February 2016 Newsletter
February 2016 Newsletter: Help Our Recruiting Teachers and Share What You Know!
The Journey to School: Ruamrudee International School Bangkok
The journey to work is indeed an important one. The journey though is not so clear for international school teachers when they are looking for jobs at schools in cities/countries to which they have never been. So let’s share what we know!
One of our members, who works at the Ruamrudee International School Bangkok (Bangkok, Thailand), described her way to work there as follows:
When you think of Bangkok you automatically think of bustling and busy streets which are lined with vendors with their food carts hawking their wares. Well, when I travelled to Thailand as a tourist, that was the image that I had of living here. So in January 2015 when I signed a contract to move to Bangkok from Dubai I thought I knew what I was moving into to. How wrong could I have been….
Ruamrudee International School is not in downtown Bangkok, it is out towards the airport in an area known as Minburi. A taxi to the airport might take about 20 minutes if the traffic is in your favour – a godsend when you are doing boarding pick ups the weekend before school starts and you have to go back and forth as the flights never seem to align where you can pick up more than one airline’s arrival…On the other hand, to get downtown in a taxi could take up to two hours. The main road through Minburi is Ramkhamhaeng and it is a really busy road. A couple of Friday nights ago it took us 70 minutes to travel about 6km – the traffic was insane – on the way back the same trip took 10 minutes. But traffic flows eventually – there is no beeping like in Ho Chi Min or Beijing and the drivers are nowhere near as crazy as what we encountered in Dubai… these drivers just take it in their stride and no one gets upset – everyone lets everyone else merge without any problems…
Some teachers chose to live downtown, they have regular drivers who pick them up and drop them off each day. They have to leave as soon as they are able as any delay could mean hours added to their drive home time.
I chose to live in the community near the school – Perfect Place 2. Perfect Place is a large secure community with wide leafy streets. Within the community there are plenty of parks and lakes to walk around and most parks have exercise equipment available to use. I have seen groups doing some kind of tai chi style exercise at sunset by the lake and it looks so peaceful and calming to the spirit.
Lots of teachers use scooters to get around although some, like me, have hired electric golf carts – they can be driven around the community, as long as you don’t go out onto Ramkhamhaeng Road, they are perfectly acceptable. Plus, there isn’t that much road traffic in the community. Once you get into the Pak Soi (where all the shops, restaurants and food carts are), traffic starts to build up as it waits to get onto Ramkhamhaeng Road.
I work in Boarding so I do crazy hours – no day is the same as the one before. I work weekends and have other days off to compensate. I might go in at noon but either not come home til noon the next day or if someone else is covering the overnight, I might leave at 10.30pm. The journey is still the same regardless what time it is. Traffic in the community isn’t an issue so I know I can leave any time and it will only take 7 minutes to get to school.
So, when I leave my house, I find myself in a quiet street (except for the dogs… not soi dogs – they all have homes, but they all bark).
A couple of turns and I say goodbye to the guards at the entrance to Perfect Place 2 – they click their heels and salute every entry and departure.
A left turn onto Ramkhamhaeng Soi 174 and I’m off….
The wide streets are incredibly clean – maybe something to do with the fact that every 500m there is a cleaner assigned to keeping her part of the street clean.
We have a lady who walks up and down our streets in PP2 and sweeps up all the leaves and dirt off the street.
Through another security gate (it only takes about 3 mins to get to this point) and you are at the Clubhouse, overlooking the lake, it is a private gym and infinity pool but the space also houses a restaurant, coffee shop, hair salon (150 baht to wash and blow dry your hair) and the local 7-11 (they are everywhere….).
Round the corner and its a lovely drive along the lake.
Some days the fountain is working and it is really pretty. There is another smaller lake on the opposite side of the road when you get to the end
and at that point it’s a left turn into the road that finally takes you to the school’s entrance,
albeit the one at the rear of the school, but that’s where the staff parking is located.
The car park is full of bikes and scooters but very few cars. Who needs a car when you can fit 5 on a bike… I wish I had a photo to share but it does happen all the time – 3 and 4 people on a scooter is a very common sight.
So, you’re now at school, ready to engage with whatever new challenges come your way.
This Journey to School article was submitted to us by guest author and International School Community member.
What to know more about the many international schools in Bangkok? Check out our blog article called – Comparing the Schools and Comments: Working in Bangkok, Thailand.
So what is your journey to the international school you work at? Earn one year free of premium membership to our website if you participate in this blog series – ‘The Journey to School’. Email us here if you are interested.
Did You Bring These Things Back From Your Home Country This Past Winter Holiday?
We all do it. We feel slightly guilty and maybe embarrassed about it. We plan special trips to stores to make sure we get everything that we “need.” We even make sure that the airline we use to get back to our home country allows for a checked bag, maybe even two checked bags if we’re lucky (that is if our partner let’s us use their elite member status!).
We can’t wait to go home for the holidays! It is lovely seeing our family and friends. Some of us only get to see them this one time out of the year. But even though spending time with family is the number one reason we go back home each year, we also like stocking up on all the wonderful (and secret) items of our home countries!
Clothes
Of course, I stock up on clothes. Many times clothes are cheaper in our home countries. They also have sales more often in our home countries. Our parents might have coupons that we can use to make the total price even cheaper. As another plus, some states in the USA don’t even have sales tax on clothes. Additionally, it is often easier to find our own size and understand the size labeling system! Don’t be deceived though, clothes can add a lot of weight to your suitcase, so plan accordingly!
Baking Ingredients
One of the best feelings in the world is baking some food that reminds you of your time in your home country. There are just some spices that you can’t get while living abroad. One is high quality vanilla extract. Baking powder can be also hard to find. In many countries, it is basically impossible to find stores that sell other baking items such as dried cranberries, pecan nuts, chocolate chips, and the list goes on. It is worth it in the end to bring these ingredients back because there will always be that one night when you are inspired to make your favorite recipe that reminds you of home.
Garbage Bags and Quart and Gallon-Sized Plastic Bags
Now these items do seem quite ridiculous. Why bring these bags back with you when you can put so many other more important things in your suitcase? Not until you live abroad do you realize how crazy garbage bags are in other countries. They are typically super small, don’t have drawstring enclosures, and are more prone to ripping. I’m quite comfortable with making some space in my suitcase for a roll of garbage bags from my home country as I know I will very much appreciate having them throughout the coming year.
Tortilla Chips and Corn Tortillas
If you live outside of the Spanish-speaking countries (including USA), you can probably relate to this one. High quality tortilla chips are extremely hard to come by in many countries. You can usually find some brand (or if you are lucky, brands) of tortilla chips where you are living, but they are of a low standard that’s for sure. Even though your home country bought brand of tortilla chips might break a bit in your checked bag, it is still worth it to pack as you will definitely impress your other expat friends when you invite them over for a mexican-themed dinner. Corn tortillas are even harder to find and are a must to bring back for baking a nice batch of enchiladas.
Cooking Spray
It appears as if cooking spray doesn’t exist in other countries, only USA. Though to be honest, I have tried some host country alternatives. But, they are not the same in my opinion. As I like to cook and bake a lot, I find myself gravitating towards this product while grocery shopping at home. I usually buy two cans!
Salad Dressing
It is hard to find nice, quality salad dressings in other countries. Sometimes their version of salad dressing is definitely not to your liking, or they just don’t do salad dressing at all. It is a bit American to use salad dressing for a salad or dips, so I guess that is one reason they are not so popular in other countries. It’s true, sometimes they do import salad dressings from the UK and USA. But even if they state the same kind of dressing you like on the bottle’s label, it certainly will not taste the way you were hoping it would taste because of the generic brand that they are selling (a brand that you’ve never heard of and have never encountered before in your home country).
Bottled Water
I just heard from an expat friend today that their expat friend used to fill their whole suitcase up with bottled water from their home country! Can you imagine?!? Must be some excellent tasting water!
With that last one being said, it is clear that everybody has a weakness that brings them to buy certain things while traveling back home.
You might say that the longer you stay at a school in a certain country, the less things that you find yourself wanting to bring back. But there seems to be always something that an expat wants to bring back regardless of their time spent abroad. It might not be the same things that they brought back with them their first year abroad, but there is typically something else that takes priority.
I have got to the point where I have a rule for myself: don’t buy anything that I can actually buy in my host country, even if it is slightly more expensive there and has a different brand name.
This article was submitted to us by a International School Community member guest author. If you have a “Top 10 list” that you’d like to send us. Write us here. All guest authors receive 6 free months of premium membership to our website.
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