An invitation to BushOK in his hour of need

[opebo]

Maybe he could go live with opebo.

Yes!  I have recommended before to BushOK - who I believe does hold a valid undergraduate degree (can anyone confirm?) - that he come to Thailand and teach English.  It is true that teaching English is a tiresome and unpleasant existance, but no worse than anything available in the USA.  He would have a variety of side benefits - his weight wouldn't matter, nor would he be nearly so... alone.

Anyone who has a valid undergraduate diploma from US, UK, etc, can make 1,000-2,000 USD here per month.  If Bushie would go back to school and become a 'qualified' or 'licensed' teacher in Oklahoma (I think this would only take one year), he could make about $3,000-4,000/month in international schools in Bangkok.

Such opportunities do of course exist in other Asian countries, but Thailand is clearly the best - both in lifestyle and in income-to-cost-of-living ratio.

[opebo]

Often meant to ask this: how does one teach English without knowing the language the students speak as their native tongue?  I mean, you've clearly picked up a little Thai, but BushOK rolls off the plane in Bangkok and how does he communicate with his pupils?

Actually many schools that are serious about English learning prefer native-speakers who do not speak the local language - throughout Asia.  This way every native-speaker class automatically acts as a kind of intesive immersion.  

Anyway, in Thailand as in most other Asian countries, most students, and in particular the middle class (and up) students who have access to lots of native-speaker teachers, will have had extensive background in English grammar, reading, writing, and rudimentary speaking and listening from Thai teachers.  Usually these teachers are fairly poor, but the students do come into a native speaker class with some basic background, unless you're at some very poor, isolated, upcountry school.

[opebo]

f Bushie would go back to school and become a 'qualified' or 'licensed' teacher in Oklahoma (I think this would only take one year), he could make about $3,000-4,000/month in international schools in Bangkok.

Seriously??? Whoa...

Yes in all seriousness, and this in a country where you can rent an apartment for $100/month upcountry and $200/month in Bangkok, and fine meals are $2 and $3 in those respective locations.  

The key to those high-end jobs is being a 'licensed teacher' in the public school system in US, UK, Canada, etc.  The $1000/month jobs in upcountry highschools generally go begging or are filled by middle aged to elderly drunken (semi)sex-tourists.  Even young, attractive and capable recent graduates who are not fully qualified teachers tend to get the better jobs at intermediate level schools around Bkk - say $1,500-1,800/month.

[opebo]

opebo, you're a...not a 'good' man, but I do think it says at least something for you that you've better ideas for Bushie than he has for himself.

Actually, no, that says more about Bushie. Carry on.

Actually the prodominant idea of 'good' to which you refer has only a tangential bearing on being able to make good decisions or give good advice.  I'm sure my weak point as an adviser is my overriding pessimism rather than my depravity.

[opebo]

I have a good friend who teaches English in China. And his story is pretty much the same as opie's. Reasonable salary and crazy low cost of living. He speaks Mandarin because it's his thing, but he says that most of the Americans who teach there don't.

Difference being of course that those poor fellows have to live among Chinese - I'm living among Thais so it is infinitely more pleasant.  True, there is some halitosis, but it is very minimal compared to the land of the Mushroom Mouths, and of course politness and tone of voice is so much better here.

[opebo]

How's the air quality in Thailand? That's his biggest complaint about China.

The air is great upcountry and on the sea - very fresh, particularly at night (during the day if you are near major roads there can be some dust or fumes).  In Bangkok its only so-so: I suspect nowhere near as bad as major Chinese or truly poor country mega-cities (after all Thailand is middle income, far more regulated than most developing countries, and Bangkok is only 12 million, not big compared to the real stinkers).

[opebo]

Would you definitely have to be a native speaker in order to be capable of embarking on such a 'career', though?

In Thailand  no, though the official rules do require a 'native speaker', nowadays there is such a huge unfilled demand schools can easily get exceptoins or get around the rule.  However, you would very likely be excluded from the highly paid first tier jobs and confined to upcountry high schools at about $1,000/month  (in fact the only native speakers who take such jobs are beery old sexpats and young Brits who have no actual degree).

(note: here looks matter a lot.  They're quite racist, and prefer very white, especially blond, redheaded, etc., teachers.  They also love to get younger people in high schools but particulary in grade schools.  So, if you're young, good looking, blond haired, and Norweigian, you're better off than being an old shabby drunk from the unintelligible North of England)

[opebo]

What do they think of old white people, whose hair was once blond about 50 years ago?

Oh, you'd find a job, you'd just find it a bit more diffficult than a young freshed faced 25-30 year old.  That is, if you were the sort of person who would be subjected to a job.