PeaceBlondie

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.

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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.

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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.

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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

Once I find a good place, I don't shop around further. I always go to the Fuji shop inside Central Kad Kaew complex, bottom floor (basement), right next to KFC, straight down from the main front entrance (park behind Buddy's Internet if you have to park). Fast, friendly, seem to know what they're doing, never made a mistake, gave me volume discounts without my having to ask for it. Not open on Sunday. I did a bad job of copying my passport pages, and they wouldn't even try to copy a bad image because they knew it wouldn't work.

And before you ask, Buddy's Internet facing Central is great for all your internet and internat'l phone calls. If you need to buy a mobile, the first shop beyond the Fuji camera shop (on your way to Top's downstairs) is good. Granted, some of the Kad Kaew shops might be a bit overpriced, but the mobile shop was 100 baht lower than IT upstairs and another shop near Tesco Lotus, and they had inventory in stock. Besides, those stores are all centrally located (Central-ly located).

Sometimes yes, sometimes no. Have one ready, or two (maybe for prathom 4 and matayom 4). If you give the person who's interviewing you a printed copy of your lesson plan, that would be very impressive. Assuming you follow the plan.

I got hired real fast the first time after doing two quick demos to classes of 50 teenagers. The next time I applied somewhere, I did a smashing demo, to the point where the entire class (Matayom 4) sang a Broadway show tune at the end. But I didn't get hired because they preselected somebody else. But I got preselected at the next place without a demo.

Just be ready. And when they ask, try to stall for prep time and ask what kind of class, what they're learning, etc. So that you can at least modify what you might have prepped for.

In the phone call setting up the interview, you should always ask as many questions as possible. Ask if they'll want a demo.

I miss family and friends a little, but Thailand is home. Before that, Mexico was more or less home, and when I went back to Texas, I never settled back in. My best friend just visited for 5 days; I go at least once a year. That's enough. My parents are all dead, my kids are kind of scattered around, and most American men don't make many life-long friends, anyway (I have two now).

Do I regret moving permanently to northern Thailand? Not at all; it's one of the best life choices I ever made, besides early retirement and changing my sexual orientation.

Anyway, the stupid visa requirements force me to go back to a First World Country annually, so I combine it with 3 or 4 weeks visiting friends and family.

....... I'm looking for a condo in BKK nearer the other end of the scale - 1 or 2 beds with easy access to the skytrain. I'm not looking for massive investment potential, but modest rental income would be good. Any advice would be very welcome.

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Here's my advice, which is worth what you're paying for it:

Residential rental property in Thailand seems to rent out for 0.5% of the fair market value. Then there's vacancy rates, failure to pay rent, other expenses, condo fees to pay, etc. How are you going to make a decent return on your investment? Do the math; I doubt it works out to a net draw. And then there's the chance of not recouping your investment......

Thai teachers teach an incredible amount of grammar, in a certain style and method (rote, chorus) because that's what they do best. Farang are hired to do something else: talk good English. They don't expect you to teach grammar. But you'd better know what to answer, such as when star pupil Wasin asked me in my third month of teaching, "What is a gerund?"

I was married to a woman for 20 years, but don't consider myself an expert on the vagina. I think I know one when I see one. If you're allowed to do direct examination, it should be obvious enough. If you want a partner with a functioning vagina, I would think your fingers and eyes would tell you all you need to know.

But now I'm like "Steven" - female anatomy doesn't interest me in the least. I realize there are all types of preferences out there, but I'm a man who looks like a man, and who wants a man who looks like a man.

Regarding the money in relationships being a problem. I have a friend who's been gradually increasing his support to his Thai boyfriend. I pointed out to him this weekend that he now pays twice the boyfriend's salary to him. So I asked, "If we were back home, and a gay friend of yours made $3,000 per month but his boyfriend paid him an additional $6,000 per month, how would that affect their relationship?"

Hmm, let's see

1. You don't love him?

2. He doesn't love you?

3. You're not getting enough sex from him?

4. You don't need him?

5. Breaking up would save you a lot of money?

Are you a troll, is the answer painfully obvious, or are you just a little slow?

BTW, not to be pedantic, but I think it's spelled "sawasdee" and the second 's' is silent.

Yes, I'm almost to the point now where I know when and how I can touch a student on the head during class. And Steven doesn't simply want to teach without learning; I believe he wants to be left alone on the legal BS so that he can just go ahead and do the teaching/learning thing.

My long term Thai boyfriend said during a recent meal, "Honey, is there anything I'm doing wrong, that you'd like me to correct?" I had no idea that Thais said such things (fear of losing face, etc) but they do, when you've got enough of a relationship.

Sometimes my b/f insists on paying. At first I thought maybe he was just showing off - that he has the funds to occasionally buy our meals - but he wasn't.

Kicking each other as part of play - I see a lot of that among the male teens at school.

Hi PB

I agree with you. But Greg is right, 1% of the retiring population is a very large #. And these people are alot more adventureous than the generation befor them.

It does take a special type of person, to just up and leave thier comfort zone. Myself, my family is all dead, I never had kid's so it does not matter where I am. I enjoy CM but when I think of those hordes of people moving here, it makes me want to go settle in Chiang Rai.

So you are old, wierd, gay and a bit crazy, so what's the real problem?

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Hi, jjrbus - no real problem; I'm happy as a lark in Chiang Mai. My best friend arrived today and he's really impressed, comparing it to Bangkok, Houston, Atlanta, and Shanghai (he's lived in the last three cities). Good point, jjrbus - ther are some more adventurous souls, such as ourselves. My old stick-in-the-mud friend Barb, who's only lived in three places in 55 years, says I'm the most adventurous person she's ever met. I tell her she doesn't get out enough.

Thanks, IJWT, for saying my questions were all valid, but perhaps they were beside the point. Perhaps the original poster doesn't want a business analysis; I think he just wanted to keep his girlfriend busy, give her something she wanted to do, build up her self-esteem, etc. In other words, he's not planning to conduct a business, just a personal activity for his little 'family.' No profit motive intended. If he loses an initial investment of 150,000 baht plus he suffers an operating loss of 8,000 per month (and she doesn't get a salary), mai bpen rai. She gets experience out of it, and the landlord collects rent for the term of the lease.

I saw that a lot in Nicaragua: people going into self-employment out of desparation (couldn't find a real job) or boredom. Nobody made a profit, of course. I'm not trying to be smug - I don't know how to conduct a profitable business, just unprofitable ones. Nevertheless, it still amazes me how guys will go into a so-called 'business' with no planning, and then be amazed that they lost a million baht before they pulled the plug. In the IRS, it raises the question of whether it's actually 'an activity engaged in for profit."

No better example than Lake Chapala. Does anyone remember the paperback book, "How to Retire on $400 per Month in Mexico"? It was mostly about Guadalajara and Lake Chapala. Guadal. is now the second largest metro area in Mexico (therefore, uninhabitable). According to the tour guide books, the big city sucked so much water out of Chapala that the boat dock is on dry land, many meters from the water. Too much of a good thing.

As for getting people in California or Des Moines to move permanently to Chiang Mai - hah! Most retiring Americans never move more than a few miles away from their old home. Way less than 1%, I'll bet, are willing to leave the country. The thought crosses their mind, but few do it.

Last of all - where are we on the point that foreigners can't own land in Thailand? Before you say, "Oh, I know a lawyer who knows how to do it" - again, that happened in Mexico. You can't own land near the coast, but countless foreigners did. They lost the court cases after building their mansions.

Ask the average pre-retiree if they want to move literally to the other side of the world, to an incredibly hot climate where it rains four or more months per year, the language isn't Indo-European, and alphabet isn't Roman or Greek or Cyrillic, the laws are not the same, the customs are different, the population has some strong xenophobic tendencies, homosexuality is widely tolerated, Christianity is very much a minority, English is seldom or barely spoken, etc...

I love Thailand, in spite of its drawbacks. But I'm old, weird, gay, and a bit crazy.

Outside of Bangkok (generally in the not so popular provinces) it's still possible to get a WP without a degree, if you have the backing of the prinicipal (and the MoE is willing to play ball1).

I believe that if you work for a government school you don't need a degree as there is no need for the MOE to give a teacher's license.

I have done this at one school in the past up-country - no teacher's license, up to the director.

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Sounds like you two posters are talking about different things - getting a WP without a degree, and getting a teacher's license (TL) without the degree.

Government schools apparently don't require TL. They should GET you a WP, but upcountry they may not know how to. I don't doubt that in some provinces where the director of the govt. school is well connected with the labor officials, you could knowingly get a WP without a degree, above board. In my province, even the labor dept. doesn't seem to know how to get a WP for a teacher. Mai bpen rai, I guess, even though the thaivisa.com information says the school can be fined 60,000. BTWay, I find nothing on that information on the front page that tells about TEACHERS getting work permits. Like the labor dept.'s 'One Stop Service' handbook, it appears to say nothing about teachers.

They're almost as rare as dodo birds. And some report last month claimed that they were everywhere in Chiang Mai. I'm picking my best friend up at the airport tomorrow night, and I've hired a tuk-tuk. However, there usually is an OLD taxi sedan waiting outside the terminal.

Chiang Mai should have the market for a hundred real taximeters. Don't the red songtaew fleet have a union, or a mafia?

Law of gravity can even apply to real estate. Not everywhere and only seldom, but prices can fall. I've seen them fall 50% and take my life's savings with it.

Here at school, where the Thai television news is on constantly, that is what all the ajarns are saying. This is a deep tragedy. They say that Their Majesties now have only one grandson, a son of the Crown Prince.

I don't know that being serious is any more of a crime when committed by males or females. We don't see many male Thai teachers of English out in the provinces, and don't see many female farang teachers.

The renewal of an annual employment contract is always a precarious situation. One must be a brown-noser, as we said in the 1950's.

The story about you having one conversation with the teachers and administrators at your school, and then your agency coming back with a very different story, isn't surprising. I realized this week that I was complaining to my boss, and I've got to quit doing that. It gets me nowhere except deeper in a hole. The other educators are busy enough without solving our problems (even when it's part of their job to supervise or support us). They just don't want to hear it, and I can't blame them. Complaining often backfires. One needs to be very creative to bring up problems.

Oh, some wise guy will say "Just tell it like it is, and to take the job and shove it..." but that doesn't always work in the first world, either. Thais don't want to hear bad news.

Some points about retirement money for US citizens.

You can start drawing on your IRA/401K funds at age 59 1/2 without any penalty; you do not have to wait until age 62.

Not a lot of people know this, but you might need this idea. It is indeed possible to start drawing of IRA/401K funds BEFORE age 59 1/2 without any penalty, if you are willing to consult with a tax pro and follow a set of rules based on some quite arcane formulas (having to do with life expancy). In these schemes, you are required to set a start date for the draw and continue the draw every year based on these rules. This is not a do it yourself thing. But if done properly it is totally legal.

There is more than a fair chance the minimum Social Security draw age might be made higher, to deal with the crisis of the baby boomers retiring. Almostly certainly, the age to get full Social Security benefits will be raised from the current age 65.

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Good points, Thaiquila, about IRA money before age 60. But SS benefits are already past age 65 for full amount. If you turned age 62 this year, as I did, the full age is 65 years and 10 months. Check www.ssa.gov for 'retirement age' and you'll see that for somebody born after 1954, the age slides from 66 and to age 67.

If Bush is serious about reforming SS without raising FICA/SE taxes, these retirement dates will slide further up the scale of antiquity. Possibly to age 69 or 70. And then they can further fiddle with the adjustment factor for retiring with partial benefits earlier. My guess is that they'll start with those born after 1954 or 1960, and hit them hard.