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I assume that the Finns still ski by and snipe them as a reminder from time to time. Toughest loving people ever. How many times has that tiny nation held off a massive Russian assault with skis and rifles for months and months, longer? Then, of course, returned to the sauna and the tango and stabbing each other while drunk.
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Jan 5, 2015 19:45
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Sheep-Goats posted:Never thought of that. I lived in a city in China that was close to the Russian border and there were some Russian tourists there but the Chinese didn't give a poo poo about their behavior so long as they were spending money. Do Finns tolerate them better as well or are they still an issue? The russian border town Svetogorsk is 10km away from my home town Imatra. A lot of Russians come to day trips to just go shopping for tax free stuff. And we go there for cheap gas and alcohol. At least in Imatra and Lappeenranta that are right at the russian border has had some shops go belly up as 50% of their revenue suddenly stop coming. Mainly speciality shops, baby clothes and so on. I don't really have much bad to say about Russians. (besides WINTER WAR, RAH RAH). They have a horrible etiquette in shops tho, mixes horribly with finnish way of having nice lines with everyone having comfy 1 meter personal space. Edit: It's funny to watch the goverment tiptoeing between having good relations and keeping the sanctions going on at the same time. Barfolemew fucked around with this message at 20:12 on Jan 5, 2015 |
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Jan 5, 2015 20:07
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I built a train to Imatra a few times on Ticket to Ride Nordic Countries.
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Jan 5, 2015 21:39
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The only Russians I met on my trip were fighting with a shop girl in the airport mall about the exchange rate, in front of me in line. They were fighting over the equivalent about about $5. I kept backing farther and father away so that no one would think "hey all the crackers are together."
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Jan 5, 2015 22:16
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Haha, something similar happened here (Caribbean) today, a couple of Russians (or maybe Polish, I didn't hear enough to be sure) got on the bus in the morning. Here, the buses are small minivans with maybe 12 places. They follow specific routes but they pass whenever they want, you need to flag them so they stop and you need to yell politely at the driver to stop when he gets past your destination and you give him $2. So this couple in shorts and flipflops got in, smiled at everybody, told their destination (some restaurant I had never heard of, most likely not on the route) to the driver and sat at the back chatting together, like this was a taxi. Five or six black women, the only other people in the bus, rolled their eyes and sucked air through their teeth. I wanted to say "Hey I'm not like them! I swear! I know how this works!"
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Jan 6, 2015 00:07
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Senso posted:Haha, something similar happened here (Caribbean) today, a couple of Russians (or maybe Polish, I didn't hear enough to be sure) got on the bus in the morning. Here, the buses are small minivans with maybe 12 places. They follow specific routes but they pass whenever they want, you need to flag them so they stop and you need to yell politely at the driver to stop when he gets past your destination and you give him $2. So this couple in shorts and flipflops got in, smiled at everybody, told their destination (some restaurant I had never heard of, most likely not on the route) to the driver and sat at the back chatting together, like this was a taxi. Five or six black women, the only other people in the bus, rolled their eyes and sucked air through their teeth. I wanted to say "Hey I'm not like them! I swear! I know how this works!" Caribbean people picking up European biases is the funniest thing. I was on Bonaire a few years ago and the hotel had just been renovated super cheaply, so it was already falling apart. A piece of the decor came unglued from the wall when we touched it, so we called the front desk and they sent a maintenance guy out. He walks in, looks at it, kinda sighs and shrugs, brings out the drill and the screws and starts making sure the sucker goes back on the wall and it's not going anywhere... meanwhile he's chatting with us about how a bunch of this stuff is falling apart, because it was done by the cheapest workers. And he says "It was those Polackis, you know, from Polonia!" I'm figuring he just misunderstood something he heard the Dutch staff say, so I just nod and go "Yeah!" because there's no way you're telling me there's some boat of lowest-bidder Polish dudes floating around the Caribbean.
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Jan 6, 2015 01:52
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South Asian goons. I'm going to Palau at the end of jan, via Taipei for 3 days. I've been to Taiwan before so i have a hugeass list of poo poo i can do, but is that abandoned apartment block in Keelung still there? Anyone in taipei want to meet up?
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Jan 6, 2015 01:53
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Chantilly Say posted:Caribbean people picking up European biases is the funniest thing. I was on Bonaire a few years ago and the hotel had just been renovated super cheaply, so it was already falling apart. A piece of the decor came unglued from the wall when we touched it, so we called the front desk and they sent a maintenance guy out. He walks in, looks at it, kinda sighs and shrugs, brings out the drill and the screws and starts making sure the sucker goes back on the wall and it's not going anywhere... meanwhile he's chatting with us about how a bunch of this stuff is falling apart, because it was done by the cheapest workers. And he says "It was those Polackis, you know, from Polonia!" That exact same situation (and mine!) could have probably happened in Asia by replacing the nationalities, etc.  And the idea of seeing Polish workers doing the low-level jobs here makes me chuckle, sigh and facepalm all at the same time... It's a small world, it's a big world...
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Jan 6, 2015 05:09
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Kommando posted:South Asian goons. http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3470468
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Jan 6, 2015 11:19
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Ah, cheers.
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Jan 6, 2015 14:25
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When did Thaiwan get its own thread!? First Singapore, now this!
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Jan 6, 2015 15:52
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Taiwan has had its own thread for years.
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Jan 6, 2015 15:57
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Yea but it's a depressing thread which largely amounts to "it's only a matter of time until my job goes to China, I am not sure if I will ever move back" all too often
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Jan 6, 2015 18:37
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At first I thought this was a parody account on youtube. But it's not :'( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GDhnn_tlTY8 The best bit is when he tells people that golden syrup is a suitable substitute for palm sugar. Not all British tourists are like this, but when they are they do it well...
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Jan 6, 2015 19:18
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This is a cross post from the TEFL thread but I feel like a lot of people have done tefl but don't look at that thread anymore (could be wrong): I'm hopefully graduating this year and I want to spend a year in Thailand (I'm going to Thailand first in the summer as a holiday to check it out, if I hate it or something my second option would be Taiwan) teaching English. I'm white & English (with a fairly neutral accent). What kind of TEFL qualification would I need? Is it better to get one here or in Thailand? I looked at one ( http://www.onlinetefl.com/teaching-internships/thailand/?source=OnlineAdvertising_GraduateProspects__06012015_Email___ ) but £1k and 140 hours seems a bit much.
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Jan 6, 2015 19:55
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Atlas Hugged posted:Taiwan has had its own thread for years. Ted Ed Fred posted:At first I thought this was a parody account on youtube. But it's not :'( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kAAMHTCEKAI ReindeerF fucked around with this message at 20:33 on Jan 6, 2015 |
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Jan 6, 2015 20:30
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Crack posted:This is a cross post from the TEFL thread but I feel like a lot of people have done tefl but don't look at that thread anymore (could be wrong): I don't monitor the thread much because my experiences are pretty outdated and often after I'd post someone else would have valid corrections. I did teach in both places you're interested in. Briefly my suggestions are: 1) Having a BA is the important bit -- there are/were people teaching without it but they had to do so on tourist visas which is illegal, a pain in the rear end, and these days perhaps untenable. Only some employers knew what a TEFL certificate was and of those only some cared. Maybe a TEFL is more important now but the primacy of the BA is still real. 2) Never do an online TEFL course. The name brand TEFL course is the CELTA which is 120 in classroom hours, which is a month of 9-5 schooling plus homework. That's about as much work as an easy college class. Classes that are faster or that don't require you to be there aren't good. If you're just grifting for a cert you might as well do one of those 100 dollar courses or spend the time you would on that on Photoshop. 3) Check ajarn.com for current info on teaching in Thailand -- you will have to take some posts there with a grain of salt but it's not bad for a SE Asia forum. Check the Taiwan thread that was just linked to above for Taiwan info (there's an off site teacher heavy forum for Taiwan too that you can check but I don't remember it right now). I think there's only one person in this thread right now that's teaching and she usually doesn't pipe up about it much, the Taiwan thread has at least a few teachers / ex-teachers.
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Jan 6, 2015 21:11
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We now have three regular poster teachers from Thailand and *I think* one in Malaysia? Maybe one in Indonesia? We're in danger of becoming one of those Asian Teacher Threads full of Q&As about lesson plans and how you're getting screwed by your agency! I think our total SE Asian expat population is now about 50% teachers 0_o as we've lost a couple of non-teachers in the last year. Time for some more drunk Brits spending their inheritance or something. The temporary presence of Finch and eviljelly is keeping us above the waterline.
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Jan 6, 2015 22:07
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Play is teaching in Saigon but he never posts here (and is leaving soon I think). I think a poster was also teaching in Nha Trang, forget who.
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Jan 6, 2015 22:59
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Regulations have gotten stricter. To get through the visa/work permit process you need both a BA/BS degree and a TEFL/TESOL certificate. Still, no one is actually checking up on the quality of the certificates. Most of the places that offer the course in Thailand will offer guaranteed job placement. However, this usually just means they'll send your resume out for you and doesn't mean they have a real infrastructure in place to get you a job. I'd recommend doing CELTA or Chichester since they're the only ones that seem to have a clue what teaching actually is. Oh and if you have any intention of making money, go to Taiwan and don't even bother with Thailand and its nonsense. Best case scenario, you'll work in a language school earning less than 50,000 baht a month and your weekends will be Monday and Tuesday and you'll never get to socialize with real people and worst case you'll be earning 30,000 baht a month and teaching classes of 50 kids who do not give a gently caress. For Taiwan, you need the degree only. No one cares about TEFL certs there.
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Jan 7, 2015 00:16
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I'm teaching in Malaysia, although I'm working for the godless corporate giant Wall Street English so it's not really conventional teaching most of the time. I do sometimes seriously consider throwing it in and doing a crossover to become an SSI or PADI dive instructor though. Atlas' advice is pretty solid, if you want the course for anything more than the certificate then do a CELTA or equivalent (that is at least 120 hours, classroom based instructing and at least 6 (IIRC) hours of actual teaching practice). Chichester I'm not familiar with but if you're in the UK then the Trinity College cert is solid (and actually was what Cambridge based/copied the CELTA from). These courses will give you quality instruction and, most importantly, observed time in the classroom. On-line courses can give solid information and theory but the lack of actual practice makes it kind of pointless, better than nothing though. Of course it's all somewhat moot aside from the legal issues because the tradition is you get to SEA then just go out every night and try your best to communicate to small, hardworking kids through a fog of alcohol residue and hangover (experiences may vary).
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Jan 7, 2015 00:55
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If I work on a tourist visa in Thailand how likely am I to get pinged and what happens if I do? I don't really need the money as I'll have income from home but maybe I'll get bored of doing nothing but drink Chang all day.
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Jan 7, 2015 03:43
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ReindeerF posted:We now have three regular poster teachers from Thailand and *I think* one in Malaysia? Maybe one in Indonesia? We're in danger of becoming one of those Asian Teacher Threads full of Q&As about lesson plans and how you're getting screwed by your agency! I think our total SE Asian expat population is now about 50% teachers 0_o as we've lost a couple of non-teachers in the last year. Time for some more drunk Brits spending their inheritance or something. The temporary presence of Finch and eviljelly is keeping us above the waterline. Once or twice my fiancee has tried to talk me into moving to Thailand to teach chemistry courses in English (I have an MS in Chemistry), we even went to visit Naresuan(?) University when I was last over there since it's near her hometown. Admittedly I wanted to teach when I started grad school but not anymore, and she's also in chemistry but hates academia so maybe I'm safe? Negligent posted:doing nothing but drink Chang all day. A noble endeavor.
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Jan 7, 2015 03:58
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Negligent posted:If I work on a tourist visa in Thailand how likely am I to get pinged and what happens if I do? Teaching in Thailand to avoid boredom may be the single worst idea I have ever heard. Then again, if you have nothing to lose and don't need the job for the money, you might just enjoy the ride. If you don't want the stress of regular teaching but are looking for semi-irregular work to change things up from time to time, shoot me a PM and I might have something for you. As for the odds of you getting caught, that depends entirely on if you are freelancing or working for an agency. An agency is going to stick you in a school and the school has plausible deniability that you are legal. No one from immigration/labor is ever going to come round and if they do the school will simply tell them that everything is above board. If you are on your own, you don't have that buffer. I should also emphasize that this really only applies to agencies who have their poo poo together.
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Jan 7, 2015 04:00
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Negligent posted:If I work on a tourist visa in Thailand how likely am I to get pinged and what happens if I do? I met some people who said they were working because they just habitually needed to work. I've been lucky in my life to have no physical or mental impairments (and am also a tall white male with a US passport and a college degree) and I count that among them. What I'm saying is that if the One Ring filled its bearer with an overwhelming desire to work (instead of to keep the ring safe or whatever it was) I'd be the hobbit to carry that poo poo to Mount Doom. As for a substantive answer I'd guess in a very inaccurate fashion that your chances of getting caught are "low" but not "very low" and that I think the usual punishment for that is immediate exile from LoS for 10 years. What's your income from if you don't mind me asking? PM me if you don't want to broadcast / are willing to share. E: I should clarify a bit and say I don't mind working hard or whatever, it's just that if I had an adequate income and all the free time in the world I'd feel absolutely no need to fill that time with work. I'd write, read, volunteer maybe, learn to play the harmonica, teach people how to play poker, whatever. I've never not had something to do. raton fucked around with this message at 06:13 on Jan 7, 2015 |
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Jan 7, 2015 06:09
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Nothing exciting really, in return for my years of leal service to the crown I'm now entitled to several months leave on full salary.
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Jan 7, 2015 07:39
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Negligent posted:If I work on a tourist visa in Thailand how likely am I to get pinged and what happens if I do? In most of the country the rule is that if you're not visibly taking money out of a potential someone's pocket then you won't get noticed - and even if you are you just make sure you're doing it discretely or through contacts. They occasionally raid a co-working space in Chiang Mai, but no one gets busted. Mostly who gets busted are Russian tour guides guiding tours openly and illegally, boiler room or scam operations, drugs, gambling, etc. I've known a couple of offices that had foreigners sort of quasi-legally (in one capacity when it should have been another under regulations) working who had immigration visits and all it amounted to was sorting out the paperwork correctly, no one got deported.
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Jan 7, 2015 11:57
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For the record, thread, to keep it short, yes it is very possible to live in Cambodia (Sihanoukville presently) on 600 a month. I just have to lay off the AC and the tourist food. Other than that it's pretty barebones but that's what I came here for. I started cooking for myself here which is fun. And biking arounds cool too. But I stay in my room a lot cause reasons. Any questions I can answer, or none is fine too, just wanted to give an update. (Was Tautologicus before, did a name change)
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Jan 7, 2015 12:35
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A colleague of mine was working illegally for a school in Jakarta. It wasn't totally a dodgy school but basically they got teachers into the country and took a couple of months to get work visas sorted and had the teachers start work immediately. They got raided by immigration and my friend and one other new hire ended up getting arrested, which meant having to stay in prison until the police got their bribes. Apparently the Indonesian woman in charge of the accounts was off that day and mostly hated the foreign staff anyway so refused to do anything to get the money until she was back on work time so that meant 24 in an Indonesian jail. Mostly watching football matches and eating with the police apparently but a little worrying. So yeah that can happen though I'm not sure what Thai police are like compared to Indonesian cops in that kind of situation.
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Jan 7, 2015 13:16
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I have always found the Thai police friendly, so long as you have a Thai person with you. Once we were stopped on the side of the road trying to re-affix a loose bit of bodykit when the highway patrol rock up, two older guys in Ray Bans get out and I thought I was in for a wallet lightening until they start giving my friend car repair tips. Another time my girlfriend lost her phone, the Truemove person traced it to a house so we went to the police station but the dude was like, welp sorry I don't know how to use the software. I don't think he was fishing for a bribe or anything, because he basically said if you had a new Samsung in your pocket worth as much as your monthly salary would you admit it? Can't fault the logic really. And then most recently there was the time we got taken to the Phra Kanong police station over a broken tv. The scare tactic of 'threaten a night in jail' didn't really work because when we were led to the cells they were new-looking, empty and cleaner than most public toilets. The other old chestnut of yanking away your passport and calling the embassy also fell down because as it turns out, you can't actually get deported and shitlisted over a tv you may or may not have broken and also, and I think this was the real clincher, as it was Sunday the embassy was closed.
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Jan 7, 2015 15:05
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ReindeerF posted:Don't miss other famous Thailand-based Youtube Brits, such as: "Patty-yaar" 
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Jan 7, 2015 15:05
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MrNemo posted:So yeah that can happen though I'm not sure what Thai police are like compared to Indonesian cops in that kind of situation. Locked Up Abroad: TEFL Edition
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Jan 7, 2015 15:18
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All but one of my dealings with Thai cops have been positive and even in the one that was negative it wasn't acrimonious, just they pushed too far in their demands and I had to have help finding an alternate solution, but everyone was friendly and respectful. In the positive ones, I've been given rides home from rural areas when I missed the last sawngtaew back from running, I've been helped with directions, cops have come out of booths to say hi and introduce themselves to chat and so on. I know there's a very dark side and I definitely recommend you avoid any drinking cops, but my largely superficial interactions have been positive as well. That's a different thing from spending time in immigration detention or in a Thai jail or prison, though.
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Jan 7, 2015 16:31
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My two real interactions with Thai police were pretty positive. The first time was when I was on my bicycle tour. I was minding my own business, biking up toward Phrae, when a cop car pulled up next to me and started talking to me. I was prepared for him to be some kind of rear end in a top hat to me but he was just interested in what I was doing and was surprised I was just biking around. He gave me a huge smile and a thumbs up. Second time was when I lost my passport. The tourist police was very polite and quick, and they told me exactly what needed to be done and how I can go to the Canadian embassy, etc. I know they do it all the time so they could probably recite all the info in their sleep, but I was more impressed by the efficiency and friendliness.
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Jan 7, 2015 16:41
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The only interaction I've had with PH police involved me passed out in the back of a taxi and a taxi driver trying to dump me off at the station. They didn't want me and sent him off.
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Jan 8, 2015 05:11
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What's there to do in Phnom Penh? Stopping by to renew my visa Monday, wouldn't mind checking out a museum or something. I could also use a hostel recommendation. Oh how much should I expect to pay for taxis/tuk tuks? I'd like to avoid getting ripped off too much this trip
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Jan 8, 2015 11:42
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Phnom Penh is awesome. If you scroll back over the last 5-10 pages I know we did a big PNH discussion in there.
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Jan 8, 2015 13:13
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Squalid posted:What's there to do in Phnom Penh? Stopping by to renew my visa Monday, wouldn't mind checking out a museum or something. I could also use a hostel recommendation. There's a bunch of cool stuff but the only unequivocal must do is S21 and the Killing Fields. When I was there most short trips were 75 cents or a dollar on a motorcycle taxi -- you give them a dollar and they give you back 1000 riel per quarter you're due in change. It might be up to double that by now oh noe. Longer trips like out to the Killing Fields you have to bargain on but it's really hard to feel ripped off paying what one pays to a guy who probably sleeps in the open air on his motorbike seat at night and is only asking what you'd tip some never-going-to-date-you barista back home because she smiled at you and you got a semi. raton fucked around with this message at 19:22 on Jan 8, 2015 |
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Jan 8, 2015 19:18
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If you're too lazy to scroll back, I'll recommend Velkommen Guesthouse (not Velkommen Backpackers across the street) for your stay. Clean, good internet, honest owners and staff, cheap beer and really nice people - friends of mine and one of the top rated places in Phnom Penh (and Siem Reap). I always stay there when I go. If you require something more upscale, I'd recommend The Plantation.
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Jan 8, 2015 19:45
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Anyone thinking about teaching abroad should just look at Teach and Learn With Georgia. I say this because now I'm a sad SEA thread exile living in a cold, weird place (with loads of cheap booze, still, and cheese to boot).
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Jan 8, 2015 21:17
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