Hadrian1

It was pretty dry. There wasn't a gravy and it wasn't a broth. I thought that the noodles were the egg variety and not clear. It did have the sour taste and was pretty hot. I am almost certain that the women used to open a pack and then soak the noodles for a while and then you could specify what they put into it or not.....in my case the de-boned chicken feet. I am sure there squid and shrimps were in it too. There was definitely no blood in it. I don't like that kind of stuff. But would chicken feet be mixed with sea-food? One day I will go back there just to look for them and find out for sure. Thanks for trying to guess from my poor recolletion.

Thank you people for your replies. I can remember it was pretty hot spice-wise. It also had bit of fish....in there if I remember correctly. I don't think there was that much gravy. It was pretty dry. I think they used to provide that little bag with naam prik in it but I am not absolutely sure on that. A fork was sufficient to eat it so it was not broth-like. It came in one of those polystyrene cartons with a lid which you fold back. At the beginning I thought the chicken feet were something like squid but I later found out the truth and asked for that to be omitted. These ladies had a stall close to DK's in Siam Square and not far from the Hard Rock Cafe. They weren't there all day but would set up I think around the time that people finished work. Their dish was very popular judging by the people queing. Hopefully, somebody here will have seen this stall and will be able to confirm at some point.

http://www.wandeethaicooking.com/eng/index_eng.html

http://www.gourmetthailand.com/default.asp

I heard that the second one above had deteriorated. But I found this out on another forum. The first runs very intensive / indistrial courses if you can speak Thai. For those who cannot, there are shorter courses. I have tried e-mailing wanadee, but they just won't reply. I spoke to them on the phone once and it was hard work. I have heard though that they are pretty good. Be careful who you choose.

Somebody must have seen them? Or know about the dish......

When I live in Thailand I used to visit Siam Square fairly often. This was around 8 years ago. I used to get a noodle type dish from some ladies who used to have a street stall not far from DK's book-shop. Their noodle dish was very popular and often had a lot of people queing. I remember that there was 'chicken feet' included in the dish which at the beginning I thought was some kind of squid. I used to ask for the dish without them once I found out. I am sure that they used egg noodles to make the dish but my memory is a bit sketchy. Anybody know the stall I mean? Was the dish Pad Thai or something else? I think Pad Thai is always made with rice noodles? If it wasn't Pad Thai what was it and could I have the recipee? It was lovely. Are they still selling the food there? Thanks.

Look at a very recent thread regarding salaries.

Maths and Sciences have at least until recently been a shortage subject. Not sure about now. RE is a shortage subject but many International schools don't offer it. Ask this question on the TES (Times Educational Supplement mag on-line) forum. Male teachers at Primary level are also not too abundant.

The top international schools here prefer to hire overseas; thus, those living in Thailand are a last resort. But it is not as difficult to be accepted in a newly-opened international school. However, it seems that the salaries are beginning to move towards the 50,000 baht range overall.

I thought that this might happen. I was on 65k and locally employed. Maybe schools such as NIST continue to pay a good salary because I believe it has links with the UN? There is another school up country which is a member of some international organization.....I can't remember where. There's one branch in Cardiff...That's Atlantic college. I think there's another in Singapore. The offer the International Bacc. Do a search on Atlantic College Cardiff and see which org it is and where there are other branches. It will surely be a reputable school and not a business but some kind of charitable organization.

I agree with a poster above that Language school work offers you the opportunity to meet more interesting and a wider variety of people.....both students and teachers.

Who's Kamnam Poh?

It's similar to Godfather in Mafia terms. I think it's Chinese Thai mafia.

There's quite a range in the salaries being offered amongst the International schools as well as within the schools. For example, a teacher recruited from within Thailand would be on a lot less than one from abroad although the former might even be more qualified and with more experience. The locally employed label is used as a form of get out clause. Anyway, the high paying ones that I knew of during my time in Thailand were....NIST, Patana, St John's and I think Harrow too. These offered the British (except NIST I think which if I am correct offered IB) style curriculum and I am not too sure of the American ones. I knew teachers who were being paid around 120k per month during 2001. Then you had the free flight home and private health care and the generous holidays of course. The 120k included housing allowance. An EFL teacher at these schools from my experience would most certainly be locally employed but still the salary will be far better than your average language school.

CRIMINAL BACKGROUND CHECK

Just to throw a spanner in the works.

A criminal background check in the UK has to be done by the prospective employer.

YOU CANNOT DO IT YOURSELF.

It will also take up to 3 months to obtain their words.

You can obtain what is called a Disclosure which is a very basic check and will take about 3 weeks if you are in the UK.

So now add to that a Thai school having to apply for this and it becomes almost a non starter.

Then add the time it will take them if they do agree to do it.

I had to go back to the UK to get my paperwork in order.

All i can say is good luck.

Shep

Unless things have changed recently then this is bumpkin. I did mine last year by contacting my last local constabulary, who then sent me a form by e-mail and once completed I sent it off with a cheque for 10 squids and some notorised ID and 6 weeks later I received a police report back telling me that 'I basically didn't have one'.

To prove my point here is the link from the Leicestershire Police website:

http://www.leics.police.uk/library/3_forms/

Look for the title: Application for previous convictions, cautions and prosecutions

It says: This form can be used to apply for details of previous convictions, cautions and prosecutions that are held by Leicestershire Constabulary (required for employment and immigration purposes).

Before doing the run-a-round, I would suggest you check the website of your last local cop shop first.

It is not bumkin. The form you have provided a link for there was designed initially for an individual to find out what details were being held about him or her by the constabulary. It does appear that it may be used for certain types of employment and immigration purposes. However, if you want a Criminal Records Bureau check or a 'Disclosure' I think they call it, then a recognised UK Agency has to make the application for you. The CRB check is essential for working in UK schools. What additional info does it hold I wouldn't be able to say....

Thank you natalie8. Have you heard anything of http://www.wandeethaicooking.com/ ? They are in BKK.

It looks like I possibly wasn't so wrong after all....As I said before, the CRB check wasn't available for other member EU states up until as recent as 4 years ago.......Not sure of the situation now. I doubt if it will be avaiable to Thai organisations.

I don't think you can get one as a member of the public. I don't think that even organisations from other member EU states can get this information.

OK......I am willing to admitt that it seems that I was wrong. Apologies. Things appear to have moved on in the last couple of years or so.

Applicant’s Guide to the CRB's Disclosure Service

The Criminal Records Bureau (CRB), an executive agency of the Home Office, provides access to criminal record and other information to organisations in England and Wales through a service called Disclosure.

I don't think you can get one as a member of the public. I don't think that even organisations from other member EU states can get this information. I taught at a school in Belgium and also was given clearance (qualifications only) to teach in Dutch state schools. Niether country asked for a Criminal Check. I am sure if that service was available then they would have followed it up. There's a lot of BS being thrown around here. Then there's the person above who says you can do it by proxy....LOL It's highly sensitive information as you can imagine.

No luck here as yet! Somebody must have some info surely?!

I read on some forum that there was a Thai cooking school in Chiang Mai which was described as follows:

"There is a large (probably run by some level of the government) vocational

school in Chiang Mai that offers a 6 months training program for Thai chefs.

When I looked into their program two years ago it was 30,000 baht for

full-time tuition."

That's it. There's no more info. Does anybody know which school this is or if it still exists or maybe something similar? Thanks you and a Happy New Year.

I came across two people of Asian looks and ethnicity who taught in English in Thailand; one a Korean female and the other a Japanese American guy. I don't think either had too many problems - the guy in particular was quite successful and a head teacher.......

"Hai Somtum Convant " , Soi Convant Silom

BambinA. Is that the place opposite the church in Soi Convent. I can remember eating a Papay Salad there once with and Indian guy who was employed at the Church.

Remember that the kids will probably be better behaved than those where you come from....although I don't know what discipline is like in Sweden. I taught at all levels and I think that my favourite class was one at an University on Saturday mornings where I taught adults who weren't university students. They were really keen to learn. I got that job through a friend. I was offered a job at the Uni but I already had a well paid and rewarding job so I declined. I had several friends who worked at Universities and I don't think that any of them except for one had a Masters let alone a TEFL Masters. I did enjoy other kinds of work too except for some slightly older than toddler group I taught on Sundays which was a case of learning through play.

I am sure you will find an Uni position sooner or later especially with your qualifications but put yourself about and make friends with other TEFL teachers which is one of the best ways of hearing about jobs and later being employed. Certain areas will have more University TEFL teachers than others. If you don't start off at an Uni, ask your colleagues if they know of any Uni teachers. A lot of them will know of some who have moved on to teach at such places. Make an effort to meet them I would say. Good luck but I am sure you will be OK especially if you speak as well as you write.

Cambridge (ECC) offers what they call a TESOL course. It's like a light weight version of a CELTA course. It's about $400 whereas the CELTA is $1,400.

That's being offered by ECC in Thailand? I will take a look.

I am looking for something which will give me some confidence and to get back into the swing of tefl.

I did my Tefl course over 10 years ago. There's more or less 7 years since I used it. Does anybody know if there are any short courses....which provide a refresher?

I spent nearly 4 years there. When I first arrived I was just eating street food. I can remember eating a lot of grilled chicken with some rice. I lost around 10 kgs. When I went home, people thought I was ill. I then started to try and eat more and at least a couple of western meals every week. Five years later, and I have still less bulk than before I arrived in Thailand. I want my original size back.

Fresh green peppercorns on the stalk (prik thai sot) go well in the jungle curry ...

I am glad you mentioned this. I am sure I had this in a Green Curry I used to eat in BKK. It was like a little bush with green peppercorns I presume on it floating in the dish. Tried to describe to several people but they didn't know what I was on about. Is it common in Green Curry too?

However, the cross-cultural marriage weakened the children's language skills as parents spoke to them in a mix of Thai and English, which confused the kids and made them less fluent in the Thai language, she said.

The findings are generally a little sad. But, the above quote is highly questionable. It's a fact that young children don't have a problem with learning not two but even more languages similtaneously. Those of you who live in a bilingual society will be able to understand.