A new tact was taken on Tuesday with my job search. My efforts up to that point were focused around the internet and personal contacts. Although I was having some success, I wasn't finding any English teaching job openings at schools nearby. In spite of that, I didn't believe for a second that the schools near me weren't in need of native English speaking teachers. I just needed to go about it differently. Thus, it was time to "pound the pavement". Pounding the pavement in Thailand does offer some challenges. Saai provided some basic info in terms of school locations and [View Full Entry]

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Things are beginning to develop on the job front. I posted my resume on ajarn.com and have been contacted by two schools. Unfortunately, neither of those schools are close. One is not even in Bangkok. That's out of the picture. The other is on the outskirts of Bangkok. I haven't ruled that one out yet, but I'm not sure how to deal with transportation to the school. It pays well and has modern facilities, but the commute isn't too appealing. It's a primary school (open positions in Kindergarden, 4th, & 6th grades), and I would have to teach at least two [View Full Entry]

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My plan was to relax over the weekend, and then jump into the job hunt this week. Unfortunately, I caught a cold (cough, runny nose, blah, blah, blah) and as a result, my initial effort on the job search has been less than inspiring. I have managed to get my resume on ajarn.com (best posting of English teaching jobs in Thailand) and contacted a few people who may have leads to positions at nearby schools. I expect to put a lot more effort into the job search later this week when I’m feeling better. Although there are plenty of teaching jobs [View Full Entry]

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It was a difficult 6 weeks, but today I was rewarded with my TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) certificate from Text & Talk Academy here in Bangkok. As I mentioned in my last update, this course requires a lot of work. My blogging (and many other things!) came to a temporary halt in the midst of studying for exams, preparing lesson plans, and completing my evening teaching practices. Thankfully, everyone in my class passed the course. A passing grade of 70% is within reach for almost anyone who puts a reasonable effort into it. The harder part is reaching [View Full Entry]

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Order has been restored. As many of you know, the travelblog web site crashed in early August. This was quite a shock to me as the crash wiped out all of my blogs over the last several months. Thankfully, I've recovered the data and re-uploaded it (with a few changes in photo selection) to travelblog.org's web site. Life goes on... Over these last two weeks, I've been in school. I am taking a 6 week TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) course offered by Text & Talk Academy. The intent is to prepare myself to teach before I apply for [View Full Entry]

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Over 4 months after her last day of classes, Saai received her diploma from Kasetsart University today. The ceremony was held in the auditorium on their Bangkok campus, or so I was told. I missed it. Actually, I wasn't the only one. Family & friends were not allowed in the auditorium for the ceremony where Princess Chulabhorn Walailak handed the graduates their diplomas. Instead, guests remained outside. Their involvement was limited to before and/or after the ceremony. It's a long day for the graduates. Although the ceremony itself was in the afternoon, most of the graduates we [View Full Entry]

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Clever title, I know. As I mentioned, it's week # 3 of living in Bangkok. First off, I'm fairly familiar by now with the general area in which I live. I've settled in northern Bangkok, between the old airport (Don Muang) and the city center. Several universities dominate this section of the city; Kasetsart being the largest (approx 20,000 undergraduates on this campus?). Scattered between these universities are government offices and small businesses (primarily casual outdoor restaurants and Mom & Pop type retail stores). Houses and apartments extend off the main roads, along the many sois [View Full Entry]

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I'm up and running again, or rather, my computer is. For whatever reason my laptop crashed earlier today after it went into hibernation mode...I couldn't get it to wake up. My solution was to restore the Windows XP settings to an earlier date and things seem to be working again. As I'm writing, McAfee is busy searching for any viruses, worms, or other malware on the hard drive. If anything exists, hopefully McAfee will find it and fix it. That's not a given. What has been happening since my last blog entry? On Sunday morning I went to Saai's church (Covenant [View Full Entry]

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Huge. That's what Chatuchak market is. This sprawling outdoor market in Bangkok operates only on weekends and consists of a neverending maze of vendors selling anything and everything. Saturday was my first experience at Chatuchak. Saai tutored a few of her students in the morning before meeting up with me around 1:00 at the canteen (food court) in Kasetsart University to grab a quick bite to eat. After a short stop at the university gym (just to check it out - hope to work out soon!), we were on our way to Chatuchak. Chatuchak market is on the same street where [View Full Entry]

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Ok, finally an update from Bangkok. A few days ago (Monday, July 2, 2007 to be exact), I arrived in Bangkok (Suvarnabhumi Airport) to a smiling Saai. A very nice and appropriate greeting, in this, the land of smiles. Getting to Bangkok was fairly uneventful. I flew with EVA Air (Taiwan based airline) in their Evergreen Deluxe Class (business class seats usually priced only a few hundred dollars more than economy) from LAX to Bangkok with a layover in Taipei, Taiwan. My belongings for this stage of my life were all crammed into two suitcases and a backpack (no extra weight [View Full Entry]

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