's Internet now, and CMai is full of internet places, most of which would make a profit only if they're laundering money. I noticed this week that Buddy's has opened up at least one more outlet, also in farang-intensive location next to a 7-11, easy access, and all those services you list above. More than that: bright lights, knowledgable staff who don't go to other shops, long hours (8 AM to 3 AM now!), good connections, clean toilet, etc. They have a fair number of Thai customers, lots of farang. They know their customers, make you comfortable, and rent more motorbikes than most of the motorbike rental places.

Well, speaking of movie classics, I was teaching 'reported speech' to Matayom 5 students today, and when the first class had a pair of identical twins, I concluded each of the next classes with Mathew Broderick's closing lines from "Ferris Buhler's Day Off" (I'm 62 and love that movie): Ferris comes back downstairs, stares at the camera, and says to the audience:

"What? Are you still here? It's over! Go home!"

.....

I have always had a problem  with the term "gay lifestyle".  I think my "lifestyle" is the same as my straight neighbor's except his mate is a woman and mine is a man. .....

I think Thais identify the "gay lifestye" with Katoeys and the way they act in public. I think it is more accurate to refer to them as living an "effeminate" lifestyle, however, such a label seems strange when referring to women in the same way.

....Investigators have identified the origin of homophobia to have been at a time, just before the birth of Christ, in the tribes of Judea only.  Other cultures, before and after them ,were not homophobic and it wasn't until the Roman Empire was  "chrisitanized" that  homophobia took root in that culture as well.

Thus is it any wonder that homophobia is rampant in "Christian" countries and certainly more virulent in the Christian religious right.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Lots of good points there. Come to think of it, women tend to be effeminate, except those that tend to be emmasculinate.

On the origin of homophobia, they'd be dating the Law of Moses to about 50 BC instead of 1050 BC or 1500 BC to make that claim. It's ingrained in Judaism because of those early scriptures, and yet modern Judaism doesn't follow that portion of the Law of Moses as strictly as most of the fundamentalist Christians. And the Law of Moses, homophobia or not, doesn't apply to Christians!

Now, there's food for thought. How much of our lifestyle relates to gender preference? Theoretically, none. But in practicality, much. No, straight people's lives don't relate around their heterosexuality exactly, but it's intertwined in their identity. They couldn't stop talking about their sexual orientation if they tried, and they don't try. Yet many straights get uncomfortable or offended when we mention "my boyfriend." It's not an even playing field, although it sometimes educates straights to turn the tables and ask them to use similar logic in the other direction.

The OP applies to my condo in CMai. If they don't fix the pool before the hot season starts, I'll start complaining. After that, I'll just leave (I have rented now for 18 months). Sure, there's an Olympic pool at work that's well maintained and free, but I want a pool at home.

Can't beat 'em, so leave 'em. But I don't BUY real estate anymore, anywhere.

25.  The function of teachers is to teach.  They are not choirmasters, janitors, maids...., a.  Hire your own d*** custodians.  See above point about paying for your own overhead.  It doesn't work to let the bathrooms get dirtier and dirtier, and the teachers are NOT going to clean them for you.

......

"Steven"

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

To an extent, yes. It's considered demeaning for a real Thai ajarn to clean the incredibly dustry chalk rail or the chalk erasers, or to clean that filthy refrigerator top, etc. So I give the kids and the 'housewives' time to do their job, and then I do it myself occasionally, just to prove a point. Then when a real Thai ajarn says "Oh, that's not a job for ajarns," I try to think of something clever to say. Such as 'Oh, they do it during Songkran.'

Speaking of Slim Pickens' movies - wasn't he the Air Force guy in the Peter Sellers movie about "Dr. Strangelove; and How I Learned to Love the Bomb" who rides the bomb down to the target bareback, waving a cowboy hat?

And didn't Ryan O'Neal father Tatum O'Neal, and didn't father and daughter play together in a movie as father and daughter?

And wasn't Ronald Reagan formerly married to the more famous movie star, Bonzo?

Dunlopillo is a standard brand available at various stores around Chiang Mai (such as on the superhighway). Are you ready for a bed with a built-in large mattress and no innerspring or foundation?

I like a fairly firm mattress and never had the dosh (previously) to pay lots of money. When I went the SV factory store south of Lamphun, they gave me a mattress of medium quality (quite firm, about 8 or 9 inches high) along with a boatload of pressed wood furniture, for less than 9000 baht. I got a twin bed, wardrobe with mirror, end table, computer table. I'm sure you can get an even better, larger bed and mattress there, delivered for free, under 11,000. If you're rich, they can always charge you 60,000.

SV has a great selection of sizes, styles, qualities, etc. - biggest showroom I've seen since I left Galaxy Furniture in Houston, Texas.

PM me if you like, and I'll give you my mobile # and directions to SV.

When you say, 'keeping our privacy' about our gayness, do you only mean that we have an anonymous identity on this board? I doubt anybody's using their real name, address, identity number, and bank account password.

But we exist here as virtual personas and gay. We discuss in a well moderated forum about things that relate to our identity as homosexuals, and we have other life activities (work, play, etc.) that have little if anything to do with our gender preference.

Anyway, I agree that it's helpful to educate some heterosexuals about some gay things sometimes. My own attempts at converting the blatant homophobes to at least stop trying to kill us, haven't been any more successful than trying to convince my fellow Christians to stop trying to kill their enemies.

In northern Thailand, two Thai gay men told me in 2003 that they understood four classifications of gay men (one was age 36, the other 22 at the time):

King - top

Queen - bottom

Both - versatile

Bisexual - males and females

The distinction you mentioned from the Philipines, Steven, is typical in Latin America. No top considers himself to be homo, gay or 'mariposa' or 'maricon' simply for being on top.

I was having drinks in Isla Mujeres with a Guatemalan-American who emigrated to Michigan before puberty. He didn't realize that the more recently immigrated Guatematecos were making penetrating trips to the neighborhood queens. We had this conversation with his 22 year old straight daughter!

It depends on how long the piece of string is. If you've got the only job in Thailand proof-reading Ph.D. dissertations via the internet (because the candidates at Chula and Thamassat won't pay for proof-readers), then spelling tricky words like dilmena and aluminum/aluminium is paramount. Otherwise, mai bpen rai.

I teach matayom students, and perfect spelling is the least of our worries. I'm overjoyed if a student merely says, "Ajarn, we don't understand." I was so proud of Kan when she said that today.

I was a great speller until I learned to read and write in Spanish. Now I'm as embarassed as if I were pregnant. However, nobody who considers themself to be functionally literate in English, IMHO, should misspell 'their/they're/there' or 'its/it's.'

Actually, "Can't we all just get along?" is probably a quote from Rodney King of Los Angeles.

Seriously, do farang have to cross back by 5 pm? Mae Sai is not a 24 hour border crossing? I've always gone through between 11:20 and 14:30, but is it really closed? That's like Los Ebanos or Rancho Progreso, Texas.

Agreed.

Back in the middle of the 90's I was asked to teach in Phuket for a month .  Thought it would be a piece of piss.  How wrong was I!  Went and got CELTA'd up back in the UK and then the lights started to come on.  The nerves will come and go.  For new classes I always get a few butterflies but they soon vanish.  I don't know about the best place to take a course in Thailand - over on Ajarn.com there used to be plenty of threads on this topic but they didn't seem to be too objective.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Hey, Longsands, that's a very generous appraisal of the slugfests that used to prevail on that subject. There is no sureproof way to evaluate all the courses, and no way to evaluate the trading of insults that prevails on the forums.

Any course is better than no course at all. The longer the course, the better it is, all other things being equal. You might want to visit because you might be put off by an overly stuffy Brit or an overly casual Aussie, etc. A course that's too cheap may not be worth any time and money at all, and some courses might be overpriced above US$1,500. Without intending to criticize Longsands' experience - in most cases, why take a course overseas if you intend your first teaching years to be in Thailand?

Wasn't IJWT's original non-word either in quotation marks, asterisks in front and behind, or an emoticon to show he was playing with the language?

I doubt that 'folky' is a word, but he could have said 'folksy' which is a word similar to what he seemed to say. A literate reader shouldn't have had problem with 'folky' in quotation marks.

Returning to the topic: the mere use of bad grammar, even when the person doesn't know better, won't prove you have a fake degree. Didn't that guy just mentioned teach at a govt. uni for many years before being caught?

Enough of us have said on this subject, that if the guy can fool the system with a fake degree, do an excellent job of teaching, have a great command of the language, then the authenticity of his degree is almost pointless. The same could be said for comparing a recipient of a B.A degree (summa cum laude) from Harvard against a B.A. from University of Texas at Brownsville (Texas Southmost College) without honors, IF THERE'S BEEN a lapse of many years since both graduates left university, and the Ivy Leaguer become a drunken sod while the other fellow distinguished himself in the real world of work. But in most cases in TEFL teaching in Thailand, we're not talking about master's degrees in education or EFL; we're talking about the mere possession of almost any kind of bachelor's degree from an actual university where you attend classes (even at a distance).

If we were all certified public accountants with bachelor's degrees in accounting, competing for a professional accountancy position with a prestigious firm, then where you got your degree would matter.

Gosh, maybe Thailand's richer than I thought it was......then why is it their class size in public schools is still in the range of 51 students per classroom, and the compulsory school attendance age is either low or underenforced, and they don't have much high speed internet connections, and nobody seems to know how to make a phone call out of the country, and......

Hello!

I am going to be in chiang mai for a long while.

I want to find somwhere cheap, secure, and nearish thae pae gate.

If you know somewhere please let me know.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Rented a nice studio at ViengPing Condo for 3,500Bt with a help from a very friendly real estate agent:

Mr. Pongdate Na Lumphun

28/3 Nimmanhemin rd.

(053) 400-348

(05) 0402016

However, agents prefer to deal with long-term rentals (one-year). In that case they get their commission from the owner.

www.chiangmai-online.com has a listing of condos for rent.

Galare Thong Tower has studios with brand-new furniture and equipment (Tv, microwave, refrigerator) for 5,000Bt.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

You don't need a rental agent at ViengPing. I've rented the same condo there since July 2003; just went through the front desk. As for short term, they can rent by the day, week, or month any way at all. Number at front desk is 053-225842