17 And Migrating To Bangkok

nick26789 · August 15, 2009

I am 17 years old from England and im enroling on a course to teach English as a foreign language in Bangkok. I would love to learn about the Thai culture and ways of living. It will be my first time living alone and travelling. At the moment i dont know much about the country and i dont want to get into any trouble when i arrive. I was wondering about the things i should be aware of and if this is a good idea and would be a good experence or not? Thanks in advance Nick

MiG16 · August 16, 2009

Im moving this to the general forum.

your questions relate to a few things.

some of it might be more appropriate for migrating to thailand (visa etc)

some might relate to teaching in thailand

but a lot of it is about how to cope with cultural change and such, so perhaps General is where you will get most answers.

if you have more specific questions about the teaching or the visa aspect, browse those forums and read some of the old threads for ideas

good luck

MaryWorth · August 16, 2009

- Don't rent/ride motorbikes unless you have a motorbike license back home and are a really good and careful rider

- Don't rent/ride motorbikes when drunk

- Don't rent/ride motorbikes without a helmet

- Don't have sex without protection

- Keep away from any violent demonstrations

- Don't take drugs, smoke or drink too much

With those tips you have a very good chance at staying healthy.

- Don't bring any money to Thailand to invest in or buy things that you are not prepared to leave here or lose

- Be aware that you might fall in love with a Thai girl you meet, to avoid falling in love with the wrong type (lying, bargirl, uneducated, already has a boyfriend, already has a kid) take good care who you start to socialize with from the start. If you sourround yourself with intelligent, honest, normal people including girls, if you fall in love with anyone, at least it has some more potential for a happy relationship. So don't hang out in bars/tourist spots and discos, but meet local Thais, fellow teachers, University students, Girls from good international schools and such.

- Learn to speak, understand, read and write Thai as quickly as possible

- Socialize with Thais to understand the culture, maybe share a room with a Thai, good for learning the customs and language but don't let yourself be used as the one to pay everything

- Be wary of people wanting to be your friend, they might think you have money cause you are a foreigner

With those tips you have a very good chance to stay happy as well.

Harcourt · August 16, 2009

When teaching English to students for whom it is a second language, make sure you teach them properly....they don't need to learn poor quality English. The personal pronoun "I" is always capitilised, and contractions have an apostrophe.

I'm not part of the Spelling Correction Brigade, but IMO, teachers in particular should not perpetuate common mistakes.

junki3korean · August 16, 2009

Finish high school AT LEAST FIRST....Maybe Uni???

Your 17 what are you planning to do here?? Once you finish your course, Are you confident you can get a job?? I`m not.......you have no qualifications...no degree.... your under age who will hire you??

Very brave....but yet so stupid..

good luck

Edited August 16, 2009 by junki3korean

churchill · August 16, 2009

Would be a great experience for you - Plan it as a holiday and check out teaching jobs while your here - You may be lucky .

sanook2me · August 16, 2009

I have to agree with statement.

One of my English mates did a Uni course at Hull Uni on South East Asian studies.

1 year of the course was spent in Chiang Mai university.

My English mate is fluent in Thai speaking/reading/writing and i don't mean bar or pidgeon Thai but as fluent as any can be - he ended up as an unofficial PA to a big wig at Mahidol Uni as so he could translate in Thai/English in meetings with farangs (the boss trusted his translations more than any of his own staff)

Go to University in England and do a course like this if its still available you will have so much fun and will gain experience and qualifications you need to have a job here in Thailand. A tefl course is not really enought to get a job a decent job no matter what the company tells you selling that course! Remember Tefl companies are a business not an educational establishment..they are too make profit 1st not educate!

Plus as another poster pointed out your post has general mistakes which is okay on internet speak but maybe this is your best effort which for teaching is far below the standard it should be. Go to university learn to write properly with essays etc go get drunk and have lots of fun for a few years..

cdnvic · August 16, 2009

If it's your first time abroad alone you may want to consider travelling with someone with a bit more experience. Another idea may be to take some trips on your own in more familiar areas like other parts of Europe just to get used to the challenges of independent travel.

grantbkk · August 16, 2009

Hi Nick. My question to you is, how much money will you have each month to live in Thailand? What visa will you be operating under? Usually I don't go for the throat and attack juveniles who want to expand their life experience CV but you have left yourself wide open here. I also want to speculate that you may actually be a troll.

I look at your post and see a prospective English teacher who obviously cannot spell, composes simple sentences or use proper punctuation. This has to be some kind of joke! You are having one over on us as you might say.

If this is an actual request for information you should think about going to school and making a life for yourself while using Thailand as a vacation spot. I do know with 100% certainty that if I was left to my own devices at 17 in Thailand I would be dead by 25. Buy hey, that's just me.

Good luck!

sokal · August 16, 2009

hahah, I agree. If he has never traveled then he is going to get scamed left right and center. Starting with the first taxi ride out of the airport of course

Birdman · August 16, 2009

Some people have more common sense and instinct than others. Certainly cannot tar all with the same brush.

Edited August 16, 2009 by Birdman

PeaceBlondie · August 16, 2009

Taking nick's opening post at face value...

He's age 17, just out of secondary, no uni credits, Bangkok...unlikely to teach anywhere decent, or at matayom. Probably 25,000/month 10 months per year, maybe no work permit; visa runs; terrible job...no fun at all.

Try Bournemouth.

PattayaParent · August 16, 2009

Go for it.

Have a great time.

If you decide it's the life for you then go back home and get some qualifications and come back, or see about getting a degree at a Thai university.

If you decide it's not for you then you've had a great experience and are still young enough to go home (or anywhere else) and try something else.

Good Luck.

dondraper · August 16, 2009

id say go to school first and then atleast you can teach english with a degree...

mmcsusnret · August 16, 2009

Unfortunately, it is impossible to predict the future and what will happen in your case. My first question would be "Why?" While it may seem like a good idea, you need to take a good, hard, and honest look at yourself.

Do you have the life skills, discipline, work ethic and responsibility to deal with the multiple items that you will need to take care of the day-to-day details of doing everything for yourself. Do you have a safety net? For example, what if you have problems? Do you know any people here in Thailand that can be relied upon to help you? Do you have the funds to provide for yourself, for an extended period of time and maintain an escape plan to be able to return home if things do not work out? Are you skilled in dealing with a sometimes non-sensical (sp?) system to do the things that will need to be taken care of to live here?

Do you merely want to come here for a good time, wine, women and song? You'll need to find out early on that if you have a job, that you must be at early each day, that puts a damper on the fun. It is easy to fall into a trap and getting caught up in bad things here. A young man that I know (19 year old) from the UK got a job where I work, but did not have the work ethic required to go the distance. He tried but failed because of marginal qualifications, not being able to care for himself, not knowing when he was being taken advantage of, but mostly because of getting involved in illegal drugs. which while illegal, are readily available. He had little to no self-control and ended up leaving in the middle of the school year to go to a drug rehab program, which disrupts the education of the 28 childern that he was responsible for.

To sucessfully be a good teacher you must be able to dedicate yourself to the effort and resposibility that you take for the lives of your students. It should be the highest priority in your life. If you want to come here only for the fun and easy life style, I would advise you to stay at home. There are many people who see teaching as a way to stay in Thailand so they can party all the time, and for the most part are not good teachers and are easily distracted from the teaching by the partying. These indiviuals give the dedicated good teachers a bad reputation, as the Thai people will lump all of the foreingers together and assume that we are all that way.

You seem to be facing a catch-22 situation. You probably don't have the experience and skills that you need but the only way to get the skills and experience is to do it, but it is hard to do without the skills and experience. This is circular logic, but that's how it is. In the 4 years that I have been teaching here (with previous teaching experience) I have seen good and bad things happen. I have had the same job and class of students in an English Program for the entire time, but the pay is low for full time resposiblity. I enjoy the work, but must make ends meet relying on a retirement pension, which makes it possible. Many young people come here with good intentions but no experience in having to take care of everything in their life. You have to worry about the budget, pay the bills, do the laundry, take out the trash, etc. You need to be able to step up the whiteboard and challenges of dealing with a large group of young learners, with little or no guidance or support from your school.

In the end teaching here can be rewarding, but the pay and the support in many areas is lousy. You have to do an honest assessment of your life skills and decide for yourself if you can do it.

Either way, good luck.

This thread is also on the Bangkok forum so I reposted my input.

This post has been edited by mmcsusnret: Today, 2009-08-16 08:32:08

ThaiBasil · August 16, 2009

it will be the best ride of your life in anyway possible (good and bad). have fun, use your common sense and never give up while staying here. regarding the culture: respect the people and the country and open your mind and haert to it and everyhing will go automatically.

mmcsusnret · August 16, 2009

Nick, between the two threads, General and Bangkok, the advice seems to be about 17-3 against doing this at this stage of your life, and 1 or 2 votes that this is a troll. A visit with an experienced trustworthy friend sure. A complete make over of your life at 17, probably not a good idea.

Nick, are you paying attention?

Edited August 16, 2009 by mmcsusnret

kurnell · August 16, 2009

Heavens above, I hope Nick doesn't get scamed or riped off!

topben · August 16, 2009

- the advice given so far here - including this one above - is so salient, and sanook2me and maryworth sound so maternalistic yet so cautionary.

- at around your age, i remember ex-canadian prime minister pierre elliot trudeau was roaming around asia , especially, china - way before china came on the world stage but then he did all these during his university school holidays. of course then, he became one of the greatest leaders in world history . yes, the same brush should not be used to tar anyone's aspirations and instinctual reaction capabilities - to each and every different scenarios ,especially at your age.

- sincerely you have come to the right forum and it appears the many counsellors here - nanny-like in some cases (No, don't get me wrong , i'm not an mcp) are little pearls or gems for life to live by.

- take heed of them and who knows , you may even end up like one of the many american senators who roughed it out when they were at your age in life - mr. president obama and senator joe biden being good examples for the day.

- the LORD works in mysterious and unfathomnable ways. it may just be your calling to start early.

- just do it, like nike says...... and may the FORCE be with you

THAILAND MAY JUST BE A GOOD PLACE TO START FOR YOU SO LONG AS YOU KEEP IN TOUCH WITH THESE FOLKS HERE IN THIS ONE IN A MILLION FORUM - the panelists here may be a little bit wee to folksy but then they genuinley good and nice folks and that really matters when you are out there somewhere striking out in life at such a tender age...................

Edited August 16, 2009 by topben

geriatrickid · August 16, 2009

When I was 17 I was dreaming of women with loose morals as they say, so I can see why Thailand might be appealing to a male 2 years short of his sexual peak. Trouble with some of these girls is that they often have incurable beasties, if you know what I mean, so best to err on the side pf being a repressed prude.

Sadly, I doubt you will land a decent teaching job as Thai adolescents would eat you up and spit you out. Administrators know that.

Anyway, what's your mom say about this? Is she ok with it, and are your parents going to send you an allowance because its hard to live on a junior teachers' wages.

topben · August 16, 2009

going by your quote name, nick are you born on the 26th of july in 1989? if you are , you should be about 20 years old now.

the reason for bringing this up is because someone here thinks you are a troll ..and perhaps like i think so , you have been here before and maybe even have a gf here or something

but then , you are still young at 20 even if you not 17.

yes, start on the right footing and all else will take care of itself.

the greatest university is outdoors, not indoors, these days...especially with the internet, today and this dialogue here of course.

veritas, nick, veritas - let this be your foundation and all else will be A-ok.

welcome to thailand, and, remember, keep close to the folks here for you cannot find a happier and caring bunch than them.

marty147 · August 16, 2009

Most government and private language schools require a degree, some kind of TEFL certification plus teaching experience (though not necessarily all three).

There are exceptions, but do you really want to work for an organisation that does not require experience nor takes any interest in your (lack) of qualifications?

Teaching is a full time job with many responsiblites - 20 hours of teaching time per week may not seem a lot but those 20 hours of teaching require 20+ hours of planning and preparation, if not more.

Without a dedicated and professional approach, you could not become an effective and respected teacher!

I think you would be wise to research your options further and read some of the teaching forums to give you an insight into life as a teacher in Thailand.

Also, why not study for your TEFL certificate in the UK and save the cost of your hotel (average course = 4 weeks) and flight to BKK?

dbrenn · August 16, 2009

Hi Nick,

You are very young and your parents must be worried sick about you. It's a wicked world out there. Consider buddying up with someone, so you can look out for each other until you have the chance to acquire some more life experience.

Think carefully before giving up your education - if you get bored with teaching English, you might be glad of a plan B.

Having said all that, I do envy you

Cheers,

DB

Birdman · August 16, 2009

Very good friend of mine was really bad at school. Made things like concrete the school door in the night, moving unambiguous his middle parts while communicate a paper during class and so... Of course he did not make high school.

He worked here and there afterwards, got suddenly very sick, recovered, had nothing at all with 28. But he is very smart and inventive and started again with zero.

Now 20 years later he owns various companies, whole apartment buildings and is rich.

That does not mean, that everyone is capable and should do that. It means, that it is not necessary for everyone to have all the high school and university diplomas for a successful life.

way2muchcoffee · August 16, 2009

I seriously doubt you'll find any work whatsoever, at least until you turn 18. Even then there are only a handful of places that would even consider you. Most teachers here wouldn't consider working at any of those places. I do wish you luck, but I think your goals aren't realistic. If you want to come out for a good 3-6 months and travel and check out educational opportunities then that would be a great idea. I'm sure you'd have a great time and learn a lot in the process. Proceed with caution here. At the very least please make sure you have an emergency back up plan to get yourself home if you end up in an economic or social situation that spirals out of your control. Beyond all that, come on out. Thailand's a relatively safe place to live and learn.

mmcsusnret · August 16, 2009

BM, Granted there are some individuals who start slow and later become successful. But this is about a 17 year old kid with no experience wanting to go 1/3 of the way around the world with no travel experience, and try to get a job with none of the documentation that any respectful school would require some of. There are school who would take advantage of this possibly to fill a short term need of a warm body, but he would not be legally working and at risk of getting into trouble with the authorities, which he probably would not have the knowledge or skills to deal with. He would probably be easy to convince to obtain KSR documentaion which he may not understand the consequences of if he were caught. As already mentioned, he is not even old enough to enter into a contract on his own.

But let's not encourage the lad to set himself up to be taken advantage of. I wanted to be a fireman when I was a kid, but never was, but I have gotten over it. The thoughts we develop when youthful don't aways come with the facts that we need to consider. Hearing about a friend of yours, who made it good in life, after a slow start may encourage him and give him false dreams. How many people who did good in school later became failures in adult life? Probably more than losers who made it big. He may be headstrong and only listen to the people who tell him to go for it, but in my opinion, this is like telling your kids to go play with matches. There is a good chance that someone will get burned.

If you had a child that age, would you as a responsible parent encourage this adventure? Most parents would not. I would probably ground him until he was 21, but that's just me.

Still had time to edit but the next post by slapout is on target. Nick, the older you get. the smarter people your parents age (and of course your parents) will get.

I hope that if he decides to "immigrate to Bangkok" that his mommy pins a note on his shirt so the airlines can make sure the unaccompanied minor does't get lost.

Edited August 16, 2009 by mmcsusnret

slapout · August 16, 2009

Nick as a parent of 4 children, My first question is, Do your parents approve of this move? If yes , where is the money to get here, live until employed (if that happens), etc coming from. Lots of more experienced/educated folks in Thailand who are actively seeking employment and have been for a while. You are aware of the global economic downturn? If you are looking for a adventure instead of attending university, have you considered the military? I would hope you are a very mature 17 year old to even be contemplating this type of move. I will not tell you my age as most people my age+_ , realize that we will be rated fairly ignorant until those people doing the rating reach the age of 25 to 30.

zorro1 · August 16, 2009

worse case scenario , if he is really hansum man he will have the time of his life at UNI. Now that's an experience that wont cost anything, maybe a few ice creams

Birdman · August 16, 2009

"If you are looking for a adventure instead of attending university, have you considered the military? "

..what a rubbish nonsense.

zorro1 · August 16, 2009

Sure great option until some Taliban is about to slice your head off. What utter nonsense how can you compare military and UNI? a rubbish post indeed

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