1. ประเทศไทย

2. QUICK FACTS: Language: Thai Population: 65 million Capital: Bangkok Religion: Buddhist/Muslim Currency: Baht (30 baht ~$1) Climate: melt your face off hot season and want to give up and die humid rainy season

3. INFO ABOUT MY DECISION TO GO When I went: Jan 2005 to Aug 2006 (20 months) Why I went: adventure, to get out of “this dump” Thunder Bay (not my opinion of Tbay now!), professional experience Whom I went with: Myself! Somewhat scary at first... Also quite lonely/homesick for first few months Why I chose Thailand: to be honest, there were not a lot of places hiring in January... and I had a friend working in Phuket

4. Where I worked:

5. How I found my job: 1 st job: TIE (The International Educator) http://www.tieonline.com ~$40 membership fee OR Joyjobs http://joyjobs.com ~$40 membership fee 2 nd job: Ajarn www.ajarn.com teaching jobs in Thailand only free website

6. How much money I made: 60,000 Baht/mth (approx $1800) Time off: Thai holidays (Songkran, Chinese New Year, Coronation Day, etc.) plus some Western Holidays (Christmas, New Years)

7. What it was like to work there: The good, the bad and the ugly PROS: Experience another culture Great students (teachers are very highly respected) Plenty of travel opportunities Chance to spread my wings- 1 st full time teaching job Made many great friends from all over the globe Forced me to “grow up” and appreciate what I had back home (family AND nationality-wise)

8. CONS: School is run as a business more so than a school. Students=profits; teachers are easier to replace than students Many things were more about appearance than functionality (i.e. Science lab with gas hook ups but no gas, brand new basketball court but no basketballs, pool for the ‘swim team’ to practice but pool is small, kidney shaped and not big enough to do laps) No union/protection- you are a foreigner with little knowledge of laws/rights and many school owners are very rich and can be very powerful or have powerful friends Rules and school organization can be very fickle, change without notice, feel arbitrary, unjust and prejudiced (at least in my experience) Employment is more of a popularity contest than qualification based (some teachers had false degrees)- unless school is accredited (i.e IB) Skimpy teaching guidelines, no curriculum- which was both a pro and a con!

9. Things that surprised me: How inexpensive it is How easy it was to be taken advantage of by employers How easily jobs come and go How much I NEEDED Canadian friends Just how different another culture can be (learning basic customs before going is a good idea!!) Taxi drivers are all race car drivers in training! How energy-sapping the heat was How much I missed being able to speak English everywhere FYI: Do your research beforehand, but take it all with a grain of salt Taking a job with a “less reputable” school can serve as a stepping stone to better jobs IB qualifications are a good idea IF you intend to stick with teaching overseas