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notsua
Joined: 13 Sep 2003 Posts: 1 Location: Indonesia
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Posted: Tue Sep 16, 2003 12:35 pm Post subject: Anybody know Medan? |
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Is there anybody on this forum who is or has worked in Medan? I've worked here for about a month and want to know how other foreign teachers find it here. |
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kubulka
Joined: 11 Feb 2004 Posts: 14
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Posted: Thu Apr 01, 2004 6:55 am Post subject: |
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How do you find it there, notsua?
I might land there in a few month, could you perhaps tell me a bit about that place? |
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Joachim
Joined: 01 Oct 2003 Posts: 311 Location: Brighton, UK
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Posted: Thu Apr 01, 2004 10:49 am Post subject: |
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Medan is such a dump!
It's a pity as some of the nearby places - Danau Toba and Bukit Lawang spring to mind - are absolutley amazing.
My first instinct of Medan was that i wanted to get right back on the plane and leave - smelly, noisy, polluted eyesore.
I can't imagine that teaching there would be much fun either, especially considering one or two of the teachers I know to be there. |
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Winmar
Joined: 11 Feb 2003 Posts: 125 Location: Melbourne
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Posted: Tue Apr 06, 2004 1:56 pm Post subject: |
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I just spent a few days in Medan, but didn't find it too bad. I don't know what Bukit Lawang is like these days, after the floods. |
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Smooth Operator
Joined: 29 Jan 2003 Posts: 140 Location: Japan
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Posted: Fri Apr 16, 2004 4:51 am Post subject: |
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Well Medan certainly gets a bad rep. from many people but in the couple of times I've visited there (1998 and 2002) I didn't think it was so bad. The locals are friendly and the foreigners I met living there seemed to enjoy it. It has a bit of a strange atmosphere though, and it's not a pretty place, but not the worst city in Asia, by any means. It could be an interesting experience for 6 months or a year but it's not for everyone... |
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Bedevilled
Joined: 02 Aug 2004 Posts: 28 Location: Medan, North Sumatera
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Posted: Thu Aug 12, 2004 6:20 am Post subject: |
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I've just re-signed my contract in Medan for another year. It has more to do with the school where I'm now teaching than the city itself, but if it was as bad as some people seem to suggest, I wouldn't have. It's got its own charm. Don't come here expecting it to be like home because it's not.
You need to have some patience and do yourself the favour and try to learn the language... it goes a long way. You will be infinitely more well received. I really don't mind Medan, It's not a place I'd want to settle down and live forever, but I'm having a good time here.
As to Bukit Lawang; they are attempting to rebuild despite the fact that the funding they were promised by the government never came. There are a few guest houses now and you can go see the orangutans and go trekking. If you've been there before the floods, dont' go back expecting that it will ever be like that again. Indeed the end of an era. |
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phis
Joined: 10 Mar 2003 Posts: 250
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Posted: Fri Aug 13, 2004 4:25 pm Post subject: |
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Joachim, you are doing your usual thing of 'dumping' on places and things you have no experience of. Have you lived and worked in Medan? What is the longest period you have stayed here?
If anyone is passing through Medan, you will not get a true feeling for the place. If you can stay for more than a week you will start to realise what a wonderful place it really is.
The local government is making a big effort to clean up the city. I have been here for almost 2 and a half years, and the changes are incredible.
DON'T KNOCK WHAT YOU DON'T KNOW! |
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phis
Joined: 10 Mar 2003 Posts: 250
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Posted: Sat Aug 14, 2004 1:50 am Post subject: |
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I can't imagine that teaching there would be much fun either, especially considering one or two of the teachers I know to be there. |
Joachim, this is something you keep repeating. Who are these 'terrible teachers'? All the teachers in my school are absolutely fantastic! I also know many of the other teachers in schools such as EF, Thames etc. and I wouldn't classify them as any worse than you.
I ask you once again, what is your experience of Medan and working here? If you can really back up your statements then people will listen. As it is, you are just giving a bad impression to people who would really like to come to Indonesia and are being put off by your unfounded allegations.
And yes, I know you had a bad experience in Semarang. Didn't we all! But that is more than two years ago. Most people have moved on and left that behind them. Isn't it time you did that yourself? |
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Joachim
Joined: 01 Oct 2003 Posts: 311 Location: Brighton, UK
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Posted: Sat Aug 14, 2004 2:54 pm Post subject: |
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Phis,
Other than a tourist, my experience of Medan is from childhood actually when we lived there for 18 months (before heading to Singapore for medical treatment).
So no I have never taught there, but I was in the region traveling for four months earlier this year. My warning about teachers (and please remember that this is an OLD post that has just been resurrected) referred to you, exclusively. You are a very unstable person who should not be in a position of authority.
Toodles. |
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phis
Joined: 10 Mar 2003 Posts: 250
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Posted: Sun Aug 15, 2004 8:57 am Post subject: |
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You're not a child now. |
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