BlackArtemis

My wife had a horrible experience at Payap.

She studied her MA TEFL there and after completing the course work, she ran into trouble.

She was jerked around for about 2.5 years with an advisor who did nothing and constantly dropped the ball when it came to the thesis. She also lost the paperwork for a 300k Baht research grant. She was subsequently moved.

My wife took a year off and began working because she gave up on the school but then went back. She had a wonderful farang advisor and in a year she had a 100+ page thesis ready to defend. She couldn't defend it due to a miscarriage and then Payap said, Oh, you waited too long. No degree for you. Now being a private school they can actually state how long is too long, they can let someone study for 9 years and graduate (I know someone who did.)

Despite my wife's family working at this school, the president's wife talking to him about it she left with no degree and never looked back. The degree might be worth something over there, but here in the US when she was thinking about transferring credits, they basically shrug it off.

My wife also stated that girls who had graduated with honors from the BA program were some of the worst speakers in the class. I really wouldn't expect much value from that place, but as long as you don't plan to use the degree outside of Thailand, it should be fine.

I know others who had just as much trouble and I know some who went through without a hitch, this is my story. I know some people on here defend Payap up and down and claim I am just trolling. But ask around and you will here tons of mixed tales.

I say don't move back until she finishes, a degree from abroad is worth its weight in gold in Thailand.

Something I hate, but is true.

It won't matter how well she can speak, she is 43. They only want young attractive girls for desk work, or anything where you are seen, even if their English is ****.

My wife was paid 13k+ As a teacher at a Gov't school, she wasn't a Gov't worker (white uniform) But she pulled in 30-40k extra doing tutoring.

My wife, also a Thai native, is very fond of the British Council program. She studied there every summer while growing up. Her English is fantastic and her knowledge of grammar far exceeds mot native speakers I know, hel_l she regularly wins at scrabble on games night!

Here in the US we have looked at MA programs for her and it seems TOEFL seems to be the choice test for entrance.

I do have another option not listed. Here in the US you can go to a University as a commuter. This allows you to take under the 12 credit minimum. In essence she might be able to just take a 3 credit writing course at a local university and only pay those credits. She won't be working towards a degree, but it might be a viable option, especially if the school offers multiple levels.

The funny thing is we both are in America now so that when we go back we can demand higher salaries and be able to afford to send future children to International schools and set up savings.

My wife has her BA in English from CMU and has been studying English for 25 years. Her knowledge of grammar specifics exceeds my own. She was to graduate from payap with an MA TEFL from the international dept. They pulled a few maneuvers and she said screw it. She only had to defend her thesis too, but they well that's another thread.

What my wife excels at is teaching young children, she only made about 12-13k Baht from the school, despite them saying how they wanted to pay her more but couldn't etc etc. Read that as "The older govt teachers would throw a hissy fit despite her being better qualified"

Her tutoring became a word of mouth thing and she eventually left the school and did it full time and still pulled in more than me.

As for me, I loved teaching, but not so much the English and math subjects. I hope to return soon enough with a BSED Biology (this excuses me from the grammar nazis I hope >_<) and a few years experience of teaching here in the US.

Despite that 80K is great in Thailand, I want my kids at CMIS or Prem. I want to have at minimum $1000/month put away for retirement and I want my kids to get into a western University and hopefully I could help provide that for them. To do this we need to make a far sight greater than 80k.

But when I was single and having a good time, 22k/month was fantastic fun in Chiang Mai, as Jasreeve said 45-50k in BKK for the equivalent.

And yes I realize I probably give my speil in every education thread I post in.

I think everyone has covered the farang issue. Only worry if you hear an I or E before it...

Ian: That's great that you meet up with younger people and meet their youthful zeal.

Backpacker shouldn't be a dirty word and there are plenty of great examples of trustworthy, friendly, respectful backpackers.

Despite this I know that while living south in the islands, my laptop and digi camera was much more likely to be stolen by backpackers than Thai's. There are also plenty more backpackers who are here for cheap thrills, get wasted, don't care about anyone else around them and generally bring down the image of the whole.

IMO you can be clean, and loaded with money and still be "Farang Kii Nok" Examples are wearing short shorts and a tube top into a temple.

I carried a baton for soi dogs.

Before I return to Thailand permanently I will study Kali Silat to learn knife fighting and baton fighting, mostly for self interest. I have always looked at carrying a weapon in Thailand as a two way street.

You never know who also has a weapon, the worst being that you pull a knife and he pulls a gun. Pulling a weapon first can also cause a lot of hel_l, such as encouraging friends to jump in etc. Last but not least, if you pull a knife, defend yourself and kill the Thai. You are going to be blamed, because thats the way it is here. Better pray his family isn't connected either.

All said and done, in 3 years of living in Thailand, I never got into a confrentation, much less a scuffle or fight with a Thai person. Stay aleart, mind your own business and smile and 99% of the time, things will go smoothly.

Yes, being Chinese it's strange they cut that tree. If ever there is a case to be made for a quick Feng-Shui Impact Analysis then that would be it. What a disaster..

Other than that, and getting back on topic, I disagree with every poster who attaches any characteristic to 'backpackers' that go beyond luggage type preference.

I think when we use the word backpacker we are more often referring to what Thai's would call "Farang Kii Nok", in essence trashy people who care little for peoples culture and customs in the country they are visiting.

Now the only thing I would say is that despite having only Thai friends and being able to speak Thai, I would 99% of the time be treated like a backpacker, even if I had a shirt and tie on.

you need to remember trousers next time

Dammit I knew it was way too breezy for an April afternoon! Least the boxers had a button fly!

Depends on where you work and what city you live in.

With tutoring I was making 40k+ in Chiang Mai, my wife (Thai) pulled in about 50k.

About 85-95k/month depending is pretty dam_n good IMO. We also worked at a Govt School.

I simply chose to have no Farang friends and only went to Thai bars etc.

Now the only thing I would say is that despite having only Thai friends and being able to speak Thai, I would 99% of the time be treated like a backpacker, even if I had a shirt and tie on.

Most places will switch how they deal with you once you begin to speak Thai with them.

I have learned the Golden rule of buying stuff from markets, treat the other Thai ladies with a ton of respect and learn Northern Dialect, they will laugh and smile and might even grab others to let them listen to the Farang speak.

Overall just have fun, be nice, and stay away from the crappy bars around Tae Pae and Loy Kroh :shrug:

Hey now, smart cars are great, you can drop Hayabusa engines in em.

Honda Chaly, the only way to go.

Gotta find newer pics, she's purple now, not green. And she has been sitting for 1 week shy of a year :cry:

Thinking of bringing back a 4stroke 150cc engine for her from the states to replace the approx 110 cc on there now (stock is 50 or 70cc)

Making one coherent thread is doable when we can.

I feel sorry/pity those who must remain in Thailand and must put their kids through.non-international schools.

I'll see if I have some free time to scour the threads to make something concise.

One of the main reasons I left Thailand was due to this. Sure I had a BA, (in Family pysch) But that wasn't going to get me the money needed. So now I am back in the US and going for Bio Education. This new degree plus some time teaching in the US will open a lot more doors in Thailand. I also plan on going further, would be quite nice to make dollars/pounds/euros while working in Thailand.

The only downfall is the time away from Chiang Mai, but in the long run it is going to be worth it and I won't be fretting over money or what quality of education I can afford.

Tons of topics already discussing Dara and similar schools. Check out the search bar near the bottom that says "enter key words"

Mods: I thought we were going to turn a sticky out of all of this info (No sarcasm meant by this posting.)

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/Varee-Chiang...ol-t296580.html

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/Education-Sa...ge-t302692.html

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/List-Mai-Pri...ns-t301524.html

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/Education-Da...my-t302999.html

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/Bilingual-School-t235878.html

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/Recommend-Varee-t167960.html

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/Recommend-Varee-t167960.html

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/Internationa...-C-t204533.html

My honest opinion is that I would not send my children to any non international school.

Schools like Dara, Varee, Montfort, Prince, Sacred, Wichai, Sarasas, etc are what I would call private schools and have an English program.

True international schools Like Lanna, American pacific, CM International, Prem, Grace, and a few others I am forgetting, like the German one, are the best bet to match a western level education.

Now it goes without saying that some people can't afford these schools and the others are a much better choice than the local Gov't schools. On top of that many successful people have come out of schools like Dara, Prince, etc and have gone on to western universities.

After I moved back stateside I joined WoW after 3 years of no MMO's due to Thailand's crappy internet. This was a good thing.

I play now because I am bored out of my mind here. However not nearly as much as I used to play games. My wife plays too (Thai). but sometimes we go a week or two without signing in. All in all we don't need these games and they can be highly addictive and take away from our free time which we could be using to do more productive things.

I say don't bother, if I could trade being back in Thailand for giving up MMO's for good, I would do it in a heartbeat.

I met friends via a study abroad trip and then when I moved back to Thailand I started to Date and then married and grew my own friendships off my wife's circle of friends. Once my Thai was good enough I started making my own friends, such as a mechanic friend when i started to modify a Honda Chaly and he was doing the same etc etc.

Subsequently the vast majority of my friends in Thailand were Thai. Don't listen to all of this nonsense about being put on the back burner due to your nationality. Plenty of times I would go out with just my friends and not with my wife along.

I had some friends at work, but I really never socialized with them outside of work. I found my Thai friends to be true and more understanding than any others I met. And no they were not my friends because I paid bills (often times they refused to even let me chip in), nor because my wife was Thai or any other reason that can be concocted.

If you present yourself in a true manner you will make friends no matter the nationalities, sex, religion, etc either of you are.

In fact since moving back to the US I am finding myself hanging out with Thais more often than Americans.

On a last note, don't let others tell you who to be friends with. If all of your friends are other expats that doesn't make you any worse than someone who only has Thai friends ( and vis versa).

Better them than the farang backpacks pulling their scams.

Is that dutch kid still in BKK, raking in 30k+/month... he has only needed 5k baht to get home for 5 years now...

I have always given to two groups of people. The handicapped and people playing music. Either you can't work or I give because you are playing well.

I am more wary of little kids than anything else. The more they make the more likely they will be up til 3am selling roses to drunks than sleeping.

Wow, great going John.

Thanks a lot for this information. I will try to see those 2 places. Important also, I need a place to park the car.

Philippe

They have parking for both cars and bikes.

I know someone who had one of these and got a job at a private school in Chiang Mai.

This was about three years ago before the blow up though. He is still there to my knowledge.

I stayed both in the rectangle one and circle one. I would say the circle shaped one is much nicer. The other one can have funky smells.

You will be able to find one with a tiny kitchen in it for your price. I think I paid a total of 7k with utilities included.

if you want internet in the circle one, there is a guy on first floor i believe who can set you up. It was the best internet I had in three years of living in Chiang Mai...

Forgot to mention that atleast 1-2 times a month the electricity will go out, so living 10 floors up sucks...

Works fine for me (Accessing website from the US).

As I've said before. My wife went to Dara from start to finish and then went on to CMU for a BA in English. Along with studying at the british council her English is impeccable. She will be attending a University here in the US without problem.

This goes for Sacred as well, these schools do give a better education and with parent involvement and hardwork, there is no reason why a Thai student could not enter a western University. In America many Universities even slash the cost as to diversify the student population.

On a side note, I tutored students who had gone from a local government school to Sacred Heart and there was drastic improvement, the students really enjoyed SHC as well.

While working at a Government school I had from about Oct 5th to Nov 2nd off, paid. In fact I had about 2.5 months of paid vacation total. I was free to travel home as well.

Don't know why many people think private schools are better. I taught less hours, had to be at the school for less hours, taught less kids, didn't roam and had paid vacation. I was making about 6k.month less than the local private schools offered.

This is something I have never heard of, possibly cause I lived in the city? Is this more of a Hangdong, Sankampang, rural thing?

Upon return I will have to look into this. Cmdream is also right, be socialble to sweeten the deal.