Daren

That's a good tip, markg. Do you have any specific things to try or ideas to focus on? For instance, I have a student which is pretty rotten most of the time. However when he does something to help out, I make sure to give him sincere praise. Is there anything more I could do to help him improve?

Scott, is that in BKK? I'm just surprised because I haven't heard of schools being so thorough, esp. at Gov't schools, Rajabhats or language schools.

Actually, this whole thread is a bit surprising to me because I personally have not heard of people being required to get background checks or university degrees verified before. Am I totally out of touch, out here in the sticks?

@BruceMangosteen

Just out of pure curiosity, what kind of checking is BKK Imm. doing on degrees? Checking for fakes or diploma mills or both? Obviously they will have seen countless University of KSR degrees, and they should be easy to spot and reject. But checking on "proper" fakes by contacting schools directly would be far more time consuming.

@BlackArtimis

Are those checks required my your school or is it the WP and/or the Immgration people that want that stuff? What province are you in?

Cheers!

I'm currently in the process of applying to the University of London's External System and I have to mail them original copies of some official documents. Obviously I want to get the original copies back, so that means including prepaid postage from the Royal Mail. I've looked on their website and there is an option to prepay online, but you must use the postage within one day or it will expire. This just won't do. I see there are prepaid packages such as this one:

300g Worldwide Prepaid Package

But the problem is those packages would have to be shipped back and forth between the UK and Thailand a ridiculous number of times just to accomplish what should be a simple task.

The question is: how do I provide prepaid postage so that the university can return my precious original documents while based in Thailand?

Thanks for all your tips!

Oh great... now I'm salivating all over my keyboard!

Thanks guys!

Moving to BKK form the sticks in 1 month. Can someone please prepare a bath full olives for me?

I've been here for nearly 5 years now and I would never even dream of working for less than 40k! My standard of comfort just isn't possible for less.

Also, I agree with most points made except "1. Those who have no real qualifications.", there are plenty of people with a degree working out in the sticks who make more than 30k. Just because you don't have a degree doesn't mean you HAVE TO work for peanuts.

PS - Even at forty, I never have any savings at the end of the year! I always use what I have to go on holidays!!

Check around! There are a few recent job postings on various web boards advertising jobs for those without degrees. As already stated the jobs usually range form 30 - 40k/month and some might not be in the best working conditions, but surely you're already aware of the fact you won't be getting a huge wad of cash in a cushy air-con room without the paper.

Feel free to PM me if you want a list of job boards.

I remember how successful and popular Hollow's 30k/month diary was -- maybe someone should do one on 40k? How much more comfortable is it? Maybe not a lot as the price of western food seems rise by the month!

I've seen expensive cast iron pots and pans in many major dept. stores in BKK, for example Paragon has a huge selection of hugely expensive french cookware. What I have not found is cheap or even reasonably priced pans such as those made by Lodge in the US. Their products aren't fancy but they are well-made, last a century and are very reasonably priced.

Any one got an idea where a "real" person could get a cast iron pan and skillet in BKK? Don't get me wrong, I would absolutely LOVE a set of Le Crueset cookware, I just can't spend 10K/pan!!

It looks like biting the bullet and doing it the old fashioned way is gonna be the best for us. That means we are now looking for a school for her to start learning Kor Sor Nor near Banglumphu/Thonburi/Pinklao area. Got any leads?

Cheers for all the help!

In these 16 years in Thailand I can not recall I ever had a FRIEND among the local people.

Wow. If that's true, it's really sad.

Is there such thing as a honest troll? This guy check so many boxes it's almost ridiculous...

From what I've seen, Kor Sor Nor takes a full three years! Is that right?

Haha... That is exactly what we want to avoid, engrin!

As for college-level education, it does seem pretty bad. I wonder about nursing school though? Is it recognized internationally? We both really hope it is... of course!

My 24 year old girlfriend, who comes from a poor family, has recently become very interested in continuing her education and I'm all for it! She wants to pursue a nursing qualification but she stopped school at M3, just like most of her family, to get a job and start making money. She's determined to make a better future for herself and I'm happy to help support her in this endeavor. "I don't care where you come from, I just wanna know where you're going"

So, we've been doing research in Thai and English online but have yet to find really good info. In the US, people who are 17+ can opt to take a test, the GED, which is equivalent to a high school diploma and allows one to pursue a tertiary education. What we're looking for is something similar to the USA GED here in Thailand. We've learned that she could take the American GED in BKK, but my GF's English is fair and always improving, it would be a huge challenge to attempt a US GED anytime soon.

There is Kor Sor Nor, but that seems like a tremendous waste of her time. Weekend classes of very questionable pedagogical value for the next 2 - 3 years for her high school diploma seems entirely extraneous considering she'll be in school for an additional 4 years to complete any worth-while higher degree program.

Another less-thanoptimal option is to enroll her in an online high school diploma program where I would help her complete all work in a short time. Of course this isn't really ethical and I have serious reservations about taking this route. The only reason I would even consider it is as a last resort -- if Thailand really has no other option for adults to complete their high school diploma in a timely fashion.

So, the question: Is there any way for Thais to earn a secondary diploma quickly, legitimately and locally?

Many thanks to everyone who contributes!

Hey thanks for the links guys!

Still looking, if anyone looking for an experienced teacher for camps in April, 2010.

Cheers!

I did google before coming here but I didn't get any good hits.

Hopefully something comes up! Thanks for the reply though, Scott.

Hey all,

I've decided to make a move out of the two-bowl town I'm in and get up to the Big Smoke! I'm really excited but I'm also a bit concerned about money. My last paycheck will be at the end of March and the next one won't come until the end of May. So, it looks like I'll need some temporary work in the break.

I've got 5 years experience teaching science, computers and English to secondary students but I have no connections for camps or privates in BKK. I've been scouring several job sites for a few months now but camp and temp work seems to come up quite rarely. I guess it might be a bit soon to be looking, but I want to put my mind at ease.

Do you know anyone hiring for camps in April?

Thanks for any and all help!

With no back-story, this article is confusing and poorly written, at best.

If this were an effective tactic for controlling drugs, it would have worked a long time ago. It's crazy to keep trying to enforce the same drug laws in essentially the same way. I understand the notion, "drum are badddd 'mmmmm 'kkk?!" But in countries where education is emphasized, uptake in lower!

Ban the Prohibition!

In Miami in the 80's the police were seizing hundreds of kilos of coke every week. Despite that fact, there was clearly no shortage of the drug on the streets because ten times as much was getting around officials and into the city.

This is exactly the same sort of situation. While some folks might see this as a 'win' for law enforcement, I see it as a sign of the real amount of methamphetamines being transported, sold and used in Thailand. In my opinion prohibition simply does not work. Treat drugs as an educational, social and medical issue, not a legal one and you will see real decreases in up-take rates.

The article is so bad I actually decided to write the editor of The Nation... However, I suspect he's too dumb and/or illiterate to reply.

I just wanted to post a very sincere 'thank you' for the mod's who help out in the Teaching in Thailand room. Scott is great asset to TV! IMHO, he's doing a great job and deserves the recognition.

Sometimes people, myself included, get snarky, nasty and irreverent but his style of moderating is positive and very much welcome.

PeaceBlondie, and all the other nice mod's, shouldn't be forgotten too! Thanks for all your hard work!

How is this thread NOT a troll? The grammar and spelling in the OP, and subsequent posts by said OP, are simply atrocious.

/facepalm

Are we really sure about these DNS addresses, the number 4 being the most unlucky number in Chinese and rarely used anywhere! Caution perhaps.

Err.... if you're willing to trust The Goog with your search results, why wouldn't you trust them to route your HTTP? I'm sorry but your reply is kinda silly.

Good stuff! To get the DNS to update in the modem, you'll have to find the "Save & Reboot" function. Only after I did all this did Youtube become reasonable.