Topic: These math positions

[RobRoy]

Nemesis....you hit the nail on the head. 

[MELEE]

Wow,
Slow day in Thailand huh?

I appreciate all the responses and I'm not at all offended. It's just an idea we are toying with after all. I do have a very very comfortable life in Mexico, too comfortable maybe. The first thing that attracted me to Thailand was the apparent possible opportunity for my husband to teach math (in English, obviously he can't speak Thai and I wouldn't expect Thais to want math classes in Spanish). But I'm in no way OBSESSED with Thailand. It's just a thought and I thoughI'd use this forum to get some feed back on the thought. I'd heard Thais are racist, so that is a big issue. Mexicans come in all different colors, but my husband could no pass as anything other than a Native American.
 
Fed-Up, you've obviously never been to Mexico. Infastructure? planning? what's that! My electiricty goes out every single time it rains and my house in in a newly developed area. I guess I'm lucky that I don't have to worry much about bad traffic accidents because I haven't driven my car over 35 mph since I bought it three years ago, the roads are too bad to go faster than that and I even get out on the highway every other weekend! Most of the time I'm creeping along under 20 mph.

Oh and I don't sell textbooks to schools, I review textbook proposals and manuscripts, comment the content both in terms of being educationally sound or not, but also marketablity so knowing another market would only help. I don't care if schools photocopy textbooks, that's the norm in many parts of Mexico too.

I am very interested in returning to Japan, but that would mean we'd have to get US teacher certified--I already know all about an Alternative Teacher Certification Program in Texas, then try to get a jobs in international schools--OR just keep the husband at home as a Mr. Mom. Call me weird but I'm also not real excited by the prospect of working at an international school and putting my children into that same school--I don't really want them rubbing elbows with the type of kids who go to those schools.

Japan is not, nor has it ever been 3rd world. The historic terms, 1st World, 2nd World, and 3rd World are not really valid labels anymore. The First World was what can also be known as "The West" Plus Japan, the economically developed countries during the cold war years. The Second World reffered to the Communist Block. The Third World refered to undeveloped countries. Japan is obviously different from the west in many ways, but it was neither a communist block nor undeveloped country during the cold war. Since the end of the cold war, developed, developing, lesser developed, and undeveloped are the terms that should be in use.

I've not made any decision, I'm not set on Thailand, or even leaving Mexico. I wouldn't be dragging my husband anywhere, he'd have to be fully on board with the idea. We just wanted to look around and see what all our options were, because if he takes a university teaching job here in Mexico, it would probably be like Nemesis said, only in Mexico, we'd cruise through the next 8 years and look up and realize we've never left this tiny corner of the world and by then our daughters would be too caught up in life to want to leave.

Thanks for all the replys!

[fed_up]

Fed-Up, you've obviously never been to Mexico. Infastructure? planning? what's that! My electiricty goes out every single time it rains and my house in in a newly developed area. I guess I'm lucky that I don't have to worry much about bad traffic accidents because I haven't driven my car over 35 mph since I bought it three years ago, the roads are too bad to go faster than that and I even get out on the highway every other weekend! Most of the time I'm creeping along under 20 mph.

I have never been to Mexico, so I'd imagine you're right. However, creeping along is better than just sitting in traffic not moving for hours.

Oh and I don't sell textbooks to schools, I review textbook proposals and manuscripts, comment the content both in terms of being educationally sound or not, but also marketablity so knowing another market would only help. I don't care if schools photocopy textbooks, that's the norm in many parts of Mexico too.

You have not made it clear: "IF, we did end up going to Thailand, money wouldn't be the draw, the experience would. I also do some freelance work for a textbook publisher who pays me in Pounds Sterling, so I'd have that as a supplement, and getting experience in a different country would contribute to that work as the publisher wants to sell their books to Thai schools as much as they want to sell them to Mexican schools, so learning about a new market would only help me in that.". There are many International schools in Thailand following US or UK guidelines so your publisher would be able to sell them here. I don't think he'd need your meticulous research to figure that one out.

Japan is not, nor has it ever been 3rd world. The historic terms, 1st World, 2nd World, and 3rd World are not really valid labels anymore. The First World was what can also be known as "The West" Plus Japan, the economically developed countries during the cold war years. The Second World reffered to the Communist Block. The Third World refered to undeveloped countries. Japan is obviously different from the west in many ways, but it was neither a communist block nor undeveloped country during the cold war. Since the end of the cold war, developed, developing, lesser developed, and undeveloped are the terms that should be in use.

Thanks for your lecture on semantics -which was not really necessary. This one is for Robroy as well: I have lived and worked in almost all native English speaking countries as well as Europe and Japan. I can easily confirm that Japan is a 1st class country, however it is still Asia with Asian attitudes, mentalities, way-of-life, xenophobia (which seems to be a defining characteristic of SE Asia), and even pollution, hence my remark. So, unless you have spent a significant amount of time in Japan, please refrain from trying to educate others. Have a happy day !

And a special P.S. for Robroy: Mate, you'd only dream about the amount of education and the number of degrees I and my partner have. And don't think that everyone has an Isaan partner (like yours probably), my embassy has already confirmed that the only two things we'd need to return to my home country would be 2 plane tickets. But, right now just like you I'm taking it easy, kicking back and relaxing.

[fair]

Your children are still young.  If you want to explore, by all mean, please do so now.  Thailand is NOT for everybody.  Like AFT, if you remember Thailand is a developing country, you will be just fine.  I bring a spray bottle of bleach mix (mix one part of bleach and 30 parts of water), soap, toilet paper every time I go out.  I use bleach solution to mop floor  everyday .  When I just landed here, I do not drink or eat anything cold or uncooked.  Now, I eat everything.  I do go to the beach but I do not swim in it. 

"Being on time", schedule, planning,...etc are not in their vocabularies.  YOu will do things in Thai time. 

Foreigners can not own land, houses here.  To own a business, you need to have Thai partners. 

Schools want to see white faces but they welcome couples like you.   

Of course, if you can go to Japan, Korea, Taiwan, you will make more money (But you WILL spend more too).  But the life in those countries is not as easy as in Thailand.   

I wish you the very best.

[hero]

Moved some pointless arguing to the Squared Circle.

[MELEE]

I have a fair amount of experience living in developing countries, just not Asian ones. The countries I've lived in the longest are, USA, Mexico, Japan, Chile, Ecuador. I've also traveled in Guatamala, Costa Rica, Peru, Argentina and Korea. My children have never been outside of Mexico and they are very used to life in chaos. I've not made any decisions and I'm not set on Thailand.

I wanted to know if my husband would be able to get a teaching job, the response is mixed. I realize some schools would turn him down based on his skin color. In general, what would people's reaction be to seeing us as a couple? I know there are all sorts of people all ove the world, so I know it would be varied. We are used to people jumping to the wrong conculsion, which is what usually happends here.

Fair, I know I would make more money in Japan, Korea, or Taiwan, but I'm not sure we would make more money because I'm pretty sure I'd be the only one who could work there. One higher income, versus two smaller ones.

[fair]

There are a lot of inter-racial couples here.  You do not have to worry about that.

Your husband will find a job easy if you send both of your resumes TOGETHER.  You may want to send schools recent photos, degrees, maybe references.  Many students here may even want to learn Spanish.  He will be a perfect Spanish teacher. 

Schools here love couples, female, young teachers.  Degrees, TEFL certificates, are not really required (depend on the schools).  I see you two have all the qualifications combined. 

I wish you the best of luck. 

[anyonefortennis]

Schools here love couples, female, young teachers.  Degrees, TEFL certificates, are not really required (depend on the schools).  I see you two have all the qualifications combined. 

Fair's right in one regard, schools will fight over young couples, a lot will recruit you both on the strength of photographs……………as long as your tattoos and piercings are hidden and your fella has short hair.

However, I don’t agree with the qualifications part. The more qualified you are the more marketable you are and the more you can negotiate. 

As for people’s response.........most won't have any idea were Mexico is, much less what language they speak, so they won't have any preconceived ideas, unlike they do for Africans and their old friends from Burma. Your husband may well be treated as somewhat of a ‘novelty’……..whether your husband would be comfortable with this is another matter - also a huge amount will depend on his accent.   

I’m going to get spat on and kicked for saying this, but what the hell – you may find that you have the biggest problem from farangs. A few are openly racist toward anyone who is not white (not many, but some), a few are just damn right nasty, and others may well see you as a threat to their equilibrium – a young, good looking (I’ve no idea what you look like) qualified couple come into ‘their’ school with fresh ideas and approaches etc. etc. Note I'm only suggesting there maybe a few problems from a few farang.

I guess the real difference is, farang will openly tell you / be nasty toward you, the Thai on the other hand will gossip and witch behind your back. You would probably experience nothing worse than you have already, and I’d readily recommend the south of the country which I believe to be far less bothered about peoples ethnicity than Banger’s.
 

[RobRoy]

I tend to agree with AOFT

A highly qualified couple, one who is a math teacher and the other a white female (kindergartens pay big money for qualified females for the lower grades) would be able to do fairly well here, as long as his accent isn't too strong.  It might be neck and neck as to who would make the most money.

Another piece of advice, should you come here, only speak English to each other in school, unless asked to translate something into Mexican/Spanish.  Its the same bit of advice I give my Filipino friends.  Don't do anything to emphasize your husband comes from a non-native speaking country.  This gives the Thais and the other farangs less to witch about. 

Post some resumes with your pics.....what have you got to lose?

Good luck in your endeavors!

[roadkill]

I've got a serious jones for Mexican just reading this thread.  Gotta get to Bourbon Street. 



Don't worry about what these SA's are sayin about your skin.  Tell the school that English is spoken in Mexico as first language and offer them a dictionary to verify Mexican isn't listed as spoken language and show'em a map of Texas and tell them that's were most Mexicans live anyway.  And something like that how the spellings are so similar.  From what's been said up in this thread it sounds as if they'd buy it. 

Whew.  gotta go.  munchies.   

[MELEE]

Roadkill,
I'm inspired by you confindence in the Thai's knowledge of the world, but my husband has decided to enter a PhD program, so nothing will come of the Thailand idea.