Job Discussion Forums

pcdavid04 · Joined: 19 May 2005 Posts: 19

after an exhaustive search i think i found a good deal...

round trip from L.A. to Taipei for $1007 on Eva Airways. i got the evergreen deluxe class reservation, whatever the hell that means??? is anyone familiar with their seating system, and is the deluxe class a good deal?

i'll be arriving in mid-august, i certinly hope that there will be plenty o jobs at that time!

the ticket is good for one year...is it a headache postponing my return trip? i was thinking i could use it to return home for a quick trip after 10 or 11 months.

if there are any folks out there arriving at or about that time, perhaps we can hook up and make it a team effort?

thanks

go_lightly · Joined: 15 Jun 2005 Posts: 27

Yes - $1005 is a pretty good deal for roundtrip tickets, esp. during the summer season. I purchased a one-way ticket to TPE from SFO for $595 last month (thru travel agency) b/c I am not sure of my plans yet. I don't even think the tickets are changeable much less refundable. The general consensus seems to be that I should've purchased roundtrip tickets directly from an airline. You shouldn't have any problems changing your return date later on - as easy as dialing the number from Taiwan & EVA operators speak fluent English. I will be arriving to TPE on July 31st & I supposedly have a contract w/ Kojen, one of the chain schools in Taiwan. I am under a special condition b/c I will be using my Taiwanese citizenship (I have dual citizenship) to enter Taiwan, and also working as a citizen. However, at this time, I am having doubts as to just how much I want to teach in Taiwan, as I am also interested in Latin America. Oh but that darn non-refundable ticket...

pcdavid04 · Joined: 19 May 2005 Posts: 19

go lightly,

i used to live in honduras, its great. i love latin america but i am not sure about the engish teacher market. english has pretty much saturated the region. many groups like Peace Corps teach english there for free. i've gotta believe that the pay will be pretty low too.

i don't want to discourage you but if i were you i'd do some serious investigating.

my time in honduras was perhaps the best time of my life. latinos are the most kind and generous people on earth.

most of the countries in latin america are a mess from an economic standpoint. therefore job opportunities are liable to be pretty shaky.

good luck in your decision making

go_lightly · Joined: 15 Jun 2005 Posts: 27

Hmmm...Honduras. I was actually supposed to be in Ecuador this month, volunteer tesol-ing. But something unexpected occurred at Quito International (closed from 11 pm to 6 am from now to the end of July due to "runway repairs") thus affecting my flight. I agree w/ you about Latinos...I currently teach ESL to Mexican day workers in San Jose (also volunteer) & I wish I could make a career out of it.

umm, yeah, so i was already 1/3 of the way through the lengthy Peace Corps application but decided to just create my own "PC" experience through tesol. i finally chose Taiwan b/c of my relative familiarity w/ the island & yeah, b/c of the $$$ or NT$. Ideally though, I would like to teach English to disadvantaged groups & have looked into a lot of volunteer abroad programs. I wouldn't mind making just enough to support myself for the duration of my teaching, but a lot of volunteer programs require an out-of-pocket price or certain deadlines, time commitment, etc. So i've been drifting in & out of such tesol aspirations & plans for the past year since i graduated college. echhhh.

do you know where you will be teaching in Taiwan yet? i might be able to offer you more insight. i've visited Taiwan a few times, the most recent being last September. i've also worked at a bushiban for 3 months there when i was 18 & have first-hand experience how ugly it can be teaching for a privately-owned, totally mis-managed "language institute." overall, teaching in taiwan is more about the business & less about teaching, but i'm sure you already know that. be prepared for rote memorization & spoon-feeding English to the kiddies...teaching adults might be better but more than likely you will teach children too. it's all sort of cynical, but still, i do have a lot of love for the country, just some mixed feelings & perhaps anxiety about teaching there...

buena suerte & keep in touch...

Girl Scout · Joined: 13 Jan 2005 Posts: 525 Location: Inbetween worlds

I flew Eva when I returned here last year. I got a round-trip economy class for $635. The flight was great. The seat was comfy. I sat in the back becaused I exchaged my seat with another person. There was only one person next to me. They fed us constantly. They showed movies and other entertainment constantly. The best part was that it was only 12 hours.

The deluxe class is akin to regular business class. They have wider seat alignment, indiviual video screen on the seat backs and different food. Make sure you join their mileage club. It might be worth it if you continue to travel.

Aristotle · Joined: 16 Jan 2003 Posts: 1388 Location: Taiwan

That is a good price for a ticket.
Please read this.
Ten Steps to Success!
Good luck!
A.

moretap · Joined: 12 Apr 2005 Posts: 2

I just got a ticket leaving in late Aug. from Philadelphia to TPE then to Hong Kong for $888. So, round trip from LA for that price seems pretty good.

Sheep-Goats · Joined: 16 Apr 2004 Posts: 527

Worst flight I ever had was on EVA, but it wasn't the airline's fault. It was this 109 year old Taiwanese guy sitting next to me who had his elbow literally halfway into my narrow seating space for the entire long flight over the pacific.

Food was pretty good, service pretty brash and abrasive, but functional at least. Seat was very small.

Oh, I had a one way ticket from the middle of the States to Bangkok -- for 442 USD. Two six-hour layovers though. Sad

pcdavid04 · Joined: 19 May 2005 Posts: 19

$442 is a great price. 2 six-hour lay-overs???? thats gonna suck. my ticket is direct, thankfully. according to the airlines website, its about 13 hours...not looking forward to it.