Job Discussion Forums

tarheelbaby · Joined: 20 Jun 2007 Posts: 5

Hi,

I just graduated from college, early 20's and moving to Vietnam by myself in September to do the CELTA at ILA (despite lots of the criticism it seems to receive). I have done a fair bit of traveling in developing countries so I'm not to worried about that aspect... however I am still pretty terrified about moving by myself and jumping into the whole ESL business with pretty much no experience. Does anybody have any good advice?

p.s I've been pouring all the posts on the Vietnam forum which has only made me more nervous. Bought a plane ticket yesterday though so no turning back

kigolo1881 · Joined: 17 Feb 2007 Posts: 21

JUST DO IT!
Keep an open heart, mind and get thick skin.

I'm moving to VN myself middle of september, though this time its NOT for teaching. Very Happy

PeregrinationStation · Joined: 06 Mar 2007 Posts: 6

I'm doing the same thing, except taking CELTA at the Language Link in Hanoi. I'm hoping "just do it" is good advice. Wink

Anyhow, feel free to drop me a line & we can talk our jitters out! Razz

kigolo1881 · Joined: 17 Feb 2007 Posts: 21

What specific questions or tips do you want for your move?

tarheelbaby · Joined: 20 Jun 2007 Posts: 5

Best city to live in, what to bring, how much money, etc.

On another note, Just do it seems like pretty good advice to me. Guess I'll find out when I get there!

kigolo1881 · Joined: 17 Feb 2007 Posts: 21

Well as far as I know, HCMC is the largest metropolitan city in the south, there's Hanoi in the North, which is the seat of the Govt.

There are smaller cities in central VN, such as Nha Trang (beach, vacation, tourism centered).
Da Nang- mid sized city of 1+ million ppl.

Most businesses are centered in HCMC, so I believe that's always a good starting point as well as since the Int'l Airport is located there.

Money wise, since i'm going there in September and not having many connections, i'd assume 1000 - 1500 USD/ mo should be enough for rent, food and entertainment.

As for clothing, bring basics such as underwear and good quality tshirts or dress shirts for work etc. Depending on you size and style, it might be difficult to find something you like. 1 or 2 good sets of dress shoes, casuals shoes and sneakers, there are cheap sneakers in VN but the qual is bad. If you need a suit, wait til u get to VN and get it tailored. I got a decent suit and 5 pairs of really nice slacks for about 150 USD. Dress shirts i prefer to buy in the US, since i can get collar size and sleeves in various lenghts, compared to the S,M,L size chart.

Cosmetics: sunblock is always good. Lotion if u need, get your toothbrushes in bulk (dentists recommend 1 for every 3 months), contact lense solution?

If you're a girl and need a hairdryer, bring a transformer since VN has a 2 round-prong 220V system.

If you have a laptop, digicam, other electronics, then just a socket adaptor is enough since most chargers can convert the power output. usually the power bricks say 110V~220V. Also, in some hotels that i stayed in there were multi purpose outlest so u could US and European (germany etc.)

Deodorant was available almost everywhere for just a little bit more.

Bring peptobismol or other OTC for upset stomachs. Get some pills for diarrhea while you're at it.

I'm Vietnamese, but never been back there and had the runs for 3 weeks on my first visit, afterwards it was OK. You will lose weight!

HarryG · Posted: Tue Jun 26, 2007 10:25 am Post subject:

Hey-I'm moving up there in August, probably to Hanoi but who knows... I have to admit, despite travelling before I'm quite nervous about this time. I feel like paying for the CELTA is sort of a financial commitment to spend quite a lot of time teaching so I hope I'm cut out for it. I fly out next week to ECC in Bangkok and feel very under-prepared!

If you want to share any worries/advice please PM me your email-it's always nice to have a potential contact on the ground.

I've heard some bad things about ILA as well but it seems like every big school gets bad-mouthed a fair bit-and it seems to be more as an employer than a teacher trainer.

Finally-I try to gain some confidence from the fact that I would be very impressed, jealous and supportive if a friend of mine was doing the same thing. This makes me think that my own advice to myself would always be= go for it! (if you see what I mean)

Good luck

Harry

kigolo1881 · Joined: 17 Feb 2007 Posts: 21

I'm flying from the US to BKK end of august for alittle vacation with friends for a week. After that, they'll fly home, but i'll head over to HCMC for 'hopefully' a job.

I've visited VN twice in 2005 for a total of 8 weeks with friends, but this time, i'll be all by myself and will need a roof over my head etc.

Any of you going to be in HCMC or def. Hanoi?