‘Sascha, you know what is missing here? The ability to think’

That quote of one of my colleagues over here at Udon Thani Vocational College says it all and I couldn’t agree more. During a conversation we had last week we tried to figure out why Thai people would rather spend their time searching for and copying things they find instead of using the same amount of time to think of their own.

This is not a students problem only though. This problem can be found everywhere in Thailand. Among teachers, workers, doctors….everybody is a copy cat – and not a thinker. While we all copy things once in a while it still stays important to think about the things you copy. ‘Does it make sense to copy this?’ ‘Does it really fit my needs?’ ‘Doest it really answer the question I have to answer?’ – those are questions we all ask us usually when copying things we found in the web or in books – Thai people however tend to ask nothing. Therefore they come up with solutions to problems where you might think ‘WTF, how the hell should this help us now?’.

When reacting angry, many people here don’t understand why. After all, you asked them to do some work, and they did ‘some’ work. They don’t care if it’s good or bad or if it fits or not…they just did something so you have no right to blame them…

First I thought I am the only one who is irritated by this behaviors but some of my friends and colleagues (yes, not EVERYBODY is the same of course) said they experienced the same and they are also quite annoyed by it. However those are only a few people and, like mentioned in a post before, Thai people don’t like to argue (it’s to exhausting) so nobody gives a damn about this annoying behavior or tries to change it.

So if you are an English student in Thailand or a staff member at one of my clients businesses better pray you won’t get me as your English teacher / instructor – I don’t like kitties but what I hate even more are copy cats. I eat them for breakfast!

As time goes by! The next semester at Udon Thani Vocational College comes to an end and since last term’s ‘cooking adventure’ was such a success I decided to invite my students again to our big college kitchen and cook ‘European food’ with them.

pizza with thai students

Last term we focused on German food (Schnitzel and potato salad), this term it was ‘forza Italia’ time. Pizzaaaaa! Now you might say ‘come on, everybody knows Pizza – why do you have to introduce it to students?’ (yeah, that’s how I think you talk while you are reading my articles). Well the answer is easy: Thai Pizza sucks! Pizza in Thailand does not deserve the name at all. The Pizza here is ‘over americanized’ and has nothing to do with fine italian cuisine. Highlight when going to a Thai Pizza place: The Ketchup on top of it.

So, as you can see, there was a good reason to show that Pizza is not only ketchup fastfood – Pizza is more! After explaining what we need for Pizza, some of my students went shopping and brought…well, how should they know better….thai toppings. Thai sausages and thai ham. Having MacGyver as one of my idols this wasn’t a problem though of course. The next shopping highlight: Tomato Sauce…tomato sauce must be translated with ‘ketchup’ into Thai I guess….but hey…more place for MacGyver

When everybody was back from shopping we took on the cooking adventure. The dough got the beating of a lifetime (see video on youtube.com/ajarnfarang) and students had a lot of fun beating the dough down (guess they thought about me).

Afterwards we topped (with sausages, ham, onions,… and egg) the Pizza. While students were quite surprised about the egg idea (‘teacher, really??’) they quite liked it in the end.

I have to admit that the dough wasn’t that much of an italian pizza dough as hoped but the event itself, the explaining with hand and feet and the time spent with my students was worth everything. All in all a great day with some very nice memories!

Pictures of our food adventure can bee seen, of course, on facebook!

Over the past few weeks I received a lot of mails asking what it takes to teach English as a second language (ESL) here in Thailand. So here’s a short post covering the most important facts and qualifications you need to know.

Personal Qualifications:

Don’t take this to easy! You really need to be able to adapt to a completely new culture, life style and learning approach. I’ve seen many foreign teachers come and go – most of them annoyed by the Thai style of organizing the school system, curriculums and all things regarding work in a school. It’s even worse when you work for a governmental school and are forced to do office hours. So really think twice before you say ‘yeah let’s go to Thailand’ – it’s not the funny and relaxed thing you probably dream of.

Here are some requirements your personality should fit:

• Be patient! Very patient!
• Able to adapt to a completely different culture.
• Able to ‘take a lot’. Disappointments should motivate you, not get you out of your path.
• Able to explain everything 200 times. Not only to students, also to colleagues and your bosses. And expect them to only undertand half of it.

Professional qualifications:

If you’re still thinking of applying here (just google for ‘teaching in thailand’), here are some qualifications you should have.

• A degree. However English natives very often don’t even have to show their degree. That kinda sucks since that’s the reason that many idiots are teaching here. However if you can show a degree your chances are already higher. If it’s even a Master’s degree almost all doors are open.
• That’s it already. The more qualifications you have, the better. Of course. But if you are not picky when it comes to your destination school, you can already apply with nothing more than your degree. Most schools don’t expect you to have any experience as long as you’re a native speaker.

Sounds pretty easy, I know. However, as mentioned above, most people who come here to teach at a school will either leave again quite quickly or only stay because it’s ‘easy’ work. Thai teachers a very often quite lazy so if you just blend in, that’s not a problem. If you tend to do this be aware of one thing though: If I’ll see you somewhere, I’ll kick your ass. There is nothing that I hate more than lazy teachers who are just trying to make easy money on students expenses. If you mess with my kids over here, I’ll mess with you. Promised.

The kids here really appreciate any kind of change in their everyday boring school life. So if you’re enthusiastic and self-motivated teaching here can really be the experience of a lifetime. Despite all the negative experiences with offices and organization I wouldn’t miss a day – Amazing (students in) Thailand!

Since my time in Udon Thani slowly comes to an end it is time for a final recap. I already told you more than once that I love teaching and most of my students and I probably will say it again in a final post, however this post is about my college and the education commission which supervises all colleges. I figured that, if I give these complaints in a letter to the college or the commission, nobody will ever read it. So I decided to publish it here and, with some luck, it might end up on someone’s screen who cares. At least it can be of value for other foreigners who think of teaching in Udon or on a Vocational College.

I. Udon Thani Vocational College

1.) Udon Thani Vocational (UVC) NEVER communicates any changes of schedule, appointments, meetings. Several times I have been waiting for countless hours for students just to realize that UVC appointed them somewhere else without telling me. A complete waste of time!

udon thani vocational college

2.) UVC does not stick to its promises. Before coming to UVC I have been told that UVC will cover all necessary expenses and tell me what to do regarding visa. UVC failed completely in this task which forced me to pay over 35.000 THB on my own. UVC NEVER made any attempt to reimburse me for that or, at least, to excuse for it’s mistakes. See attachment for details.

3.) UVC promised to provide me with a fully functionally accommodation. However UVC did not care to repair the windows that were broken from day one which led to ongoing illness during the cold season. Furthermore UVC took away the fans that were provided in my accommodation without replacing them. UVC actually never bothered asking me if everything was ok or not.

4.) Other teachers at UVC continuously tell my students that attending English class is not important. They urge students to skip English class and to spend their time differently instead (working).

5.) When talking about an extension of my work at UVC I have been promised to teach more ‘Diploma Level’ classes and that I will be able to keep my best classes. However UVC took away almost ALL of my good classes and did not give me any Diploma Level class at all.

6.) Other English classes are mainly held in Thai and I am probably the teacher with the highest University degree here in the department however UVC continues to ignore my ideas and suggestions (English Camps, Interactive Classes, Online Classes, etc. – everything organized by me). Therefore UVC does not have to wonder that students’ skill are not improving significantly.

Furthermore, to give an example, the subject Business English covers NOTHING from the ‘business’ world. Students learn to make posters which show COPIES of marketing statements of different companies – that’s how Business English is taught.

7.) Most teachers at UVC are incredibly lazy. They always attend classes late and finish early. As mentioned in point 4 many teachers even urge their students to not go to class at all. As long as this attitude does not change UVC and it’s education will stay a bad joke compared to other, especially foreign, educational institutions.

II. Vocational Education Commission

1.) The Educational Commission obviously does not check whether a foreign teacher is qualified or not. As long as a teacher was born in the UK or US he is welcome everywhere. If you are not from the UK or US it’s hard to get a job or equal salary. However just because you’re from the UK or US doesn’t make you a good teacher by default. That is plain stupid!

2.) Teachers in private schools or high schools receive ‘teacher certificates’ so they can stay in Thailand for up to two years without being bothered to leave the country every now and then. The Vocational Education Commission however was to lazy and simply did not care about any of those problems.

3.) The evaluation of colleges is a bad joke. Committees run around the country and evaluate piles of documents and if a college looks tidy. They do not care about actual teaching so that our college even stops teaching just to welcome those committees – here you can see what is really important in Thailand – not the knowledge, just showing off.

A few days ago I had the chance to meet a television superstar here in Thailand. Christopher Wright is an English teacher who produced several successful DVDs and books, has his on TV shows (Chris Delivery) and an incredibly funny and successful stand-up comedy program (Chris Unseen).

chris unseen - chris delivery

I was quite surprised and lucky that he took the time to great me and even had some minutes left to talk to me about teaching, his motivations and experiences.

Since the talk was quite honest and not only coined by marketing phrase, I won’t tell you what we talked about – that wouldn’t be fair. However it was nice to see how energetic this famous tv teacher is (well if you’re famous and rich this helps to keep the motivation up I guess). However it was also nice to hear that even the he struggles with teaching problems like me once in a while. Motivation of students, laziness of Thai people, etc. Nice to know that we’re on a common ground in this case.

In the end he signed some stuff (books, dvds) for my students and wished me good luck with my teaching. Nice guy, nice school in the heart of Bangkok (Central World, 6th floor) – so if you want to spend more than you have to spend when studying with me (sayfun.me), don’t go to strange schools like AUA, go to Chris’ English School!

The time mentioned in the title is the time it took until I couldn’t take it anymore. Usually I always play nice and smile and try to not be offended by the way local sales people / tuk tuk driver and similar scam treat me (like foreigners are stupid, money making, waiting to be milked, machines). I always reply with a friendly ‘mai ao khrap’ (I don’t need, thank you). However, now, 1 year 3 months and 9 days after setting first food on Thai soil it was to much. And I gave a random tuk tuk driver as much crap as possible. In both, Thai and English.

Actually he didn’t do anything worse than other tuk tuk drivers, he just did it repeatedly and after I already said politely ‘no’ to half a dozen of his friends. I already plugged in my earphones so I wouldn’t have to react to all of them but he simply didn’t want to stop. He walked beside me, waved and shouted at me like I’m to stupid to see him. Instead of understanding that I don’t want his ‘service’ he continued to bother me – like 2.000 other tuk tuk drivers and ‘sales men’ did before. I never said anything bad – until this time.

january 2012 - the time I exploded

Let’s see how long it takes until my next ‘break out’

I just came back from something that was supposed to be a ‘steak dinner’. However what they served was not quite what I consider to be worth called ‘steak’. Unfortunately this hasn’t been the first disappointment when it comes to ‘non Thai food’ here in Udon Thani.

Right now I am quite aware of the fact that, if you go to a ‘normal’ steak shop (lets not call it restaurant) here on the street (e.g. ‘Relax Steak’), you can’t expect a ‘real’ steak to be deserved. It’s usually a small ‘pork steak’ that has been in the pan far to long and has been drowned to death in some sweet sour sauce. So before going there one is well-advised to consider going for ‘steak south east asian style’ and simply go to one of the local Vietnamese steak houses. At least they serve what you expect. Steak Vietnam style.

that's how steak should look like but unfortunately doesn't in udon thani

Nevertheless I was quite disappointed today since the ‘restaurant’ (Faroh House - after checking the website: What did we expect from a restaurant that is obviously run by  a ‘anti insect company’?) we went to was supposed to serve ‘real’ steak. What they then delivered (we ordered Sirlion, T-Bone and Rib-Eye) was everything else but a good steak. Each of us had problems cutting and chewing the served. Besides being not really an adult portion the taste and consistency was everything but steak-like.

So if you are looking for a ‘real’ good steak in Udon Thani – don’t ask me and don’t try the above mentioned restaurant. Good Luck!

There are many bus terminals all over Thailand and even within Bangkok there are more than one. But there is only one bus terminal that can be described as crazy, weird, adventurous and / or dangerous. The bitch. Mochit 2.

When you take the bus to Bangkok from the northern part of Thailand you are very likely to end up at Mochit 2. Most of you tourists are very likely to follow the next best tuk tuk or taxi guy and pay way to much money for a very short way. Besides throwing out to much money you even miss the chance to the see the biggest bus bitch in action. So here’s my advice: Don’t take a taxi, tuk tuk or motorcycle. Try to find the way to the domestic bus terminal or try to walk to the next MRT station (if you know how to go, it’s not even that far).

When you walk around Mochit 2, or if you are trying to buy a ticket there for the same day, and are trying to find your right bus station, you will experience a completely different way of organizing things than in Europe or the western world at all.

At Mochit 2 it is always noisy, people are screaming all the time. Destinations, pick up areas, prices, random bullshit, lost baggages etc etc…It’s even more crazy when you don’t speak Thai (like me during my first visits) since everything sounds kinda panic-like.

Mochit 2 consists of different levels, like an Airport. The busses with northern destinations leave from the ground floor, the busses with destinations in the North-East (Isan) leave from the second floor (which is actually the third floor since the arrival area is named ground floor).

Despite that there are basically no signs in English but therefore millions of signs in Thai leaving even Thai people totally confused.

Here’s a short post about my Wifi experiences in Thailand. It’s really about Wifi and not about 3G or EDGE since I only have a prepaid sim card and only use Wifi for internet related stuff.

I already talked about mobile phone providers – and those are actually the same carriers that offer wifi services / public hotspots. My favorite so far is still 3BB since it is by far the cheapest solution. For 100 THB per month you get unlimited access to the 3BB broadband network.

However, 3BB does not offer as many public hotspots as other providers like True Move. Basically everywhere you turn on your wifi device you will see truewifi in your menu tray while you have to look for 3bb a little more thoroughly. Knowing that 3bb operates through family marts (convenience stores like 7-11) and co-operates with central (central plaza, central world) shopping malls helps of course finding decent spots.

So short and simple: I prefer 3BB because it’s cheaper than other carriers, however truewifi had a higher reach and is available almost everywhere. 3BB charges 100 THB per month for it’s basic service, truemove wants 300 THB for one month, offers shorter timed service as well though.

Besides those carriers there are, of course, many coffee shops that offer wifi services as well such as starbucks or coffe society (even without password protection). I wouldn’t recommend using True Coffee though. I tried it once in Bangkok and when I asked for the wifi password they wanted to charge me 150 THB extra…

During my life in Thailand I meet / met a lot of interesting and fascinating people. This is their place to tell the world what they think about all different kinds of subjects. You will find interviews with students, colleagues, workers, farangs and more random citizens, tourists or friends. Today it is one of our awesome Diploma Level Tourism Management students.  She talks about her life in Udon Thani as well as about her studies and her dream of becoming a tour guide and saving money for her family. So sit down, relax and read what Nutwadee has to say:

What’s your name?
My name is Nutwadee Niroka.

my-thai.org interview with Nutwadee

Where are you from?
I’m from Mukdahan Province.

How old are you?
I’m 19 years old

Where do you live?
I live in Nikhomkhamsoi district in Mukdahan province.

Why are you in Udon Thani?
I’m staying in Udon because my mother is alone here , I have to take care of  her and I study at the Udonthani Vocational College in the Tourism Business Management Program.

What are you doing there besides working or studying?
Usually I go to the temple, book shop or cinema.  Some day I stay at home to read some books I like or to sing many songs.

How long will you stay there? (student: planning in leaving?)
I do not know yet. I stay here because of my mother and maybe I will work here or in Nongkhai or in another province but not far away from Udon.

Plans for the future?
I’ll continue to study and maybe work part-time . I want to save money for my mother and my house.

Job / Studies? (if student, what do you want to be?)
I would like to be a guide .

Hobbies
My hobby is drawing.

talking straight

What do you think about your city? Do you like it? don’t like? What do you like and what not?
I don’t like Udon but I like some people here. I met the best teacher n met nice friends here.

You know the word farang, right?
yes!!

What do you think about farangs?
Farangs are people , some are good, some bad. It’s normal but they are the same like my teacher . I learn English and a new culture or some other good things from them . Funny!!

How would you consider your current status in life? You want to change something?
I always try to do the best I can do –  so I think  there is no need to change something.

Are you happy?
I’m happy!!

my-thai.org interview with Nutwadee

Dreams?
Travel all around the world!!!  start from here.

And now…

Do you know the word “Web 2.0”? If yes, what is it? If no, what could it be?
I don ‘t know!!!  Maybe it’s a website for crazy teacher  ( hahaha)

Do you use Social Networks like Facebook or Hi5? If yes, which ones:
I use facebook.

What do you use the internet for?
I use it for knowledge,  entertainment (reading cartoons, watching movies online) and to find new friends all around the world.

Famous last words:
I believe in goodness.