Job Discussion Forums

[ls650]

[Jizzo T. Clown]

[tedkarma]

I agree with JTZ.

It would probably be best to only consider breaking the law in countries where you fully know and understand the legal system, the penal system, and just how much trouble you can find yourself in - and how much it might cost to get yourself out - if it is possible at all.

There are some very very nasty jails out there, and some countries are quite happy to make an example of a foreigner who breaks their laws. You will not always be deported - and in fact, getting deported would be the good news if you were busted.

[movinaround]

[elamericano]

Howell83, the hard thing about using cannabis overseas and TEFLing is that one of the only reasonably safe places to do so is the European Union, where the governments tend to emphasize not going after users. But it's hard to get stable, legal positions here unless you already possess EU nationality or are very highly qualified.

The best compromise seems to be Spain. Their laws are very lax in regards to drugs and teachers with illegal visa status (ie, teaching on a tourist visa) are essentially never targeted by the authorities.

[tedkarma]

[Daryl69]

I would like to add that as an EFL teacher you need to provide a good example and not make it harder for the rest of us by overindulging in alcohol, doing the old ex-pat host nation bashing and using drugs, no matter how acceptable that is back home. I am Korea based and love it, but things have been tightened up because of far too many, mostly young graduates here to party and show no respect for Korean cultural norms. If you want to pee in the pool, do it in your own, not the one we are swimming in! If you remember that as a rule then you can have a great time, save money, and maybe, if you want, to build a respectable career in the ESL/EFL field. If these reasons do not sway you, remember in any host country you will stand out, and attract curiosity, so are more likely to get caught, go to jail, have large legal fees/fines, then get deported in disgrace AFTER jail time, if you are lucky!!

[elamericano]

But those are completely different societies from the EU. The very risk of those things happening in Asia is why I suggested the EU as a more sane and lawful place that has some concept of human rights. It isn't a military dictatorship nor an authoritarian excuse for a "democracy". It also takes a more effective approach in fighting pedophilia than reactive, hypocritical Asian governments that just want to blame outsiders for everything so they can let their own people off the hook.

Therefore, when outsiders are doing things that are genuinely harmful, EU governments tend not to go berserk against every foreigner in sight, whereas in many cases Asian governments have. That is THEIR fault for doing so.

[blackmagicABC]

Taiwan is not as a bad option and it has not been mentioned by anyone. Depending on where you live, what you eat and how much you drink you can save 1K a month in Taiwan as well. I have gone through months where I saved nothing because there was no motivation to and I have gone through months where I have saved 2K. Depending on what you get paid and how many hours you work you can save a lot of money. If you get results, word gets around and you get paid really well.

[Daryl69]

I am surprised that an EFL teacher based in Spain is using "hypocracy" card against Asian nations. Spain is a great place, and one of my closest friends is Spanish and lives in Spain. However, Korea is a democratic and peaceful country, as are many others in Asia. No one is pretending they are perfect, however they are deserving of respect, as is Spain, the UAE or wherever EFL teachers live and work. Korea returned to democracy in 1987, Spain also in the same decade, and in the Spanish parliament there are bullet-holes still in the wall, made in THAT decade as a symbol of how fragile democracy was, after decades of fascist rule by Generalissimo Franco. Whether in Spain, Korea or wherever, we are guests, and if our own home countries were so great why are we not in them???? After all there are things happening in our wonderful western, peaceful, democratic nations that attack the very foundations of those societies. In effect we have been peeing in our own pools perhaps???

[elamericano]

Here are some facts for you.

Spain returned to democracy in 1975-77 and the 1981 coup attempt you are referring to failed badly, with no popular support and the King himself intervening to quell the insurrection. Franco launched his uprising from the Canary Islands (overthrowing the previous democratic Spanish Republic) and it took him three years of fighting before he could put all the regions of mainland Spain under his control. The Catalans and Basques continued to resist all through the time of his regime by both peaceful and terrorist means; ETA murdered his appointed successor with a car bomb. Today, the pendulum has swung from centralism to autonomy and possibly even a breakup of the state.

I'm not living in my home country because I like the EU and am therefore living in the EU. People can and do have differing opinions about other societies despite what countries they come from.

As for that little comment about "peeing in our own pools", it should be emphasized that the people who are trying to destroy democracy in my home country rarely or never travel abroad and resist the very idea of learning about foreign cultures, but they would still love our military to go conquer the world in order to nurse their wounded pride. I certainly didn't contribute to that.

[JZer]

[tedkarma]

[JZer]

tedkarma, these days I would even like to try the Peace Corps or some other opportunity that would allow me to spend a few years in the outback or less developed area. Most ESL jobs are in relatively developed areas.

[tedkarma]