Polemi

Hi!

We are a family of four that want to go to Bangkok for 3 months or more. We would like to do some kind of volunteer work in BKK(teaching English, horticulture etc) for part of this time. Do you know of any good organisations that could help us. Our two sons would like to join us, they are 18 and 16.

Thanks

When you discuss the Thai tourism, lack of planning, rising the prices for tourists etc it sounds just the same as Greece, where I live.

We are being badly hit by the bad economy. The answer is always to rise the prices on food etc in the tourist areas. The only difference for you guys in Thailand is that the "suckers" (tourists I guess?) from Europe will still find it very cheap in Thailand, so maybe it will not get so badly hit as you think? Have been coming to Thailand as a tourist for over 20 years and with the exchange rate it is still very cheap for us. I will still be coming!!!!

In my personal experience of having 3 languages in my family I strongly feel that a child needs a ''mother tounge''. A child has developed its language enough to start to read at the age of 6 (according to experts and my opinion). The child needs to play and experience day to day life in that language. I dont mean that a child cant have more than one language as a ''living'' language, but one needs to be the main one. Usually the child will ''pick'' the language that is used mostly in its enviroment. To move a child around a lot under the age of 6 means that the parents have to work hard if they want the child to be fluent in a language that is not spoken in the country they live in. If the parents speak two different languages they have to speak in their own language to the child all the time if they wish the child to be fluent in both. From my experience this is difficult if one of the languages is used as the ''family language''.

My mother tounge is Swedish, my husbands is English and we live with our 2 children in Greece. Our family language is English. I have tried to speak Swedish as much as possible w our children but as we speak in English when we are all together the children chose English to be their language. They go to Greek school and most of their friends are greek. They dont find it difficult to swap between the three but Swedish is hardest for them as they dont hear that as much as English and Greek. Hope this makes sense

Loaded!

I live as a foreigner in Greece at the moment and I meet people(not Greek) everyday that hate the country, the people, the food etc. I always tell them to move back to where they come from!!! I have been in Thailand many times, on long stays, so I know it is not the same as going on holiday. We want our kids to get a feel for the country and to do something different for a year. It will not be easy, but we have done it once in Greece so we can do it again. Sour comments will not put us off!! Thanks!

Yes PeaceBlondie MC does stand for motorcycles and yes very dangerous The boys are good drivers and have been driving alot in Greece and in Thailand on holidays. Why do you think Chaing Mai is better? Last time we were there is about 18 years ago, so I guess it has changed slightly. We know BKK and the southern parts well but my husband doesnt want to go up to CM when we go on holidays. I will make him go when we come in january.

Thanks again. We will look into all the different options now.

Hi. I have been looking on all kind of sites including this one but I cant find any answers to my questions, so I wonder if you could help me. My husband and I are going to have a ''gap year'' from our business in Greece and live in Thailand for a year. We have two children aged 15 and 17 (soon). They have only been to Greek spoken schools but we only speak English at home. We would like them to go to an english spoken school/college for a year to improve their written english and grammar. We are probably going to settle in Bangkok but are looking at Chaing Mai aswell. Does anyone have any suggestions? Also, is Bangkok or Chaing Mai better for two boys that are into cumputers and MC? Are there many teenagers that live in Chaing Mai that speak english? Thanks!

Thank you for your kind replies and jokes . We are going to BKK in jan to check out accomodation, work situation etc. Feel more at ease now. How about Visa? Do we apply for workpermit when we get a job in BKK and only arrive on a normal tourist 1 month or 3 months Visa? Would our kids have to apply for a student Visa at the Thai emabassy here in Greece? I know this probably doesnt fit in this forum but anyway....

Need some advice please. Me and my husband are thinking of having a year away from our business, take our two boys 14 and 16 years old with us and live in Bangkok. The boys would be going to some kind of school and we presume they would get ''student visa''. We are planning to do the TEFL course and teach english. We have no formal training, but I have been teaching Greek (we live in Greece) privately from home. The boys and my husband have UK passports, I have Swedish. We are not sure if we should do the TEFL training in BKK or do it before we leave. Is it easier to get work and workpermit if you do the TEFL course in BKK? How hard is it to get work as a english teacher? We are not after something well paid, just doing it for the experience really. We have been to Thailand a lot, speak a little Thai but never lived there for longer than 4 months. Would be very greatful for some solid advice please.