(upbeat music)
- Good morning from Thailand.
My name's Allison Schmidt and I am a first grade teacher
at an international school here on the outskirts of Bangkok.
(birds chirping)
So at my school we have to sign in by 7 a.m.,
so I'm headed out the door.
So I decided to teach in Thailand because
I had a really amazing student advisor,
and she really gave me good insight on what it's like
to work here and live here and I decided
to try it out for myself.
(engines revving)
(students chattering quietly)
I took the online course with ITA.
I thought it prepared me really well to be a teacher here
and also gave me the opportunity to stay home
and work and save money so I could
get out here as quickly as possible.
So I think the best part about the course in general
is the practicum, where you get to go use these skills
that you've learned in the classroom
and have that practice with a certified teacher
before coming and having your own classroom.
I found my job online at ajarn.com.
It's a national website for teaching positions,
so doesn't matter where you want to be in Thailand,
they will have positions for you open.
It's not a company or a program, it's just like Indeed
or Monster.com just for teaching positions,
so it makes it really easy to find those positions
teaching English all over Thailand.
Finding a job before I came was
definitely the best option for me.
My school picked me up from the airport,
they reimbursed my flight, it was just a lot of perks
to finding something before I got here.
(pop music playing)
(children cheering)
- Yohan, is a police station a good or a service?
- A service.
- A service, good job buddy.
So that's it for today.
We get done at three, which is really, really awesome
'cause then I get to kinda relax and go home,
go to the grocery store if I need to.
But yeah, that's mostly the day of
singing and worksheets and games.
I also teach online, so I have two classes tonight.
Just right in my apartment, which is really nice.
And they do all the lesson plans for me,
so I have no extra lesson planning when I get home.
(engines revving)
(cat meowing)
(kissing noise)
So I think the question that most people want to know
is why should I get the certification.
Teaching English abroad opens so many doors.
I never would have come to Asia
if I wasn't certified to teach English.
I will be moving to Berlin, Germany,
this fall to pursue my Masters
and I know that once I get there,
I don't have to worry about making money while in school,
like, I can teach English, I can teach English online.
I think it's a great opportunity for anybody,
somebody who's looking for a gap year
after graduating undergrad, a change in career,
it's just such a fun thing to do and you make money.
So, if you're considering getting TEFL certified,
my advice to you is, do it.
It opens so many doors, it's a fun career option
or a fun right-now option.
My favorite part about the Thai culture is that
Thailand really is the land of smiles.
Everybody's so kind, you meet the street vendors
and the next day you walk up and they like,
start making your order for you
and they're smiling, saying hello.
I didn't really have any myths debunked.
I think the most important part about coming to Asia
is to just keep a really open mind.
Some things you're gonna be like,
Oh, we do that,
in America or in Europe, and then some things
you're just gonna be like, whoa.
But, those whoa moments, you're kinda like, okay,
I don't live in the west right now,
it's not gonna be the same,
and that's things that I need to accept and be a part of.
(guitar music playing)
(noise from street)
So, now I'm doing my online classes for tonight.
Teaching online is a really great option
for a lot of teachers, there's a lot more flexibility,
you make your own schedule, it's really good extra money
and you can do it anywhere.
If you have any questions about teaching online,
please feel free to send me a message.
I've been doing this for about a year and I really enjoy it.
I can tell you about my platform,
some of the pros and some of the cons.
(upbeat music)
So, this is life in the outskirts of Bangkok.
It's a little bit quieter, there's no sky scrapers,
it's a little bit more intimate with the Thai culture.
So, I thought I'd answer one more question
before signing off.
The question is, what's your favorite thing
about the Thai language.
My favorite thing is that the number five is Ha,
so when somebody wants to text you, hahaha,
they say, five, five, five.
(laughing)
So, thanks for hanging out today,
and I hope you enjoyed meeting Rune
and seeing a little bit more of Bangkok.
If you have any questions about moving abroad,
living abroad, living in Bangkok, teaching abroad,
ITA, TEFL, anything, please feel free to send me a message.
Here is my Instagram, again.
(upbeat music)