Having no clue what to expect from living and teaching in Thailand, I have been so overwhelmingly happy with what the experience has been like so far! CIEE was great in helping place me at a school that I feel welcomed and at home in. I have been able to get to know some of my Thai community, have taken Thai boxing classes at the local college, celebrated Thai festivals with other foreigners in my town, motorbiked to the biggest Buddha in Thailand less than 50 km away, and have indulged in more delicious Thai foods than I knew existed. Teaching through CIEE, I was able to meet tons of other English teachers excited about traveling. I was able to explore the most beautiful beaches, temples, caves, waterfalls, mountain villages, animal sanctuaries (Thailand literally has everything) almost every weekend with people that share the same passion and desire for travel and cultural immersion. Teaching has been a fun and sometimes hectic learning curve -- I've learned to lesson plan, control a classroom of 50 wild Thai high schoolers, and get used to the different structure and pace of a Thai school, but I wouldn't trade it for anything. I've grown to love my students and have met some of the best people in my life while teaching and traveling in Thailand. I have 5 more months here, but already can't imagine leaving the Land of Smiles.

CIEE is a great program to teach abroad through! They provide a placement for you to teach, housing, pre-departure support, a training in Thailand to meet the other teachers and create a network of support/travel buddies and you get paid a salary to do it! The staff are very friendly and always available to answer your questions big or small. Their counterpart in Thailand is also a wonderful group of staff (OEG) who are willing to help you with anything and they have an incredible knowledge of Thailand, most are Thai or are ex-pats who have been living there for years. The one thing that was a bit shocking was how expensive CIEE was, but with everything that they provide you with, the cost is worth it. My experience with CIEE is one I still think about everyday, I have made great friends, excellent connections and feel like I have a deeper connection with Thailand than most tourists or even teachers do. They are the best company to go through if you have never taught abroad and/or you are looking for excellent support through every step of the process. If you have any doubt about moving abroad or changing your life, they are the ones to get you through it.

My experience with CIEE has been great! They've been helpful since before I left on my trip abroad and continued to help me throughout my time here. They took the time to answer my very specific questions before I left for this adventure which made me feel more comfortable before leaving home. After arriving to Thailand they had a well organized orientation for the first week in Thailand, the orientation was very helpful and had a lot of good information which was the perfect way to start my experience. I've been nothing but happy with CIEE and would recommend them to anyone who is planning on teaching in Thailand.

*UPDATE 11/14/2017*
Before coming to Thailand I had zero travel experience. CIEE made me pre-departure easy and stress free so my experience was already off to a great start. They have been available to me for questions and concerns the entire time I've been in Thailand. I loved working with CIEE so much that I have now applied for another program through them. I trust them and the people working there :) I'm currently still here in Thailand but this experience has 100% changed my life, it's allowed me to travel and do something I love, working with kids, at the same time.

I studied abroad through CIEE in Seville, Spain in 2013 and had such a great experience. After studying in Sevilla, I knew I wanted to live abroad again and I am so glad I did!

The week long orientation was such a great way to make friends and it really eased any nerves I had about living and working in a foreign country.

I definitely recommend this program if you want total support and guidance on obtaining your visa, making friends, finding a school, and finding housing.

I honestly have zero complaints about my experience with CIEE thus far - all positives!!!

I am very thankful for my Google search of "teach English abroad" and CIEE was the first program that came up. It is very highly recognized and their reputation make it one of the best programs to pursue your teaching abroad experience! The staff was more than helpful and was there every step of the way to guide you through the process. Kerry Plath was an excellent coordinator for the Teach in Thailand program and always went out of her way in order to assist you in ANY way! She even brought me a separate Lonely Planet - Thailand book with her in her suitcase to give to me when we all arrived in Bangkok because mine got lost in the mail prior to leaving home. CIEE provided many webinars and Q&A's for participants interested in the program so that there were no unanswered questions during the preparation stage. I am very appreciative of the fact that CIEE simplified the entire visa process, as well as found a school for you to work at. This makes the program fee well worth the price. And as a foreign language teacher, you will be making a higher salary than most Thai teachers so you will earn that amount back in no time! Although my experience in my current town in Thailand has been an amazing one, I would say my favorite part of this journey was the start of it. Every participant met in Bangkok for orientation to prepare for the once-in-a-lifetime experience ahead. I am very thankful for this week in Bangkok because that is also where I met my close friends who I now travel with on the weekends! CIEE does an amazing job at organizing this orientation and it truly helped shake out all the nervousness we had when we first arrived in Thailand. Overall, I am forever thankful I did that Google search that one day back at home. Now I know what program I will use if I ever want to teach abroad again!

Hello everybody,

My name is Steve and I am teaching in Chumphon Thailand. It is a nice town located close to the sea. I work at a private school out in the jungle. I also live on campus which is nice as I am only about 25 yards from my classroom. The school staff and my co workers are awesome. I love it here! The food is delicious and I am starting to meet more English people. They are happy to see another westerner in this beautiful country and have been showing me around town. I love the Thai people but it is also nice to speak to English people as well.

Steve

In short, I fully recommend both OEG and CIEE. CIEE staff were knowledgable and excellent answering my questions prior to departure; I even missed a few deadlines and they were able to help guide me through the process none-the-less. In particular, Kerry Plath is great.

The orientation itself is fantastic. I found the classes informative in regards to teaching and general practical tips about living in Thailand. It was also a lot of fun: there were some neat excursions, like the river cruise and sight-seeing at the temple, and the food and accommodations were top-notch. Most importantly, it's a great opportunity to meet other teachers, and there was plenty of time to go-out and socialize.

I'm having a great time at my placement without any issues, so I haven't been in a ton of contact with OEG since I started teaching. However, there have been some useful facebook groups and emails for organizing stuff and looking up fun events that I have found helpful: I feel as though OEG would be there to assist me if any issues were to arise.

CIEE is an incredible program, and I highly recommend it to anyone considering teaching in Thailand (or anywhere else in the world for that matter). They were so supportive and helpful during the whole daunting process of moving abroad, with everything from applying for a visa, preparing and packing, and even a week-long orientation upon arrival. They provided loads of information and webinars about every step, and answered all questions and emails right away. I chose to teach for a semester, starting in October 2016, and almost immediately extended my stay to a year (and counting) once I arrived because I loved it so much. My only complaint was that CIEE was a little expensive, but I can honestly say it's been totally worth it. Partially because of how simple they made the complicated and confusing process of finding a job and applying for a visa, but mostly because of the in-country orientation. My first week in Thailand was spent in Bangkok with the other 170+ participants, where we spent our days learning about Thai culture and language, classroom expectations, work visa requirements, and even some intro-TEFL classes. The information provided helped prepare me for my first-ever teaching experience as well as eased the culture shock, and spending that time making friends with the other participants who were going through the same thing was amazing. Teaching in Thailand has its challenges, and my experience would have been totally different (and much more difficult) without the support I received from CIEE and the friends I met at orientation. I've also met teachers here who've come to Thailand through other programs - or even on their own - and CIEE is hands down the most organized and supportive way to go and I can't speak highly enough about the incredible experience I've had through them.