bitofarambler

you know what, he really sounded sincere when he said it, and literally every Vietnamese person who welcomed me to their country(which was every single one I was able to communicate with over 3 months) sounded so happy that an American was visiting.

it seemed like they were all as nervous as I was about our relations. but the fact that I was there and trying to poorly speak Vietnamese and just interested in their country really meant a lot to them.

though yeah, winning a war with "the most powerful country in the world" probably soothes a lot of the awkwardness.

there's this crazy site called. the B-52 lake, even though it's only a few dozen meters across, and a B-52 is stuck in this pond in the middle of a residential neighborhood where it was shot down by the Vietnamese during the war, and it's sticking out by one wing the way it landed when it was shot down.

I rented an apartment right next to it and had no idea until I walked out of the building and saw a B-52 sticking out of a pond.

I was very concerned about traveling to Vietnam the first time, and then once I got there I was shocked and relieved at how nice everybody was to me, and then one guy explicitly mentioned he felt bad Vietnam beat the US so bad in the war.

he even shrugged and did a "you know...because the US lost the war...but that's behind us. and you are welcome, it's very nice you are visiting!" and I was like ohhhh of course. i would be gracious too in his situation.

thanks, I'm really excited to finally get started and I'll definitely go your route.

if there are too many references. I feel like you're flying over my head I'll move on to something earlier and go with what feels right.

I dare say that the incredible volume of ST names on Lemmy have maybe prepared me for some of that?

great, thanks. as long as I'll be able to follow what's going on, I'll probably start with lower decks since that appeals to me, and then branch out from there.

I feel like I need to live in the modern ST world a bit first before stepping into the past

okay, interesting. thanks for the context.

Cool, thanks. I like animation in general, so lower deck seems like a good entry point.

Methalodon

you know what, whenever I buy a car I do research how easy it is to repair first, and it's probably one of the largest considerations before I make a purchase, so I guess I'm angling the odds in my favor.

congrats, that was my first step to YouTubing everything i had to replace and being incredibly surprised that most things on a car are about as simple to replace as the battery.

and even now, a battery replacement is really satisfying for me.

The demand is a big part of it. Most non-native English speaking countries have hundreds or thousands of job postings available today, so if they're going to attract the relatively few English teachers out there, the hours, pay and benefits have to be competitive.

SEA/South America are wide open markets, but the pay is generally going to be half of what you'll get in East Asia. You'll always make well above the CoL though, wherever you teach, and there are always lots of jobs to pick from, so if you have a preferred country it'll still be a great time just living abroad in general.

I was just looking at jobs in Panama, and there's a beachside town an hour away from the city offering $1100 a month for those same hours and benefits, although they do throw in free housing.

more general points.

you really are helping the students. at this moment in history, english is in demand for students, business and socializing in general, and by learning english they are afforded more real opportunities, so it's a rewarding job in that sense.

every month you teach is a huge boon in terms of experience. if you ever want to go back to teaching and you have any amount of experience, you'll be offered higher pay and better benefits.

A corollary is that once you teach, you'll always have that job available. Want money but don't want to work much? ESL. Need to save up capital or pay off debt back home? ESL. Want to offset all of your globetrotting habits? ESL. Most financial difficulties are fundamentally off the table if you're an English teacher.

you'll have so much free time that you can focus on your hobbies and interests, which was a huge part of me enjoying my time abroad, living my actual life.

seriously interesting language/biology musings, I didn't know about any of that.

Sure. Some general recommendations:

1. If you care a lot about where you teach, get a TEFL certificate. this is the one I got. All PDF tests, lifetime certification, internationally accredited, valid for any ESL job globally, plus TEFL certificates automatically give you access to the higher end of the pay scale.

You'll be able to teach in your country and school of choice with this certificate.

That said, you don't need a TEFL certificate to start teaching and if you fly to China on a tourist visa tomorrow and are a fluent English speaker, you will get a job in one of the first schools you inquire at. Someone might even stop you on the street to offer you a job if you look like a foreigner.

2. If a job doesn't feel right, keep looking. There is a large, constant demand for English teachers globally and there is zero reason to take a job you aren't comfortable with or a job that doesn't provide the compensation and benefits you're looking for.

3. DavesESLcafe is one of the original TEFL sites, and will give you an idea of what job postings look like online(that's the China job board page), although typing "English teaching jobs in _______" whatever country you want is going to net plenty of job postings you can apply for.

I could go on, but I don't want to overwhelm you.

If there's anything specific you want addressed or you have followup questions, I'm happy to answer them.