“Okay, but you must arrive today... yes, today”, she said with finality. It looks like I’d have to find a way to make it to the Thai Consulate in New York City (a four hour drive at best) by 12:30 or I would not be able to get my 90 day “B” Teaching visa before I left for California, and without that, I couldn’t get in the country to teach and later get a one year teaching visa (it was 09:30).
Now it turns out that she was wrong, and I was able to make it to the consulate the next day and hand it in at 11:30 no problem, but that phone call and the ensuing hopeless panic is a good summary of my entire application and travel process to this day: lots to do and it had to be done yesterday. First applied to this school in Suratthani on a whim; my TEFL seminar had finished spellchecking my resume and they were about to start sending out applications to their constituents around the world on my behalf and I kind of figured, “Why the Hell not?” and sent out a single application to the only Thai school on the International Jobs Board on a popular TEFL website (Dave's ESL Cafe). I didn’t even expect a reply (many of the Taiwanese schools I tried after graduation never did) so when I get an invitation to a Skype interview a few days later I was stunned speechless.
That was March 5th. By the 8th I had a job offer, I was to begin training and teaching on May 1st; less than two months to prepare for my longest stay abroad and a first step in a brand new career. Two days later I was given my teacher’s contract, visa application checklist and a request for an arrival date (plus a handful of other, lesser documents I had to read or sign). Within a little over a month’s time I had booked three flights, gotten a police records check, and been two consulates (both Boston and New York). The communication I had with other teachers revealed similar levels of daze and extreme pressure, especially for the other first timers like myself.
My family in Thailand, who had been blissfully unaware of any of my goings on at all had to be informed of my arrival in their country (and told that it was not just a visit, but that I had graduated from school and was working). Thankfully, the Internet made this a quicker process than it used to be (while reading the compiled letters of my ancestor Patrick Glennon, the dates between each letter and response could be over a month apart) and I was able to contact my cousins (who I had not seen since they came to America to study when I was a child) through email and Facebook. Everyone seems very excited and I can’t wait to see them again, even after all this time (and apparently a few kids) and it’ll be nice both not to have to pay for a hotel in Bangkok and have the help show me how to get a cell phone and bank account.
In terms of packing, it has mostly taken place in the last week. I plan on taking a suitcase, a backpack and I’m bringing The Gibson which was a gift from an old friend (even if I am rhythm deaf and practice only occasionally). The backpack, which will be my carry-on, is filled mostly with cranberries, macadamia nuts and chocolates for the aunts and uncles and kids of the family for once I meet them and my computer. The suitcase has all the rest of my living essentials (or at least what I can think of anyways) which mostly includes clothes and hygienics.
Sadly, it is all for naught as I am bound to die by the hand of some nasty and completely fatal indigenous disease as while I had time to get the first round of shots I need from the travel clinic I have both missed my last appointment and will have to miss my next due to time constraints (I will sadly be in New York for my visa during my scheduled shot-taking). This predicament, which could have been completely avoided I should add by a more prompt me, leaves me to the mercy of Hepatitis B and Typhoid Fever which both sound wholly unpleasant. Thankfully, for a third-world country, Thailand has a medical industry on par or possibly even better than our own here in the US of A and I will be able to complete my round of inoculations once I arrive. This will make for some very interesting drinking though, as Hep B is the main “bad water” virus and even the ice cubes in Thailand could be carrying it.
All of this and more has made a jam-packed March/April and while I’ve learned a lot about prior preparation, it does mean that there are more than a few things I think I’m lacking (the shots alone show that) and that things should stay interesting and eventful on my arrival; hopefully making for some interesting reading.
Now it turns out that she was wrong, and I was able to make it to the consulate the next day and hand it in at 11:30 no problem, but that phone call and the ensuing hopeless panic is a good summary of my entire application and travel process to this day: lots to do and it had to be done yesterday. First applied to this school in Suratthani on a whim; my TEFL seminar had finished spellchecking my resume and they were about to start sending out applications to their constituents around the world on my behalf and I kind of figured, “Why the Hell not?” and sent out a single application to the only Thai school on the International Jobs Board on a popular TEFL website (Dave's ESL Cafe). I didn’t even expect a reply (many of the Taiwanese schools I tried after graduation never did) so when I get an invitation to a Skype interview a few days later I was stunned speechless.
That was March 5th. By the 8th I had a job offer, I was to begin training and teaching on May 1st; less than two months to prepare for my longest stay abroad and a first step in a brand new career. Two days later I was given my teacher’s contract, visa application checklist and a request for an arrival date (plus a handful of other, lesser documents I had to read or sign). Within a little over a month’s time I had booked three flights, gotten a police records check, and been two consulates (both Boston and New York). The communication I had with other teachers revealed similar levels of daze and extreme pressure, especially for the other first timers like myself.
My family in Thailand, who had been blissfully unaware of any of my goings on at all had to be informed of my arrival in their country (and told that it was not just a visit, but that I had graduated from school and was working). Thankfully, the Internet made this a quicker process than it used to be (while reading the compiled letters of my ancestor Patrick Glennon, the dates between each letter and response could be over a month apart) and I was able to contact my cousins (who I had not seen since they came to America to study when I was a child) through email and Facebook. Everyone seems very excited and I can’t wait to see them again, even after all this time (and apparently a few kids) and it’ll be nice both not to have to pay for a hotel in Bangkok and have the help show me how to get a cell phone and bank account.
In terms of packing, it has mostly taken place in the last week. I plan on taking a suitcase, a backpack and I’m bringing The Gibson which was a gift from an old friend (even if I am rhythm deaf and practice only occasionally). The backpack, which will be my carry-on, is filled mostly with cranberries, macadamia nuts and chocolates for the aunts and uncles and kids of the family for once I meet them and my computer. The suitcase has all the rest of my living essentials (or at least what I can think of anyways) which mostly includes clothes and hygienics.
Sadly, it is all for naught as I am bound to die by the hand of some nasty and completely fatal indigenous disease as while I had time to get the first round of shots I need from the travel clinic I have both missed my last appointment and will have to miss my next due to time constraints (I will sadly be in New York for my visa during my scheduled shot-taking). This predicament, which could have been completely avoided I should add by a more prompt me, leaves me to the mercy of Hepatitis B and Typhoid Fever which both sound wholly unpleasant. Thankfully, for a third-world country, Thailand has a medical industry on par or possibly even better than our own here in the US of A and I will be able to complete my round of inoculations once I arrive. This will make for some very interesting drinking though, as Hep B is the main “bad water” virus and even the ice cubes in Thailand could be carrying it.
All of this and more has made a jam-packed March/April and while I’ve learned a lot about prior preparation, it does mean that there are more than a few things I think I’m lacking (the shots alone show that) and that things should stay interesting and eventful on my arrival; hopefully making for some interesting reading.
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