Deciding to move to Thailand was the scariest decision of my life. Having had no experience teaching or travelling, I didn't know what to expect. I was very worried that I was jumping in too deep and wouldn't be able to cope.
HOWEVER. Wow. I've been back in the UK for three days and I'm already itching to return! (Vietnam in a few months!!) It was without a doubt the best experience of my life. Every day presented something new and unexpected - be it a school festival or a flash flood - and gave my life a sense of excitement I didn't realise was lacking.
Yes, there are challenges. The language barrier is significant, but being willing to learn some Thai makes things much easier (it's not as hard as you'd think!). The lack of facilities at the school and lack of prior warning was also a challenge - we had no projector, the internet was very intermittent and it was sometimes difficult to access a printer. The general organisation of school events also made things difficult in terms of planning lessons, we were often told that there would be no classes at very short notice. Also, you are given basically no training before you are let loose on the students, it takes a good few weeks before find your feet. The first 4-5 weeks are particularly difficult; trying to get to grips with lesson plans, coming up with teaching topics, creating handouts etc., and it feels like you are constantly behind. It was extremely stressful.
But... things always work out :-) thankfully, no one really checked what you were doing at any point, so you can always stick a film on with English subs, or just chat to the students about their weekends or hobbies or football or music or whatever - it was very laidback and I think the students appreciated the genuine conversation.
The students were unforgettable. I didn't think I'd cry on the last day, but when Email (yes, 'Email') approached me at the end of the final lesson and said 'Teacher, have... a nice... day' I lost it. These are actual real people that you can't help but form real connections with, and are also a massive source of emotional support, motivation and encouragement. It would have been incredibly difficult without them and I do honestly miss them a lot. The culture in Thailand is very different than the UK, I didn't witness any bullying and the students were very happy and free to be themselves, it was personally very heartwarming. They were happy to chat to you in the corridor and were always very friendly, if at times a little cheeky lol. anyway...
I was located in Chaiyaphum, kinda in the middle of nowhere, about a 6 hour bus ride from Bangkok. I think 4 months is a good amount of time to spend there, there's enough nearby to keep you entertained - provided you get a bike (an absolute essential if you want to fully experience Thailand, and something that only requires a passport) - including lotus fields, hikes, waterfalls, a shopping mall, bars, clubs, restaurants. Getting overnight buses was fairly straightforward if you wanted to travel somewhere during a long weekend also.
Speaking of, there aren't really any half terms. But you get a few long weekends. I would recommend making the most of the time you have off, because the workload can be quite heavy and if you're wanting to travel during the semester, that's gonna be your only real opportunity.
There is a good community of teachers in Chaiyaphum, given that there are a few schools in the area, and most of the teachers live in the same building so it's pretty easy to build connections with people there. I met a bunch of really cool people from all over the world and we had a fairly solid lil squad for evening drinks and card games! There were two other teachers at my school and we shared an office. Thankfully, we got on very well and are still in touch now! However, I have heard of a few people who were unhappy with their locations or colleagues, and either moved to a different province or went home entirely. I suppose that's just the luck of the draw, but something to be aware of.
Money-wise, you get paid a decent salary given the cost of living in Thailand. I was getting about 32000 baht per month, which goes a long way. If you live fairly frugally, which I would recommend, then it's possible to save a decent amount for if you're wanting to travel afterwards. I personally spent about 2 months going around the whole country, experiencing the mountains and temples of Chiang Rai, the hippies in Pai, the beautiful islands of Ko Tao and Ko Samui, and the things that cannot be named in Bangkok. Stuff that I never thought I'd ever have the opportunity to do. Also, flights to other countries are short and cheap. I know people who have travelled to Indonesia and even Australia after teaching. Asia is a very beautiful part of the world and I reckon you may as well see as much as possible while there. Given how little travelling I'd done in the past, I'm surprised by how confident I now feel when booking transport and accomodation in a city I've never been to before. Often times, I'd be booking a hostel while on a bus/train to the location, which is fun!
I could write more, so much happened, every day was different and I feel like I've lived so much in a relatively short space of time. Coming home is bizarre, I'm over it already ahaha, get me back there asap!
Overall, highly recommend, it'll be amazing, just do it, you've got nothing to lose and so much to gain, also, like, what else are ya gonna do!? I'm so glad I took the plunge, and I've already got a flight booked for Vietnam next year! Looking forward to doing it all again :-) good luck!
PS just reading this back and didn't even mention how helpful TFT were!!! Answer: very helpful. Jaemi was always just a message away, was around to reassure my nerves beforehand via video call and provided expert guidance when it came to applying for visas and getting stuff legalised etc. Very helpful, owe a lot of this experience to his help! Thank you TFT!!
