Submit your own Great Escape


Alison Empey

Q1. Where did you move to and when?

Sancheong City, South Korea. March 31, 2006.

Q2. How long did you work in Thailand?

A little over a year in both Bangkok and Suratthani.

Q3. What was your main reason for moving?

Weary of putting off the uni debt-collecting shysters back home. Thai wages just wouldn't cut it.

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

Money. Gaining a renewed appreciation for Thailand - for even some of the things that drove me mad when I lived there.

Q5. What do you miss about life in Thailand?

The beauty and exoticness of the land, the fun-loving and laid-back nature of the people, the fantastic food, the cost of living, the students that caused my face to actually hurt at the end of the day from excessive smiling - I shit you not, my mates, the Thai whisky, the weather, the spontaneity and unpredictable daily adventures.

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

I would drag my naked body through broken glass and follow it up with an acid bath before recommending my worst enemy seek work in rural South Korea. I've aged five years in one from being in such close quarters to intensely anal, controlling, and close-minded people. Cities are less intense but would only even suggest it for short-term money-hoarding gigs.

Q7. Any plans to return to Thailand one day?

Well....that's a tough one.

Q8. Anything else you'd like to add?

17 days remaining. Thailand, here i come.

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