{"id":100765,"date":"2012-12-02T02:35:00","date_gmt":"2012-12-02T07:35:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/friendburst.com\/blog-new\/100765\/going-to-thailand\/"},"modified":"2012-12-02T02:35:00","modified_gmt":"2012-12-02T07:35:00","slug":"going-to-thailand","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/friendburst.com\/blog-new\/100765\/going-to-thailand\/","title":{"rendered":"Going to Thailand!"},"content":{"rendered":"
My first real decision about how to proceed in this plan of mine to go and teach English overseas is to choose a school from which to earn a professional certificate to \u201cteach English to Speakers of Other Languages\u201d.. <\/font>AKA a TESOL certification. <\/span>Now, there are LOTS of sources out there from which to earn a TESOL certification. <\/span>I\u2019ve found internet-only courses for as little as $180 that will grant anyone one of these necessary credentials. <\/span>Locally, the University of Washington offers a certification which when done on nights and weekends, would take me 18 months and cost over $3000. The former example is pretty much useless in the country <\/font>where I want to go. <\/span>The latter is a bit\u00a0 overkill and mo<\/font>re than I can afford anyways.
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Wait… Why can’t I just Photoshop this image and put my name in it? <\/font><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

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<\/span>It\u2019s generally agreed\u00a0 <\/span>internationally that the \u2018gold standard\u2019 of certifications are the Cambridge University issued \u201cCELTA\u201d and the equally well regarded version of the same thing issued by London\u2019s Trinity
\nCollege. <\/span>Both of these British institutions offer these certifications worldwide, including a couple places
\nhere in Seattle, but they require 6 weeks to 3 months of full time education, i.e., you can\u2019t have a job like mine and be able to be a fulltime student at the same time? <\/span>Not to mention that their
\ntuition requirements are $1300 to $1700!
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Heh.. they didn’t even spell “Center” correctly. <\/font><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

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What to do? <\/span><\/font><\/div>\n

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Looking closely at various teaching jobs in the country I
\nwant to eventually end up in, Indonesia, I see that the better paying jobs want
\nyou to have some kind of TESOL certification which incorporates at least 120
\nhours of in-class learning as well as a significant amount of in-person, real
\nlife experience teaching in schools.
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<\/font>120 hours at 40 hours a week is 3 weeks.
\n<\/span>120 hours at say, 5 hours a week is 4 months\u2026 <\/span>I was hoping to find a course like the latter
\nwhere I could spend a semester or so part-time and still be able to work. <\/span><\/font><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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No such courses exist around here. <\/span>It\u2019s either full immersion into the learning to
\nteach or a useless internet certification that might get me a job in Korea or
\nChina (two countries notoriously desperate for English teachers) but not where
\nI want to go\u2026<\/font><\/div>\n

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I\u2019ve found something better.
\n<\/span><\/font><\/div>\n
The 3-week 40 hour a week thing followed immediately by a teaching job
\nin SouthEast Asia. I\u2019ll get my TESOL certification with all the prerequisites
\nfor hours and in-class experience, <\/span>and
\nimmediately start earning experience that I can turn into a better job later. I
\nwon\u2019t have to worry about how to mix working fulltime with going to school, nor
\nstruggle to figure out how to pay a month of USA expenses without income while
\nI learn here. <\/span><\/font><\/div>\n

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Best of all, I get to go learn my new trade in a little place called Phuket, Thailand. <\/span><\/font><\/div>\n

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If you\u2019ve not heard of Phuket (prounced FOO-ket, not fuck-IT, although the punning possibilities therein are endless), it\u2019s one of paradises of Southeast Asia. <\/span>It\u2019s the Bali of Thailand. <\/span>Beautiful beaches. <\/span>Laid back culture. <\/span>Very friendly people. <\/span><\/font><\/div>\n

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After completing my education on a BEACH SIDE resort in Phuket, I will be stationed at a yet-to-be-determined school in Thailand. <\/span>I could be teaching adults English, but more likely, children. <\/span>The pay is US $1000 per month during that latter period, and whereas I make that now every week, accommodations are paid there and the cost of living is significantly
\nless. <\/span>You have to complete a one semester contract as part of this deal, which costs $980 up front, plus I gotta buy my own plane ticket (US $800).<\/font><\/div>\n

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I\u2019ve always wanted to see Thailand. Not only does this educational opportunity totally fit my needs as a modern working American living paycheck-to-paycheck, I should be able to leave there (if I want to) and move on to Indonesia after a year without having to have dipped into my financial reserves, and Thailand to Indonesia, heck, if I were going to
\nNorthern Sumatra, I could swim there! <\/font><\/div>\n

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The program in Phuket begins April 15th<\/sup>. <\/span>This shortens up my timeline significantly. Lots to do!\u00a0 Lots to get rid of.<\/font>
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Oh, I might as well put this out there now, now that there is a definitive plan with this…\u00a0 Would anyone like to adopt a wonderful, loving, independent, fluffy and mild mild mannered 6 year-old female kitty cat? <\/font><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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<\/font><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

My first real decision about how to proceed in this plan of mine to go and teach English overseas is to choose a school from which to earn a professional certificate to \u201cteach English to Speakers of Other Languages\u201d.. AKA a TESOL certification. Now, there are LOTS of sources out there from which to earn […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,25],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-100765","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-other","category-world"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/friendburst.com\/blog-new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/100765","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/friendburst.com\/blog-new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/friendburst.com\/blog-new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/friendburst.com\/blog-new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=100765"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/friendburst.com\/blog-new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/100765\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/friendburst.com\/blog-new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=100765"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/friendburst.com\/blog-new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=100765"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/friendburst.com\/blog-new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=100765"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}