Teaching in Bangkok, Thailand

by Amy
(Bay Area, CA)

I wanted to do something meaningful with my life after working in the computer field in the late 90s during the dot com boom. So I took a class to get my TESOL certificate and in the meantime had been researching living and working in Thailand.

It looked like a fantastic place - so exotic and beautiful. I'd applied for a position I saw on the online edition of The Bangkok Post. A few days later the director of the school actually called me! She was very interested in hiring me, but understandably wanted to meet me first.

So I quit my job and bought a one way ticket: First to Kathmandu Nepal to go trekking for five weeks and explore the country, then off to live in my new country: Thailand.

Yes, I moved to this far flung place in South East Asia, and I'd never been there before in my life. I was greatly relieved that it was much cleaner and more cosmopolitan than the places in India I had visited a year prior (and how!).

It all worked out well. In the four years I lived there, I taught in two different schools. The photo above was taken at my first school in 2001, Chatrwittaya School, a private bilingual school in the outskirts of Bangkok.

The second school I taught at was another private bilingual school called Daroonpat. It was closer into town and my husband (I found a wonderful Thai guy and married him!) and I lived on a 12th floor condo unit across the street from the school. No commutes for me and a fantastic view of the city from there.

I love teaching in Thailand. I don't want to be a teacher in the United States. There are plenty of frustrations about working with a culture different than your own, but the rewards are SOOO worth it!

It's an incredible experience living abroad, where seeing monks in their saffron robes making alms rounds is a daily occurrence. Weekend trips to the most beautiful beaches or historical ancient cities are de rigeur. It's also fun playing hostess to your friends and family back home who come to visit you.

It changed my life for the better. If you're considering teaching abroad - DO IT.