Spring

Winter has ended.  It lasted one week.

Last night a group of coworkers went out to a British themed pub for a farewell party.  The music played louder than anywhere in the USA.  The irony is that it was not good music, it was dance music, except, this was not a dance club.  The purpose for playing the music so loudly is to attract customers.Pat and I plan to visit for lunch tomorrow as they carry steak and hamburgers.

Merry Christmas

Oh, the weather outside is frightful.......frightfully hot that is!

v

We spent Christmas eve day with a coworker of mine, Lydia.  She has a very nice two bedroom flat by the river.  I will probably move there when my current lease is up.  She took us to a vegetarian restaurant and as much as I love meat, Arin and I agreed it was the best meal we have had so far.  The three course meal cost less than one dollar.

Of course Christmas in Vietnam is a regular school day. Even though there are decorations everywhere, including some manger scenes, it is mostly for commercial reasons. There are some Christians in town as evidenced by the Catholic cathedral.

My comedy routine on adverbs

A common thread in English teaching textbooks is that instead of sticking to grammar, they want to teach within themes.  The prior theme was birds. Today, there was a whole section on throwing clay pots. I see the use of bird vocabulary, but seriously, with all there is to learn in a one's second language, do I really want to waste 2 weeks on ceramics vocabulary!  Then, to top it off, all of a sudden the students are asked to use adverbs to describe the actions.  Mind you, there has not been a single mention of adverbs before this, so I have to spend hours designing adverbs lessons all by myself.  One of the adverbs was "gradually".  How in the world do you teach "gradually" to a third grader, let alone, one who is learning English.  If you have any ideas, post them here.  Anyway, I ended up just demonstrating these adverbs: quickly, angrily, gracefully etc., by drinking out of my water bottle in each of those styles.  An example: for angrily, I threw my bottle on the floor and stomped on it after taking my drink.  Those kids were laughing their heads off and when I offered them the chance to demonstrate the adverbs, they jumped at it. By the way, they never did learn gradually because in order to demo that, I would have had to make them stare at me for half and hour as I drank the whole bottle.

"It's expensive" The words we use to describe anything costing over 30 Dong

I wanted to try the Korean restaurant in our building, so I asked my coworkers about it.  I was told, "It is good but it is expensive!"  Well, it was expensive; it was 65,000 dong.  65,000 dong is $2.95.  Can you imagine!  It is very interesting how your point of view changes.  I do not know how I will be able to pay American prices where I return to the states.  To put this in perspective, the place where most of my coworkers and I eat lunch has a menu price of 25,000 Dong.  This includes meat, rice, soup, vegetables, salad and ice tea.  The American dollar is worth 22,000 Dong, so this meal is $1.14. Once in awhile  I decide go to buy a pastry or a smoothie, and find that they cost about the same, so I do not buy them because I can get a whole meal for the same price.

I found out that the smoothies are mostly condensed milk so I no longer drink them anyway.  However the cake is too good to pass up.  It is so light and fluffy as is the icing.  I usually get a slice of berry cake which the baker calls blueberry cake, but it is actually raspberry cake.  I have not corrected him yet.  The English spoken her is British English and for all I know, the British may have switched up the berry names.  Well I am off to watch Star Wars II ....

VinCom mall

Vin Com mall is a very modern four story mall.  We took the bus there and found it be closer than Co.op mart where we usually shop.  Also, it is on the direct bus line which stops in front of our house.  The 4th floor is an ice skating rink and the 3rd floor is a food court where we had Thai food.  Of course it was very delicious.  We have been considering the fact that maybe we should have gone to Thailand instead of Vietnam since Vietnam has been somewhat of a disappointment both culturally and food-wise.  The pluses of living here are that I like my school a lot even though it is more work than most schools, and there is nowhere in the world where one can find children as cute as these Vietnamese kids.

Winter

I actually had to wear a sleeved shirt for about 2 hours in the morning because the temperature was in the low 70"s.  This day is considered to be the height of winter.

I just went down to the theater to check on Star Wars.  As of 8 am, the theater has not yet opened.

I saw Star Wars at 11 am.  It was ok.  I really can't think of anything else to say about it.  Arin will watch episodes 1/6 then see it again.

Teaching. What's the matter with you

I am finally getting into the swing of things.  We teach only one page of the book per hour, so I spend massive amounts of time writing curriculum.  We also play 2 to 3 games each class.  One of the teachers gave me a booklet with 109 games, so I have that. The only problem is that some kids can not handle such an open activity, and get too wild.   Of course, as soon as that happens, the game is shut down immediately.

Yesterday I was teaching the phrase, What is the matter with you, along with all the ways it can be said, and the accompanying body language. The kids laughed for at least 3 minutes straight and then began copying me.

Black Friday

I haven't been able to post for awhile because my blog switched to the Vietnamese language, but I am back to English.

 My friend Leslie asked me to elaborate on the architeture and culture here. Frankly, I am disappointed.  Other than the tolerance for trash, life in Bien Hoa is not much different than life in the United States.  Since most of Bien Hoa was built in the last decade or so, most of the buildings are very modern.  The building which houses my school and apartment is only 3 years old.  Other than the wall papered walls, it looks just like a modern American high rise, complete with laminate and tiled flooring.  The state of the art movie theater which occupies the 6th floor will be showing Star Wars episode 7 tomorrow.   I will go there as soon as I get up and will post my review before most of you see it.

As far as culture,frankly, I am disappointed.  I was expecting traditional clothing but everyone here wears drab clothing.  Most of the women wear pants, except for us English teachers who mostly wear skirts.  The men wear neutral colored short sleeve button down shirts. The only bright clothes are those worn at preschools where I have seen pink or yellow brightly colored shorts and skirts.  The employees of Vietcom bank wear traditional green long sleeve dresses over white leggins, but it is just too hot to wear the traditional clothes outside. As in Mexico, t'shirts and shorts aren't often worn in public

Oddly enough, most restaurants serve only one item.  You figure out which pho and which sandwich you like, then you go there. Every day I have been looking at this restaurant across from my building named Banh mi, which means sandwich. Pat, Arin and I went there yesterday looking forward to the menu choices but soon discovered that they only make...you got it,one sandwich.  Fortunately it is delicious and costs only 80cents.  Though this restaurant has indoor seating, there is no kitchen or refrigeration.  Like most restaurants, the kitchen consists of an outdoor cart.  Most cart restaurants have outdoor seating only, and the funny thing is that their preferred seating is little short plastic children's tables which are about 18 inches off the ground, accompanied by12 inch plastic stools like the kind that American's use as a step stool.  I end up eating with my knees up to my chin.

I haven't seen any special music or dance, anything like that.  Believe it or not, one of the first  things I saw when I came in November was a 30' Christmas tree and a sign advertising Black Friday sales....

Building my food network

The biggest thrill of coming to a new country is building up my food network. First, it's the juice.  Last night, I was introduced to what has to be the best won ton soup in town, possible in all of Vietnam, and it is right outside my door.  I had been hearing about this noodle place but no one wanted to take me there.  Finally, a former teacher came for a visit and wanted to go. They will definitely be seeing me again. 

Today I tried to have breakfast at the restaurant near our old hotel.  They serve three choices for breakfast:, pork chops with rice, an egg sandwich and of course, a bowl of noodles. They wouldn´t serve me for some reason, so I walked down the street and stumbled upon a lady making omelets.  I signaled that I wanted one but ended up with a cold cut sandwich instead.  Well, it was delicious.  Tomorrow I will try to order the eggs using Vietnamese.  Fried eggs ( op la`) is one of the first words we learned, because we had them every day we stayed at the  hotel.

Beds in Vietnam

It is very common for people to sleep on the floor on straw mats, so you can imagine how uncomfortable the regular mattresses are.  The mattress in the hotel was so hard that my leg actually fell asleep, which I consider to be very dangerous.  I have tried so many things on my bed, but the best thing I have found is a pool floatie, which is what I used in Mexico. After a month of searching, I finally found one!!!!!!  If you are traveling at all, I suggest packing one in your suitcase.  It will now become an essential item in my suitcase.

Busses in Bien Hoa

We took the bus home from Co.op Mart which is our usual shopping center.  It was a very pleasant ride and they actually made a complete stop when they picked us up rather than a California stop as they do in Saigon.  It cost 25 cents.

Starting on the next set of work visa steps

I have been employed for about 2 weeks and today had my health check at the hospital. It was so efficient I could not believe it.  I went from one station to another like I was at Ellis Island.  Pat and I were commenting about how much slower it would have been in the USA.  First of all, there would be a 45 minute wait to just get started.  Each station would have been another 30 minute wait and filling a  prescription  would have been a 24 hour wait rather than 2.4 minutes.  Luckily all is well with my health.  Note. Pat's prescription was wrong.

The receptionist just knocked on the door wanting my passport to prepare the permanent resident card.  The next step after that is get a local police check.  I forget what is next but I am sure there will be something.

Of course the health check was in Saigon as is everything. so I had to pay for my own cab to Saigon, rather than the school paying.  The driver did not know how to get to Bien Hoa so took the wrong exit ramp off the highway.  So guess what he did to correct himself?  He drove right back up the ramp in reverse and against traffic. A gal on a motorcycle was following us all the way up, except that she was driving forward.  Lucky me, I got to pay an extra $200,000 VDN for his round about route.

Note |I found out that one of the teachers has been here 3 years without a work visa, so I a wondering why I am going through all this bother..

The climate is so hot here that......

Sheet sets are sold as follows:  fitted sheet, 1 pillow sham, 1 rolled pillow sham only.  What is missing????

First day of teaching

This is one of the few posts which is actually written on the correct day.  Today I will have my first class of students.  I worked on the lesson plans yesterday out by the pool.  Midway through my planning, my pen ran out so I ran upstairs to the school in my bathing suit.  In all my teaching I have never said that I went to school in  my bathing suit.  I hope this is not the last time.  Maybe one day I will be running up from the beach!  All week I have been observing classrooms and have not seen a huge discipline problem.  I do not know why there was such a big focus on it during induction.  Compared to American students who hit us, yell at us, swear at us and throw things at us, these children are angels.

I am back from my lesson.  Earlier, I ran into the director for the center and he wrote a lesson plan for me.  The problem was that once in the classroom, I could not find the needed items on the computer, so I had to adlib.   There are some discipline problems, the worst being students hitting and  pushing each other.  I had to nip that in the bud; next I will be dealing with the talking.

ATM

As promised, I walked down the street and tried every ATM.  It took me 12 ATMs and three quarters of a mile until, thank God, I found one that worked at Donga Bank.

Our address

We moved into out new apartment two days ago and were without internet, so now I am posting.
We are on the 16th floor.  It is 53 square meters and costs 8,000,000VDN, about $360.

                  The address is: 
Can ho A-16-03 Toa nha The Pegasus Plaza
53-55 Vo Thj Sau
P .Quyet Thang
TP. Bien Hoa-Dong Nai
Vietnam

Some places in Vietnam are named in English. For example, the name of our building is Pegasus Plaza.  This is lucky for us because the taxi drivers understand us when we say this word, although we have to pronounce it Peg a suuuus.  Every word we try to say in Vietnamese is misunderstood, even the name of the local department store, Co.op mart.  Sounds simple doesn't it.  Well it is not.  I finally understand the reason that Asians leave off the end of English words, it is because their final letter is implosive whereas our final letter is explosive.  In other words, one does not hear the T when pronouncing Co.op mart; it is pronounced something like Cah ahb ma.  Every single word in Vietnamese is only one syllable long!!!!!!!  The word for thank you is Cam on and is pronounced as if you are saying "Come on" with a British accent.

Surprisingly, even though we are 16 stories up, it is very noisy here.  Each morning we have the pleasure of witnessing the sunrise because at dawn, the street fill with crowing roosters. This I do not mind because sunrise at 5:30AM is the best part of the day.  I usually watch the sunrise then walk around town until 9 AM at which time the weather becomes too hot.  Arin likes to go out at 3PM when it begins to cool off, then return at sunset which is 12 hours after sunrise, 5:30 PM.  We are near the equator, so this does not change seasonally.

How did I get rooked into this talent show ????

ILA is giving us a Christmas Party which includes entertainment provided by us, the staff.  Today was try outs and our center was requested to design an act. Some of my female coworkers had already designed an act and wanted more people so I was asked to join.  I had my one and only  practice yesterday and I just did not think I could learn the songs since they were all in foreign languages, so after the practice  I tried to get out of it, to no avail. So today, my co workers and I performed love songs.  Two of the songs were really pretty and worth checking out on you tube. The Vietnamese song is called, Neu Nhr Anh Den.  The Afrikan song is called, Kaptein.   The judges are going to choose one talent from each of the centers.   Luckily for our center, we  have Tom who received an enthusiastic ovation for his saxophone performance and is sure to be chosen!  Everybody was IMPRESSED!

The contest was in Saigon which is 17km from Bien Hoa, an hour drive.   Lydia wanted to leave early on the bus, and I needed to learn the bus system, so I left with her.  First she showed me some sights including Notre Dame and a modern mall called Diamond Plaza, then treated me for coffee at her favorite spot.  Afterwards, we rode the bus for 15,000 VDN ($1.35), instead of the 550,000VDN ($25) for the taxi.  Of course the buses have no air, and the other problem is that you have to run along side the bus in order to get on, because it does not stop. 

Induction day at ILA: classroom management

Pat and I are the newbies at the school so we, along with 35 others, attended ILA induction in Ho Chi Minh City.  I must say, I was very impressed with the extensive educational computer system that ILA has in place.

Pat was able to see several of her new friends as they had all taken the CELTA class together.  The CELTA is some kind of ESL training.  I have seen this on the work visa check off list but if 20 years of experience and the numerous certificates, credentials and classes that I already have are not enough, then fergetaboutit!  The CELTA requirement is the main reason I only wanted a 6 month lease, just in case my work permit application gets rejected without it.  I wil not be getting the CELTA.  I refuse to study for anymore certificates, licenses etc.  So far I have only met one other person who has any regular teaching experience.  In Mexico, a teaching credential was required, but most of these other places only want these language certificates with a teaching credential being valueless.

The crux of today´s training was on class management.  I feel sorry for people who have not taught before; what a nightmare.  In Mexico, I would hear teachers trying to control their class and wanted so badly to step in and help them, but it was not my place to do so.

During our instruction today, we did a lot of group work.  My group was laughing at me because at every opportunity, I would say, "Oh, you could let one of the students lead that."  My group partner Pierce said, "You do not do much of the teaching, do you." Yes,  I prefer to be more of a facilitator.  You should have seen me when I taught regular school. Other than during math instruction, I rarely left my desk.  Pity the student who said something was too easy or he already knew how to do it because he was assigned to teach it.  My goal was to develop leaders.  I hope it worked.  I have connected with only one of my former students, and it certainly worked for her.

When I taught at the autistic school a few years ago, my aides would complain about our field trips, with the main problem being which fast food restaurant to visit for lunch.  Seriously, is there that big of a difference between Burger King and McDonalds????  I am not kidding, no one brought their lunch; these people had fast food for breakfast lunch and dinner every day for years upon years upon years.  Anyway, after I made each aide in charge of one field trip a week and they bared the brunt of their coworkers complaints, they all mellowed out.  In fact, none of them wanted to be the leader.  They begged me to take it from them.  Sorry, you made your bed, now lie in it.

Arin finally discovers a vegetarian eatery. The speciality is purple sticky rice

We finally found a vegetarian food stand.  On the corner of two busy streets we had purple sticky rice with peanuts and warm coconut sauce.   This was accompanied by corn on the cob cut and placed in a cup with hot sauce and some other delicious sauce.  Arin was so happy to finally find a snack place.

My new snack place is the fried chicken stand in front of the apartments.  This seems to be the new gathering place. After Arin and I ate, I observed a class that I will be taking over. The gal currently teaching this class, Charlene, has finished her contract year and is moving to a school in Indonesia.  She was offered a job by a former coworker who has opened a school there.  I am hoping to tap into this network.

After the class I was still hungry because I hadn't eaten protein for dinner, so  I stopped for a bite at the chicken stand which is located in the Pegasus courtyard.  Before long, Charlene showed up on her motorcycle, then Pat arrived, so I ended up dining with two of my coworkers.

Apartment is ready to move in

We are now official residents of Bien Hoa, Vietnam, but before we moved in, the landlord wanted 3 months in advance which came out to 24,000,000VDN in cash!  I had brought $1000 cash with me which I thought would be enough.  I had not expected such a giant amount so had to get mo money from the bank. I thought this would be easy with my new international bank card, but was stymied when my bank card did not work.  I specifically chose this card because the company reimburses ATM fees worldwide.  I tried 3 ATMs to no avail, so I had to go into the bank and pay a 3% fee .  One of the ATMs stated that it could not accept chip technology; so much for new fangled technology!  This weekend I am going to try all of the 12 ATMs I saw on my way to the bank and if none of them work, I will be calling the company.  Anyway, we finally obtained mo money and signed a six month lease paying for half of the months in advance.  I will still need to come up with $1,000,000 VDN before my first paycheck.  We have the keys and are moving in tomorrow.  Luckily we talked the owner into a 6 month lease instead of the 12 month they desired.   This is just in case things do not work out with the school.  I found out that I still have 5 more steps to follow before obtaining my work visa.  And of course each of these steps costs mo money.  So, if you are going to work in Vietnam, be prepared to spend at least $2000, plus airfare, before you even receive a paycheck. 

Hot pot-a dish cooked on your table

Arin has had the worst time trying to get vegetarian food.  No matter how he expresses it, most of the restaurants will feed him meat, and if he manages to get tofu, it is often meat flavored.  So tonight we went to a hot pot restaurant.  The way this works is that there is a burner in the center of your table.  On the burner sits a simmering pot of stock to which you add your menu items.  Menu items are hand fulls of vegetables, cubes of meat, fish pieces, tofu, etc.  You chose single items from the menu which each have a separate fee, and they are brought to you on a large plate.  It is then your responsibility to cut the food with the scissors provided, add it to the pot, and cook it to your desired consistency.  We will definitely return to this restaurant.

We also saw the movie Mockingjay in our nearby theater.  We sat in the premium seats for around $5 for the two of us.  This place is brand new and the surround sound was extraordinary.

Opening a bank account

I now have a Vietnamese bank account.  I tried to deposit some of the cash I brought but this is not allowed.  The account is only for paycheck deposit.  Pat and I both opened accounts today and then she took us to the supermarket.  I think we are going to have so much fun making food, with so many interesting ingredients to try.  We told the taxi driver Co Op Mart, but the Vietnamese do not finish their words, so the cab driver knows it as Co Op Mar.....

We have been to our helper friend´s restaurant twice now and realize that most of the little street side booths specialize in only one dish, and they are open at only one times, either breakfast lunch or dinner.  So tonight we decided to eat at a regular restaurant for dinner.  I took one look at the extensive menu and it was just a blur or characters. Luckily, Arin is picking up the Vietnamese language and realized the dishes were organized by noodle, rice, bread, etc,  I found the rice page and just picked one. It tasted alright but it was the worst job of cooking I have ever experienced.  I thought I was going to break my tooth on the overcooked rice mounds.  We won´t be going there again.  I wish I could post a picture, but blogger does not operate so well in Vietnam.

Staff field trip

As a bonding activity, the school sponsored a day long trip to Phuong Nam.  We rode buses and ferries to visit the beach and monkey island.  In actuality, this was more of an eating trip, which is right up my alley!  My first taste sensation of the day was an ice cream bar at monkey hill.  It had three layers with the top layer being dipped in a white chocolate hard coating.  This ice cream bar will be forever in my memory because the monkeys kept jumping on me trying for my treat.  It was too good to give up so I had to punch and kick them, plus, the keeper had to snap them with a giant rubber band.  Muddy paw prints decorated my pants and shirt.  Of course the ice cream bar was my coworker Pat´s idea and I was telling her, " I'm going to get you for this."  By the end of the day she had already had her water bottle grabbed by a monkey and been bitten by a monkey, so it looks as if we are even.  Unlike my ice cream, my money and glasses were hidden and secured in my vest as I had learned about monkey stealing in Belize.  In Belize, tourists were placed in a cage with cute little baby monkeys whom we allowed to steal out money from our pockets, but these thieves were full grown roaming monkeys.   Aside from water bottle and ice cream thievery, they stole prescription glasses from Kim, and although they were retrieved, they now sport permanent bite marks as a reminder of monkey island.  As you can see, there were a  number of us who did not enjoy the experience.  A couple of the Vietnamese gals and I were cowering and screaming, the whole time.  Also on the tour were crocodiles.  I took some pictures on my new crummy new cell phone but they are too crummy, so the pictures below were taken by PAT. 

After monkey island we went to the beach and ate, family style.  Then after that, we went to a seafood restaurant and ate, then we went to an ice cream parlour and ate.  In Vietnam, food continues to be ordered until everyone says they are done.  The drinks appear to be beer, tea, Vietnamese root beer and Vietnamese energy drink.  What a great day!!!!!!

Footnote:  The ocean water was very warm but muddy.  The shore was covered with thousands of tiny white shells.

Searcing for a place to live

Today we looked at apartments with the help of our friend Van Ahn, the events coordinator at the school.  One apartment was in the market district by the river.  It was 3 bedroom and 2 baths.  We probably should have chosen this one because it is buried deep in the culture, but it was also somewhat dark and dank.  So we chose the newer apartment which is in the same building as the school.  My main concern about life in Vietnam is functioning in this heat and this will eliminate that problem as far as going to and from work is concerned. We are housed in a 20 story high rise complete with pool, restaurant, convenience shop and movie theater.  The building is 3 years old and is called Pegasus Plaze.  Our 2 bedroom apartment has a washing machine and an unshared internet.  It costs about $400 per month.  Pat lives directly below us.  Our guide, Van Anh inquired as to when we wanted to move in and we said today!  Things do not work that way so we will move in eventually......After this, we were told to go home and relax.  We did relax, then went to have Pho with the female shopkeeper, actually restaurant owner, who aided us after the taxi cab driver abandoned us. 3rd time told to relax, it's a pity

Vietnam-Bien Hoa

Breakfast today was an egg sandwich with Cholomex sauce, then we took a taxi to Bien Hoa where I will be working.  The taxi driver did not know where he was going so he dropped us off at someone´s house.  The residents pointed us in the right direction so we trucked our suitcase down the street where we came across a shopkeeper.  She hopped on her scooter going down the street where we had come from.  She comes back and tells us to follow her so we trudge our suitcase back down the street to the same address.  Finally she get smart, flags a taxi for us and sends us to the school a quarter of a mile away.  We got ripped off by more than one of the taxi drivers but at that point I did not care as it was hot and  the luggage was heavy.  We hauled out suitcases up to the 9th floor where we found my employer.  We met a few people then took yet another taxi another 1/4 mile and arrived at a clean hotel with a rock hard bed.

Vietnam-Ho Chi Mihn City

Another flight delay on China East airline and we are in Vietnam.  In hand are phone numbers of two local guys we are supposed to call once we get settled. We were retrieved at the airport and taken to our hotel.  The room is very small, but the beds are super comfortable.  I hope all the beds in Vietnam are like this because those in Mexico were hard as a rock.  The best part about the hotel is that it is air conditioned as are most  places in the city and the best part about the air conditioning is that it is not kept super freezing as in the USA.  It is actually at a very comfortable level whereas you can remain in the store wearing whatever you were wearing outside and not get cold.

In the morning we went downstairs to try and figure out what to do.  Luckily, as soon as we appeared, we were told to wait and our guide, Ms. Yang was called to fetch us. She took us to her house where we had our first Vietnamese breakfast.  I had heard that Asians eat noodles for breakfast and sure enough our breakfast consisted of rice noodles topped with eggs over easy, and chopped nuts.  They also have a really tasty sweet chili sauce here called Cholimex.  Yum, yum!

After breakfast, Ms. Yang sent us out to get a cheap $10 cell phone and told us to relax the remainder of the day.  We found a nice place for lunch but I was surprised at the cost of $13 for two people.  I don´t really consider this to be a cheap price.

Shanghai airport

Here we are at the Shanghai airport in the international terminal.  We came here from Seattle.  In Seattle, we had 30 minutes to catch our connecting flight to Shanghai, China.  After we ran all the way to the terminal, the plane to Shanghai was delayed for an hour.  The airline compensated by providing an all you can eat snack cart.  I returned to it 4 times; the other passengers must have thought I was a pig, but it was mostly because I was bored.

While we were at the gate, there did not seem to be many passengers.  For this reason, I made sure to be the last one on the plane so I could scope out empty rows. Sure enough, a row of three seats was available right across from our assigned seats.  I have learned that wherever one sits at take off, the stewardesses views this as your seat, so I went right to the trio without even glancing at my assigned seat.  This gave Arin two to himself, and I had three.

I was really impressed with the airline.  Between the free first run movies and the constant delivering of food, and the spacious living area, it was being at a traveling spa. Now we just  need a massage person to come by.  Maybe they have this in first class

Final salvation Army run

They are getting to know me at the local Salvation Army depot.  I have been there at least once a week for the past two months.  The amount of stuff I have gotten rid of is incredible.  Even the day I left, I was still gathering piles of give a ways, and finally, as much as it pained me, I just had to throw stuff away.  Arin and I stayed at mom´s house the night before we left and my suitcase was too full,  so I piled up another load for her to take.  I wish I had some advise for how to get rid of stuff but I have not tips what so ever.

iMMUNIZATIONS

OH how I have been dreading this! There are no shots required but here are those suggested...Typhoid, tetanus, hepatitus a.  I got every one, and you know what, after all that dreading, they did not hurt at all!  

Appostllizing documents

I can not believe it.  This process took only a few days.  The police check was done in 10 minutes, the secretary of state visit in 20 minutes and the Vietnamese consulate in 30 minutes.  I never expected government to work so efficiently.....So, 50 minutes, four hours of driving and $250 later, we are set to go. 

Job offered, Tickets cancelled

We cancelled our tickets but for a good reason:  I have a job offer in Vietnam.  We changed the tickets to November 18th and will be picked up at the airport and taken to our complimentary room.  Now comes the process of documentation.  Here is the process.  I have to obtain a criminal background check, make copies of that and my degree, have them notarized, then take the copies to the California secretary of state office to verify that the copy is a copy of an original document.  After that , I drive to San Francisco and present the copies (not the originals) to the Vietnamese consulate.  Ironicly, at no place in this process does anyone ever check to see if the originals are actually valid.

This process is named appostilling. This was not the process used in China because China is one of the countries included in the agreement which means that original documents are accepted at face value.   Judging by the time estimates given by each agency,  this should be approximately a 2 month process.  Of course, we are not willing to wait until the new year to travel and find we can pay an agency about $500 to do this in a few days, so we send an email to the school to ask their advise and they inform us that Vietnam will let us in with a promise to present the documents later.

Tickets booked

We were finally able to book tickets for the 10th.  Now we can tell everyone that we are going!

Interview for Vietnam

I had a skype interview for a private school in Vietnam.  It was more involved than I had thought but went well.  The next step of the interview process is to present a 2 hour lesson plan.   Luckily it is based on a poem about a band.  These are the kind of lesson plans I like and it should be fairly easy.

We are not going to wait around for a job offer so decided to book a ticket.  Arin goes on the airplane website and finds out that my airline now offer trips to Vietnam, so we attempt to book on line for November 10.  For our flight, the web says there are 3 seats available.  By the time we finish the transaction, we get an error message stating that the seats just sold out.  I am in California and it is 10 pm on the west coat which means it is 1 am on the east coast.  Seriously, are there that many people in America booking flights to Vietnam RIGHT NOW!

So, we input for the next day and pay.  Right when I say to Arin, ¨Now we can tell everyone that we have a date... we are foiled again.  The reservation can not be completed and we need to call customer service.  Although I was impressed with the short hold time, the rep encounters information she has never seen before.  The third leg of the journey is run by a local airline which has seats available, but they are denying them.  I ask the rep what denying means and she says that sometimes they just deny seats.  I ask her to check for the 11th which the web also says has three seats.  She finds that there only one of the three seats is available which means, again, that two people were booking the fight at the exact same time as us.  She suggests calling back every few hours but I am very leery of this local airline.  I do not want the third leg of my trip cancelled at the last minute.  Of course, for these kind of reasons, I always purchase trip insurance, but we decide to sleep on it and make a new plan in the morning.  I can not believe an airline would deny available seats; in America, the land of capitalism, if money is offered for a product or service, the provider takes it.  Apparently, Asians are motivated by something other than the almighty dollar. Well, we already know that age is a big issue.

We first choose Vietnam, then have to switch to Taiwan

We have decided to travel to Vietnam.  Now it is time to choose a date.  Oops, my airline does not travel to Vietnam, so we change to Taiwan.  The cost is 35,000 bonus miles.  When I click on the purchase ticket link, the cost switches to 75,000 bonus miles.  Now I do not have enough miles to purchase tickets.  I will wait until tomorrow and try again.  I am hoping it is a glitch in the computer system.

Transportation options-frequent flyer miles

Most airlines, even those on which I flew in Mexico, have frequent flyer programs.  The mechanics of this program are that you earn miles by flying on the airline.  You can then use those miles to pay for future trips on that airline or one of its partners.  These programs generally have no costs. All you need to do is register with the airline.  My sisters flew for years on these programs  and I finally jumped on the bandwagon about 6 years ago.
 The problem is that it takes forever to accumulate enough miles using this method, especially if you always base your travel on buying a ticket for the cheapest airline of the day.  In fact, I never did receive any reward vouchers.
How to earn as many miles as possible:
1.  Read every piece of information concerning the FF program.  Rewards can be earned not only by flying, but by making purchases from program partners.  My sis and my brother in law take a vacation every year to the same spot.  Their FF program has a partnership with a restaurant on the driving route.  They have to eat somewhere, why not there!  If you are issued a frequent flyer card, present it at every point of purchase.  You never know when a new partner has been added.
1b.Take the round a bout way.  As I said, you earn miles by flying.  If you fly 2000 miles you earn 2000 miles.  My sis and bro in law take advantage of this by choosing the flight with the longest route to their destination, thus earning the largest amount of miles possible.   Warning:  Some airlines have changed this aspect of their program.  For example, Delta earned miles are now based on ticket price, not miles flown.
2.  Apply for an airline credit card.  There are many, many types of cards offered by each airline.  Some have fees, some are fee free for one year, etc.  But, what they all have is bonus miles which you receive just for joining and\or spending a minimum amount of money in a certain period of time.  Most will also give bonus points for flight purchases.
2a.  Most credit cards have added benefits. Here are some added benefits associated with my card:
priority boarding
discounts for on board menu items
free checked bag for all the people in my party
free companion ticket after one year of membership
As you can see, any fees associated with my credit card are gained back through these rewards.  When you have an airline credit card, you are treated better.  Recently on a trip back from Hawaii, I was upgraded to business class just by asking.   Also, one of my bags was retrieved with grease stains.  I complained to the airline and they paid for me to buy a new bag.

In my current situation, my FF miles saved me because if I had to pay $1000s of dollars, I would not be taking this trip at all.

Transportation options-Asian airlines

I asked my nephew for some names of local airlines and he came up with this:  Some cheap airlines are Spring Air and Air Asia, you can try checking the site ctrip.com for flights.  Arin also found one called Vietair. 

Transportation options -Cruises

I had the bright idea that we may be able to catch a cruise to Asia for less than the cost of an airline ticket.  I could not find anything leaving soon, but I did learn this:  Some cruise lines offer cheap passage on re-positioning cruises.  This type cruise will  have more days at sea and less days in port, but it is still a cheap way to go.  I found one from Asia to Australia for $800 which I am sure is cheaper than air.  It is definitely something to think about when I want to move on to a new place.

Flights to Asia on American carriers

To fly anywhere in Asia, from California, it costs from $1000 to $3000 for a airline ticket on an American carrier.  The exception is Shanghai.  For some unknown reason, Shanghai is only $400.  So, the best bet would be to fly to Shanghai and find a local airline to fly us to one of the less expensive countries.

Again, I asked my nephew for advise and he came up with this: If you are coming to Shanghai first you will have to pay $140 for the Chinese visa if you want to come into the country.

Well these prices are just impossible.  I only have $5000 and can not blow 1\5 of it on airline tickets.  I will need to search for alternatives.

Thailand, Taiwan or Vietnam, which one shall I chose?

Thailand
Biggest cities are Chiang Mai or Bangkok
Love the food!
Nice hotels $30


Vietnam
Biggest cities are  Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City or Da Nang
Love the food!
Vietnam has become a big tourist spot and the locals probably need English
There is plenty of American influence because of the war.
The alphabet is Romanized
Probably the most modern of the three countries.
Nice hotels $15 per night

Taiwan
Biggest city is Taipai
Hotels $40 per night
I do not know anything else about this country

Arin and I have discussed it and decided Vietnam is our best bet.

Back to the drawing board

Moving on to plan B.  Arin has already been sending inquiries and has several responses, but they are all from recruiting agencies.  Our current thinking is to find the cheapest country to fly to, then inquire around town like we did in Mexico.  My nephew responded and lists Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam as having the lowest cost of living, so our search will begin with those three.  My sister and brother in law are currently in Asia and also suggest Cambodia.

If the Chinese visa comes through while we are in Asia, so be it. 

 I waited another six weeks for that to happen and finally turned to my son Arin and said ``Start applying for jobs and other Asian countries”. I was really looking forward to having Chinese food everyday so I tell him to focus on the food and the ratio of pay to cost of living.

After some research this is the list.

Thailand: Reported to have the best food in the world, pay at around $10 per hour.

Vietnam: I love the Vietnamese restaurant in our neighborhood and the pay is $20 per hour.

Taiwan:  I've been seeing the label made in Taiwan since I was a kid so it sounds very exotic to me. Will the diet consist of Chinese food? The pay is $20 per hour. 

We settle on Vietnam because it uses the Roman alphabet and the living cost to pay is the best in Asia. 

China is a bust. I knew it was too good to be true.

.Here is my latest response from China.

The school said that your age was the one of the concerns for the government but they did not deny or approve yet. They are waiting too. Ms.Chang suggested that if after December they have not heard anything the chance the visa is going to be approved is very small.

I would like to know what happened to the guaranteed job in Zhongshan?  There is no mention of it and I was never sent a contract.  I certainly am not going to sit around here until Christmas on a hope and a prayer.  I have already wasted 2 months on this position and another 3 months on the cancer, so have been back from Mexico for almost a year now.   Ms. Chang informed me that the Chinese government is more strict this year than ever.  I do not know what they are afraid of?????  It is not like tons of Americans want to move permanently to communist China.  To tell you the truth, I was getting a little grossed out hearing about all the public spitting and farting anyway.
  
In the USA you are over the hill at 30, but I had always heard that the Asian countries honored older people.  Apparently that is just an urban myth.  When I get there, I will find out and let you know. 

put the next part here or next post

 I waited another six weeks for that to happen and finally turned to my son Arin and said ``Start applying for jobs and other Asian countries”. I was really looking forward to having Chinese food everyday so I tell him to focus on the food and the ratio of pay to cost of living.

After some research this is the list.

Thailand: Reported to have the best food in the world, pay at around $10 per hour.

Vietnam: I love the Vietnamese restaurant in our neighborhood and the pay is $20 per hour.

Taiwan:  I've been seeing the label made in Taiwan since I was a kid so it sounds very exotic to me. Will the diet consist of Chinese food? The pay is $20 per hour. 

We settle on Vietnam because it uses the Roman alphabet and the living cost to pay is the best in Asia. 

Waiting for over a month now

This wait time is getting ridiculous.  20 days was the estimate and it is now closer to 30.  I just sent an email to my potential employer with a veiled threat of desertion, and asked for a deadline.  I hope this will light a fire under them.   Arin and I are discussing alternatives.  He is going to send out more job inquiries which we should have done long ago.  I put all  my eggs in one basket and should have known better.  Also, I contacted my nephew who is currently living in Asia.  During a recent skype conversation, he had mentioned $100 per hour tutoring opportunities.

20 days to get a visa, I do not think so

It has been 20 days since the visa was applied for, and we have had no contact from the school.  I decided to write an email to make sure they did not forget about me.

It has been four weeks since our last e-mail communication. Do you expect to hear from the government about the visa application soon? Will you be sending a contract for Zhongshan, or do you have confidence in the ongoing Shanghai application?

 Thank you for your patience. We have not heard anything from the government yet. 

I was hoping for more information but I guess all we can do is wait.

This tip will save you thousands of dollars over your lifetime. Home made laundry detergent.

Homemade laundry detergent, 3 cents per load

Ingredients:
1\3 bar of soap
1\2 cup washing soda  (this box is found in your laundry section of any grocery store)
Optional: 1\2 cup borax

Process
Shred soap
Heat together soap plus 18 cups water
Once melted, add soda (and borax if desired)
When dissolved, remove from heat
In an unheated container, place 4 cups hot water
Add soap mixture
Add 1 gallon plus 6 cups unheated water
Let sit.
The final product will be a liquid with ribbons of slime
Use 1\3 cup for large loads

International neighbors sharing recipes.

My international neighbors like to share their native food.  I finally had Borsch.  It was not bad tasting and very pretty.  When I want to reciprocate, I do not reciprocate with American food because really what do we have:   bbq, hot dogs, hamburgers, pie, nothing that anyone else does  not have.  So, I must share with them, food from other cultures to which they have no association.  A couple months ago I made Tacos for everyone and this week I shared Hummus.  I even made roasted beet hummus for my Ukranian neighbors since the soviets are so fond of beets.  So far no one has approached me with a positive analysis of the beet hummus..  I guess tahini is something for which one has to develop a taste.

How to save money and how not to save money at the post office. Media mail.

How not to save money:  I went to the post office to check out an offer for $2 off a $25 gift card purchased at USPS.  Unfortunately this offer is a dud.  Come to find out, these gift cards come with a $5.95 activation fee. Why in the world do the post office marketers think that $2 off of $28.95 is a good deal for a $25 gift card when gift cards are sold everywhere else for the face value with no activation fee.  Luckily, I had to go to the post office anyway so did not waste a trip.  I was there because I had found a stack of letters from an old pen pal.  A pen pal is defined as a person with whom you exchange letters through the mail. There are no guidelines, you just tell each other about your life.   We became pen pals because we were both in girl scouts earning our pen pal badge.  I thought she might  get a kick out of reading them the old letters.  They were mostly about her cats.

How to save money: Use MEDIA MAIL, rather than first class, to send books and papers.  This can especially save you a lot of money if you are selling on Amazon or Ebay.  If you plan to send an excess of mail, you may require vetting by the postmaster.

Scotland, Girl scouts and Pen pals

Yesterday I joined my cousin Catherine and my mother for a fundraiser tea sponsored by the Daughters of Scotia.  We were first served pumpkin scones from a Starbucks copycat recipe, then finger sandwiches and three different teas.  We also enjoyed a silent auction where my cousin and I were bumping up the bids.  Luckily I was outbid on all my items, but she had to take home 4.  At the least a chunk of her Christmas shopping is done.  Cathy had tried to pay for our entire table but we all slipped checks into her purse when she was over at the silent auction bidding for her items.

Today I have plans with my old girl scout troop.  We still get together 4 or 5 times a year, usually to socialize during a meal, but sometimes we creative art or do something outdoors.  This time we are visiting Patty C. who lives two towns over.  Patty M is picking me up since my tires are almost bald.  I just need them to last a little while longer until I can park it at my Dad´s ranch.  It could be years before I return for the car, at which time I will need 4 new tires and a new battery so I do not want to waste money now.  I have already had to purchase two used tires in the past month and they were cheap for $35 each but I have been back to the shop 4 times because one of them was faulty.  In this blog, if I told you everything I did all day, you would see that there is a lot of time wasted trying to save money.  See next post for how to save money at the post office.  For instance, the post office sent out a coupon to received $2 off a $25 gift card purchased at USPS, but come to find out, there is a $5.95 activation charge. Why in the world do the post office marketers think that $2 off of $28.95 is a good deal for a $25 gift card when gift cards are sold everywhere else for the face value with no activation fee.  Luckily, I had to go to the post office anyway so did not waste a trip.  I was there because I had found a stack of letters from an old pen pal (A pen pal is a person with whom you exchange letters through the mail.  There are no guidelines, you just tell each other about your life.)   We became pen pals because we were both in girl scouts earning our pen pal badge.  I thought she might  get a kick out of reading them.  They were mostly about her cats.  By the way, you can save money by using MEDIAL MAIL, rather than first class, to send books and papers.

Shanghai comes to me in the form of lumpia

I can not seem to get to Shanghai so Shanghai has come to me.  My Filippino neighbor, Marianne, taught me a new dish.  Today, I learned how to make Shanghai lumpia which is my favorite of the Philippine dishes.  The receipe is very simple: place garlic, pepper, and ground pork in spring roll wraps, then deep fry.  This is much simpler than the dishes I learned to make in Mexico.  Marrianne has visited Shanghai in the past and wants to return just to go shopping because it is so inexpensive there.

My life in ´´The Cho´´ while I await news from China

The airshow was at Mather Air Force Base this weekend.  This is a yearly event.  I volunteered back in 2011 when I was looking for a husband (I wrote a blog about this and when I find it again, I will post the link) Luckily I do not need to drive to the airport because the planes fly right over my house.  This year, for the first time in my life, I saw a B'52 fly over.  I was surprised at  how low it flew and thought it was going to crash.   I  also experienced some other firsts this weekend.

 We had a big thunder storm one night.  Arin and I were in the kitchen and a roll of thunder crashed right over the house.  It was so strong that the kitchen window madly shook with rage.  I had never seen a window vibrate like that.  Luckily it was not enough of a vibration to crack it.  This event was complimentary to the lightening which struck a metal roof while shopping in a Oaxacan food market, not to mention the earthquake that rocked the 200 year old Oaxacan brick house while I was sleeping (see Oaxaca blog to read more about the lightening, earthquake, teaching, living, and playing bridge in Oaxaca, Mexico)

The other first I experienced this week was also while in the kitchen, I heard a loud screech outside, then saw a cloud of vulcanized rubber float by  my window.  Although I have heard cars burn rubber before, never have I seen a cloud of smoke 10 feet high.  I felt sorry for my neighbor who was walking on the sidewalk and engulfed in rubber fumes for a few seconds.  Later when I went outside, I saw a doughnut in the intersection.  A doughnut is when a car is driven in a tight circle very fast and debris from the tires leave a black circle on the ground.  This is usually done in intersections or large parking lots.

Goodbye furniture

Most of my furniture was listed on craigslist, but none of it sold.  I had several people say they were coming over but none showed up.  The only visitor I received was when I listed an item for free.  Oh, yes, people were all over that.  I offered it all to Salvation Army but of course this is a big corporation now, so you have to schedule the pick up on line and it is one month out.  Finally, a friend from church told me that Family Promise had recently been given a warehouse and are making it into a showroom of furniture.  I called them this morning and they have already hauled it away.  This makes me one step closer to renting out the house.

My home town Rancho Cordova is the most culturally diverse city in the world

I really do not need to leave home to experience the cultures of the world. According to many polls, Rancho Cordova is the most culturally diverse city in the world. For example, on the north side of my house are my neighbors from the Philippines Marianne and Brett. The neighbors on my south side are Ludbov and Sasha who just bought the house.   The two neighbors across the street are also Ukrainian.  What all my neighbors have in common is the fact that they owned farms in their original country.  Marianne raises chickens which Ludbov thought were mine, so when she saw Marianne 's yard she suggested to me, "You remain in United States and we can all raise chickens and have good life." Her husband Sasha is, and has been, raising pigeons for most of his life.  It is his hobby.  Every day Ludbov finds another reason for me to stay in USA.  I always tell her, "You got to live in two countries, now I get to."  The other day she found out that I had lived in Mexico for 6 months and said, "You already lived in two countries, you stay"  Now I need a new comeback....

Finished TEFL, Visa resubmitted

September 21, 2015
All essays are graded and I passed the course with a grade of A.  Of course I already knew all the information so it was easy.  I sent the proof to China and the visa is resubmitted.  China has informed me that if the government does not issue the visa this time, they `have a good relationship with the authorities`' in Zhongshan and I will teach there instead.  Unfortunately, I think they are talking about the Junior High teaching job.  Plus, it pays less.  Arin really wants Shanghai because it has a train system.  If you know anything about California, you know that we have to drive cars everywhere.  Arin was spoiled living in Chicago where they have a great train system.  Zhongshan has only a bus system. 

Still waiting for TEFL

September  15, 2015
My essay has been graded finally.  It appears that I was lost in the shuffle.

Waiting for TEFL

It has been 5 days since I submitted my TEFL for grading.  There are 4 essays so at this rate, it will take a month to complete this course.  I emailed the company and am waiting for a response.

TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) certificate is required by the Chinese government

September  11,2015
Earlier in this blog, I mentioned the TEFL certificate.  I do not know how this whole TEFL craze began, but somehow, some fantastic marketing people have convinced the governments of the world that it is the ultimate in English teaching verification.  So, even though I have an actual teaching credential earned through a state university, it pales in comparison to this online certification, which, as I said earlier, anyone with an 8th grade education could complete, not to mention, one could just pay someone to take it for you, or for that matter, you could probably just issue yourself one since there is no regulation or accreditation.  Anyway, the Chinese government will not issue me a foreign expert visa unless I get this paper.

I have signed up for the same TEFL course that Arin is taking through a Group-on coupon for $39. This particular course is 160 hours. I have completed the first one-fourth of the multiple choice questions in 20 minutes. The vendor has 4 lessons with multiple choice, then an essay.  The essay took 2 hours.  I have submitted it for grading and can not continue until I receive the results.  Now I wait....

I suggest you better just go ahead and get one of these certificates even if you are a credentialed teacher with 30 years of experience.

Visa rejected by Chinese governement

September 11, 2015
The Chinese rejected me as an expert because I do not have the TEFL so I sign up through the Groupon coupon and begin the course now.

Medical release!

August 23.2015

Believe me, it was no picnic redoing the thyroid surgery but I had a lot of support especially from my friends Leslie and Patty.  For both surgeries, Leslie fetched me from the hospital and stayed with me for as long as I needed.  Patty, for her part, researched the disease and discovered that there is a whole procedure associated with the surgery that requires a special diet. 
Yada, yada yada, I recovered from the second surgery and obtained a medical release.  I email China and let them know I am free to travel and work.  Surprise, the position is still open and I have again been offered the same job.  I am a bit suspicious that the position has not been filled but I still say yes!  Here is the email:

I am so happy to hear that. Are you positive that you can talk comfortably with the students for 45 minutes (one class is 45 minutes)? 

We are evaluating several candidates for school in Shanghai and Guangzhou and you are always my priority. I would love to recommend you to the school again if you are perfectly to teach now.

Cancer strikes again

Today, as expected, I received the rejection email from China.  They really had no choice.

The teachers in Shanghai were shocked about the news.

"We feel so sorry but have decided to employ another foreign teacher because it would be hard for you to be granted a visa under such a circumstances. We hope this year you could have enough time to recover from the surgery and return to good health. It is really really a pity! We will consider you as our first choice if next year we have suitable positions for you".  Thank you for what you have done! :) Best wishes

I gambled and lost

June 16, 2015
I have been going merrily along accumulating and sending documents to China but all has been in vain. I did not inform China of the thyroid surgery so have been stalling on sending the medical form until my doctor releases me, well, it was all in vain because today I received notice from my surgeon that the second half of my thyroid is cancerous and needs to be removed.  Needless to say, I was forced to email China and inform them that I could not receive the medical release. 

What documents are required?

June 5, 2015
Here is a copy of the email I received from China:

Please get these documents prepared and E-mail them back to me:

1. Copy of your passport.

2. Non Criminal Record (See attachement and scan it back)

3. Fill in the the Work Permit Application (See attachement and scan it back)

4. Diploma

5. Reference Letter from your current work position.

6. Physcial Check Form (Personal doctor or hospital prove you can work)

7. Contract (See attachement and sign) 

8. Are you coming to China alone? Or with your family? If so, please also send a copy of passport of your family member.

If you plan to apply overseas, have ready, copies of all these documents.  Because I am not prepared, I may not be able to procure the required documents on time.  Here are some problems I am having and some advice.

Passport:  China, as well as many other countries, will not allow entrance to their country if your passport expires in 6 months or less.  Mine expires in October so I have to pay extra money to have a new passport rush delivered.

Diploma:  I cannot find mine.  I check on my college website and unimaginably cannot request a copy online???!!!  I must download a form, pay money, and mail in the request.  It takes up to 7 weeks to send me a diploma???!!!   Since I do not have a working printer at home, I have to find a place to print documents.  Also I am currently experimenting living in the suburbs without a car, so it takes me an hour and a half to reach the government run job center by bus instead 6 minutes by car.

Physical check form:  China did not send me a form so I went to my doctor and told her I needed a physical check form.  She said that her hospital does not have such a form.  I explained that I only needed a piece of paper which stated that I am able to travel and work outside of the country.  You may need to prepare your own form and have your doctor fill it out.  You could possibly obtain one from an urgent care facility.  She just flat out said there was nothing she could prepare and anyway, she can not give me a medical release until my surgeon releases me.  You may need to prepare your own form and have your doctor fill it out.  You could possibly obtain one from an urgent care facility.

China requested I send documents as I prepare them, so I have sent 1,2,3,5 and 7 so far.  I sent a copy of the old passport since I do not have the updated one.

Here is the procedure to legally obtain work in China

The procedures will be like this: 

Get Work Permit Certificate=> 

Official Invitation Letter=> 

Get Work Visa in embassy in U.S.A=>

Residency Visa.

I imagine the procedure will be about the same throughout the world in any country which requires a legal document in order to be allowed to work.  Keep in mind that there are also many companies which will allow you to work with only a tourist visa.  For instance, many companies in Mexico....

Job offer!

June 3, 2015

The subject line of my email reads:  Job offer in Shanghai.

Can you believe the timing!  I receive the job offer one day after my thyroid surgery.  My friend Leslie brings me home from the hospital and Arin is waiting for me with the news.  My first thought was that I wish I would have received the email a day earlier because instead of gambling and having only part of the thyroid removed, I would have taken my sisters advice to "¨Take the %·//·!= thing out!"  She has had thyroid cancer and related problems for 30 years and is an expert on the subject.

The job sounds like a good offer.  I get a free apartment, free flight, medical insurance and a salary.  Of course I say yes!  The next step is too submit all the documents and begin preparing my house for rental.  I ask my friend Judy to advise me as she has been in the property management business for decades.  She tells me I need to paint the entire inside of the house a neutral color among other things.  I have a ton of furniture, etc., to get rid of or put in storage.  This will be quite a project.  At least the yard looks good.  In Oaxaca I wore the same 12 pieces of clothing over and over.  In China I will need to dress professionally so will cull my wardrobe down to 10 or so suits, but what about the shoes!!!???!!!  I can not believe Arin has only one pair.  Girls just do not operate like that!

The job starts September 1, 2015.

China requests a phone interview

May 23, 2015
I received an email from China requesting a phone interview. It takes a few days but I interview with a fellow who sounds as if he is from England.  The interview goes well until he asks if I have experience teaching literature.  Aside from junior novels, I do not.  I tell him this then add that I have a good friend who is a high school English teacher.  This is true.

My thyroid operation is scheduled for this week.  I decide to gamble and have only half my thyroid removed.

An encouraging email from China

Friday, May 22, 2015

I received an email from China which lists 5 potential jobs for which they feel I would be qualified. I choose the job as high school English teacher and apply. 

I am going to apply for 5 jobs each day, Thyroid surgery

May 2015
We continue our job search on DavesESLcafe.com.  On this website, one can find hundreds of teaching job postings.  Arin has decided to send out 5 requests a a time.  Only I will apply for jobs as Arin plans to start University in fall of 2016 and does not want to be in a contract.  He is actually more comfortable tutoring rather than teaching a whole class, so he will finish the TEFL and look for a tutoring opportunity paid or volunteer.
May 15, 2015
The first 5 are 1 in China, 3 in Korea and 1 in Thailand.  We wait five days and hear nothing.
May 21, 2015
Second 5 are 2 in Korea, 3 in China.  We wait one day and receive one response from China.  We stop sending out queries.
 May 23, 2015   I had my thyroid surgery today.  This procedure entails  months of special diets,



  

South Korea application

We have downloaded the ERIC application for the South Korean public schools and find that we are against a deadline.  Arin filled out most of the application and I had to write a lesson plan complete with handouts.   This alone took 3 hours.  I used one of my lesson plans from my 7 year olds class.  Most of my lessons use the language experience approach and this particular lesson involved making a book about a jack-o-lantern who did not want to brush his teeth.  I also have to make copies of my credential, etc.then scan and send them to ERIC.  Luckily, there are internet cafes all around Oaxaca that cost about 15 cents per hour. We finally get this whole application done and barely meet the deadline.

Bad news, the application was rejected because we downloaded the application for European applicants.  Deadline missed.......time to regroup.

Job search: Asia

I am traveling with my companion, Arin.  He was kind enough to go with me to Mexico, and now it is his turn to choose the country.  He has always been interested in Asia.  South Korea is chosen based on the suggestions of a fellow teacher, Daniel.  Daniel is from England and spent two years teaching in South Korea. He informs us that approximately 90% of Korea children attend English classes so there are plenty of jobs.  He has several fellow countrymen who were hired in the public school system through an organization called ERIC. There are also tons of private schools.  Daniel opted to work in a private school as he did not want to wait for the public school hiring season.  According to Daniel, the students in the public school are much better behaved because English is part of their curriculum whereas those in private school attend classes after the regular school day, sometimes until 9 p.m.  We decide to send an application through ERIC.  ERIC only accepts teachers with credentials, so only I will apply for this program and Arin can find work in a private school once we arrive.

We have downloaded the ERIC application and find that we are against a deadline.  Arin filled out most of the information and I had to write a lesson plan.  I used one of my lesson plans from my 7 year olds class.  Most of my lessons use the language experience approach and this particular lesson involved making a book about a jack-o-lantern who did not want to brush his teeth.  I also have tn make copies of my credential, etc.then scan and send them to ERIC.  Luckily, there are internet cafes all around Oaxaca that cost about 15 cents per hour. We finally get this whole application done and sent in by the deadline.

The DavesESLcafe.com.  On this website, one can find hundreds of job posting.  He has decided to send out 5 requests a a time.

Teaching English Overseas

Dear English speaking people, you do not have to settle for a minimum wage job in your home country.  By virtue of the fact that you speak English, you automatically have an invaluable job skill.  English instructors are in demand the world over.  You do not need to know math, you do not need a high school diploma or a college education, you do not need experience, all that is required is that you speak, read and write English at, oh, probably an 8th grade level, maybe even lower.  I guarantee that you can get a job.  My travel companion Arin was able to obtain a job with only these qualifications.  Well, he did graduate from high school and happens to have excellent writing skills, but sometimes he talks too fast and is difficult to understand....

I happen to have a teaching credential which makes it easier to find work.  Some countries, in order to qualify for a work visa, one must be considered a foreign expert.  If you want to work in one of these countries, you can become an 'expert' by obtaining a TEFL certification.  This acronym stands for Teaching English as a Foreign Language.  I do not know how this certification became so popular with governments, but they all seem to accept it even though it is an unregulated.  Virtually anybody can create a TEFL course and issue the certificate.  Arin is currently working on his TEFL because he wants to teach in China.  TEFL classes are offered everywhere.  If you do not feel confident about teaching, my suggestion is that you take an instructor lead class where you can gain actual teaching experience, however, there are also on line classes which require approximately an 8th grade education to pass.  These classes vary in price.  Arin found a deal on Groupon for $39. 

An easy place for Americans to find employment is Mexico.  Mexico is the country where Arin and I began our traveling teaching careers.  You can read my Oaxaca, Mexico blog to see the steps we took to find work, housing and a social life in that great city.

Finding a job:  The best place to find employer requests is a website called DavesESLcafe.com.  You can also look on craigslist.com. The employer requests vary.  Some employers will only accept teachers from England, some only from America.  Some employers only want young people, some only want those with experience.

After 6 months teaching in Mexico, we are ready for a new adventure.  You are welcome to join us..
FOOTNOTE:  Much of the following will be backdated as it has already happened.