The Great Escape

Q1. Where did you move to and when?

I went from Thailand to Vietnam, and I should add I'm glad I did.

Q2. How long did you work in Thailand?

I spent about 5 miserable years working at supposedly the best uni in Thailand, but nothing could be further from the truth. 8 teachers left in one semester. The uni thinks they can rely on their name to hire English teachers, but they can't. As a result, they have advertised for teachers for over one year without filling vacancies. The international affairs dept. doesn't know how to recruit teachers. I walked off a few other jobs and I have walked out of interviews because of the unprofessionalism displayed by potential Thai employers. (Talking on the their cell phones during the interview, etc.)

Q3. What was your main reason for moving?

My main reason for leaving was the overall disappointment with the culture. This culture is about superficiality, nothing more. Even though the culture has some beautiful aspects to it, it's an overall disappointment. I've seen foreigners treated very badly without any recourse. Vietnam is much more stable, the people are much friendlier than Thais and the students try harder. If Thailand doesn't clean up it's image, Vietnam will pass them by. Also, I was tired of students coming to me crying, feeling that they were stupid because their grades were manipulated by the Thai staff to fit the mold and image of the university. Foreign teachers are kept out of the grading process for that reason. I once sat in a meeting where a Thai teacher tried to justify that in a six-section class why section 1 should have the highest scores and section 6 should have the lowest scores. The reason was because section 1 is number one

Q4. What are the advantages of working where you are now compared to Thailand?

The advantages are many. The overall atmosphere is better. The pay is better and they actually care about the input from foreign teachers and they have gone as far to say they want to be criticized so that they can make improvements. This is not a superficial society.

Q5. What do you miss about life in Thailand?

The only thing I miss about Thailand is that the facilities are a little bit better. I didn't thrive on the nightlife, so that never mattered to me. I would never teach in Thailand again. I would never work for a Thai in a teaching capacity. Everything goes in one ear and out the other. They have a major inferiority complex which interferes with their professional judgement.

Q6. Would you advise a new teacher to seek work in Thailand or where you are now?

As a starting point, Thailand is a good place for teacher training and for a first time job. However, it's not the best place to teach. If your heart is truly set on teaching, Thailand is not the place to be. You will like it at first, then you see the way things really are after a while, then you get frustrated, then you find another job and see that it is the same there, then you know it's time to get out.

Q7. Any plans to return to Thailand one day?

In April 2007, for the last time, only as a tourist. I do have some close Thai and foreign friends. My foreign friends are lucky that they are retired and don't have to work. Even they say if they had to work in Thailand, they would leave.

Q8. Anything else you'd like to add?

I would recommend that if you teach in Thailand that you keep to yourself in the workplace. Thais will look for ammunition to use against you. Foreigners will do the same in the hopes that they can get ahead by collaborating with the Thais. It's a shame to see foreigners reduce themselves to acting like Thais, but they need job security I guess because they can't do anything else in their lives. I've heard so much juvenile, immature gossip by Thai women in their 40's and 50's who supposedly have PhDs. They believe that they will get promoted or get a title, but in the end, the Thais don't care about them either. The Thai government says that Thai government schools have to employ so many foreigners. Believe me when I say that if it the Thai staff could have their way, they wouldn't have any foreigners working at their schools. This should give some idea of what they really think of foreign teachers.