thailand

When you arrive for the first time in your assigned country, can the first few minutes of shocking. The air smells different, the people around you are likely to rise otherwise, the appearance of buildings and facades and merchandise for sale may all be different.

If you are in a modern country like Japan, you'll probably feel just a little uncomfortable, since the airport is simple and straightforward, though visited perhaps twice as good as expected. But signs are in English, and you have noProblem of navigation through the airport with the outside world.

If you live in a country are third world, could the airport is a comfortable distance from everything, everywhere, with military soldiers, a crush of people, perhaps even repulsive strange smells in the air, total chaos. If you are alone, this can be very intimidating.

When I arrive in a new country, I am always surprised at the first few minutes before the airport. The sky looks different, the air smells different,the chaos of people coming and going is different. Search for a bus or taxi or jeepney can be a fun experience, but it is rather an unpleasant experience, so it is best if someone can meet you and help you get the first ride from the airport to your residence into . orientate

Depending on your host country and the resources available, you can create a private room with private bath, or a common space and a public bath.

The school may be a bit different than theBrochures are prone to stress, the Greens and other colorful aspects. Brochures say not, you oppressive tropical heat or cold than the winds from the mountains.

Before you begin your trip, you should be about the culture of the country. For example, in Thailand, people would be shocked if the head of a child, touched, or when you wash your laundry and hung it outside to dry.

During my stay in Thailand, I managed a software development project and asked a series ofto help university-educated Thai women. We have, in my two-room apartment. One moved into the guest room in the apartment, the other slept on the sofa, five nights a week. The one in the bedroom, she said, lived far away and the daily commute was aggravating. Fair enough. But the second was living 20 minutes from increased electric railway. I never really understood why she wanted to live with me. Maybe I was a father figure for them.

One day, I rounded up all theto put the towels in the washing machine. The women had a private bathroom, the towels were provided by my disposal. The apartment was modern and fully equipped.

One woman said: "Doug, what are you doing?"

I said: "I'll wash all the towels in the machine."

She said: "But you have the white one."

The white one was a cotton bathmat that had on the floor outside the shower.

"Yes, I want to wash it with the others."

"Doug, you can notdass "

"Why not?"

"It's for the feet."

Apparently in Thai culture, you do not soil your body towels with foot towels.

I said: "I'm sorry, that's a machine, very hot water with detergent and fabric softener. I'll wash all the towels and bath mats together."

She was unhappy with this, had a strange expression on his face, as I had said something quite disgusting.

After the towels washed and dried, I took one of the towels and heldunder his nose and said, "Smell this."

She took a train and said, "Oh, Doug, smell very good."

I said: "This is the fabric softener, it has to make perfume, the towels smell good."

Then I held the white bath mat under her nose. She moved away, although I expected. "Smell this one."

"Doug, same same."

"Yes," I said, "and now you know why I wash wash them together. In your culture, you would with your hand and the floor mats do not last. In my WesternCulture, with machines, and we have them all together and they come from the same. "

She accepted, dass in this case is overruled, Western culture Thai culture.

As I write this in November 2007, a British ESL teacher has been in Sudan, a Muslim country has been arrested, had the primary school students name a teddy bear "Mohammed". Although this is a very common name in Sudan and other Muslim countries, a toy bear that name is apparently insulting to Islam, according tothe charges against them. One of the students' parents complained to the police, and she was arrested. If found guilty, she could receive many years in prison, a hefty fine and 40 lashes with a whip.

So learning something about the culture that you are are a resident of advice, you should take seriously.

In Central and parts of South America, for example, could think, the culture is Spanish, and this is certainly the dominant, but the underlying Maya culture is still there,especially for people whose native language is Quechua and Aymara. Do not think you understand their culture, because you get to know about Mexican or Spanish culture. Do some research first so you understand where they come from, and try to fit your classroom structure with their culture. This can be as simple as changing place names: do not talk about the Mississippi River, for example, of a local river instead. You will be assigned, but the inclusion in theMississippi.

The beliefs and attitudes of your host country, the potential of what you expected, naively, as individual research! Research! Research!

How did your new daily routine, students and fellow teachers are accustomed, you will notice that some of the teachers have become cynical with time. Perhaps they have it for 20 years, and never say anything good about the place, they seem to live in a cloud of negativity. They are happy and Fired Up and enjoy theChallenge, they will talk about police purges, stupid management at the school, poor governance, corruption, and so on. The list is endless. Try to avoid these people. Live your own life, and with the little differences and challenges that are thrown on the road happy.

In Thailand, the vast majority of the population of Buddhists. They are taught early on to meet misfortune with a smile. Once, I waited under an awning for a tropical downpour reduced. I realizedyoung woman trying to cross the flooded street in front of me. She stepped in a hidden pothole, lost her balance and fell headlong into 6 inches of dirty water. She stood up, brushed the water from his face, and laughed. If it were me, I would curse. But she was a Buddhist. She laughed.

Meet adversity with a smile.

To live a good philosophy.

If your assignment is to find out in a Third World country, whether the school and / or students have basic services. Inrural Peru, for example, it could be a small table for a one-room school, no paper form, and certainly no pens or pencils. While this type of school is not going to have English lessons, you can help them tremendously by carrying two suitcases, one for your stuff, and the other with notebooks, pencils, chalk, small chalkboards, chalk, art paper, filled Children's scissors, etc. Before you get to start your flight, your school and find out if these supplies, or needYou can, if they come into contact with a rural school is doing. The $ 50 worth of supplies could have seen more than a rural school ever and will make a big difference.

Another tip: Keep a journal of their experiences. If you have access to the Internet, create a blog and update it regularly. But watch, in every case, the fact that nothing in your journal or blog, which is critical of the school principal to write to the local religion or government. This newsletter is a valuableMemory in the years to come and stay with the rest of your life.

After living and teaching for a while in the host country, may return to your hometown in your home country a shock experience: culture shock in reverse. She was an ESL teacher for the fun of travel, the joy of discovering a new culture, and now you're back in Wal-Mart or Tesco standing in the queue behind an enormous fat lady with a cart full of garbage. Your mother is glad to see you, butYou can find your town boring, the food bland and voluminous.

If you still are good and have a job to get, you'll probably find the skulls were pierced by working in an office. Your employees are not in your interest to have ESL experience and Could not Care Less about the things you have and the places you went.

Soon you will be scouring the Internet looking for other jobs, ESL, you've got your dreams, wherever they may follow you …

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