Job Discussion Forums

[Javaggall]

I am about to sign a contract with CfBT and my family and I are very much lookng forward to moving out to Brunei ASAP. I would love to hear from anyone who can give us any general advice about what we MUST bring with us! Is there anything that you can recommend - as in, can't live without!!!
Also, I have seen lots of very positive posts about the project in Brunei but have also seen some very negative comments about other CfBT projects - if anyone out there can reassure me, I'll be eternally grateful! We feel very well supported already and we haven't even arrived yet! Will this continue?

I would welcome any comments - thanks in advance!

[celtica]

The 'getting people to Brunei' process is very well organised and run. Supported yes...but after you arrive and have gone through the Orientation, do not expect the same as it is no longer there. You are basically on your own. Your CfBT colleagues are the mainstay of your support system...and that depends on them and you of course!

You are on the run for the first three months - getting your head around finding a car, house (if not already assigned one) completing all the beaurocratic tasks for licenses, IC, telephone, internet, etc etc Then, the teacher is busy at school getting his/her head around the system, finding resources, photocopying stuff,afternoon meetings.... or classes..... or sports activities.....

If you have any special needs for yourself as far as food/supplements/personal supplies.....bring them. They are not necessarily available, or if they are, they may be in one day and out for the next three months.


I was told to bring all my kitchen stuff and have never regretted doing so.

Not can't live without, but makes living more pleasant....some things to put on walls...the houses are very big, usually white and very bare.

As to the positive /negative ....what do you want out of coming here? What is your mindset ? ....that is what, in the end, decides your experience in Brunei.
Be prepared for difficulties....they are there waiting to catch you unaware!!!!

[Javaggall]

Thank you for your reply - it is reassuring to know that there are people out there who care enough to offer advice! I will certainly bring some household staples and pictures etc.

Our intentions as to coming out - so many! We have no delusions that this will be easy but we are hopeful that we may have a slightly less hectic lifestyle (once settled!!) and that we should have more time as a family. I know the commitment to the school will come first but I'm hopeful that there will be time to do things with our young children that our busy lives here seem to hinder. As far as my teaching is concerned, I'm looking forward to a new challenge and the chance to actually teach - my current job in the UK has me teaching less and less!

We're very far through the process now and I am hopeful that we'll be in Brunei soon - thanks again

[jsteventon]

Hi

Just a few thoughts in answer to the enquiry about what to bring out to Brunei. I brought a lot of stuff which I later found quite superfluous as I could have bought it all at the store around the corner! If I were to do it again I would not bring any household stuff as it is easily available here. I would just bring anything of sentimental value - photos etc. - maybe any teaching materials you particularly like....I also brought over lots of my children's toys, thinking it would make them feel 'at home.' However, as the boxes arrived several weeks after we did, by then replacements had been supplied ! I have found that here in Brunei we can get virtually anything we need - I would recommend as little heavy baggage as possible.

Having worked in Brunei with CfBT for many years, I can highly recommend it, particularly if you have a young family. You will definitely have more time with your children over here. The teaching is much less stressful than in the UK and there are nothing like the discipline problems rife in UK schools. I find it is a great place to live and work...

Settling in will be a busy time, but in a positive way! CfBT will be extremely helpful and hire car and a detailed induction course will be invaluable.

Happy packing ! Feel free to send me a pm if you have any more queries...

JS

[Javaggall]

A huge thanks for your reply - can't PM yet as haven't written enough posts! Will keep trying!

Great advice - thanks. We are really looking forward to our "big move" and hope that we will be in Brunei mid-September. I have just had my medical and sent it off to Brunei office - fingers crossed there's nothing lurking there that could let me down! Feeling very excited but nervous now - just need the absolute go ahead so I can get packing! We have made enquiries about airfreight and had hoped it was reliable - can it take for ever?
Thanks again - looking forward to getting out there!

[allycupe]

I'm reading your updates as we are hopefully just a few steps behind you on the way to Brunei! Good to know about household stuff but I wonder about bedding and towels.

[jsteventon]

I wouldn't bring bedding or towels, as very easily bought here in Brunei.

Re airfreight - not sure about that, as i used sea freight from the UK..that took around 6 weeks.

Happy packing!
JS

[celtica]

Just a note about bedding. Good quality pure cotton sheets usually are sold in a set - a fitted sheet and a duvet cover, pillow cases and a bolster cover(!). I don't know about you, but I like a top sheet - especially here in Brunei where that's all I use! I also don't like polyester-cotton, so I buy my sheets from home. There are cheap cotton ones here, but not very attractive. I brought some of mine from home when I first came and never regretted that either.

I also brought some very basic familiar toys for the kids...it was for the feeling of something familiar rather than the toys themselves. Any good quality educational toys you have and love I would advise bringing. They are somewhat limited here - depends on the ages of your children.

Everyone has different ways of viewing what is necessary and what isn't! I enjoyed the familiarity of my stuff from home and it meant that I didn't have to go out buying stuff which wasn't as nice as what I (would have) left packed away gathering dust. It also cut down on the job of shopping to get another part of life organised! Finding just what you want can be a mission in Brunei sometimes...one day its there, the next it is gone.

I am sure you will find more time to be with your family. It is a very family oriented place, with almost all activities including the children or being based around children's activities. Having said that, life is becoming busier in Brunei with a lot more commitment to school after 2pm than in previous years. Still, in comparison to the UK and elsewhere, it is less.
September is also a good time to arrive as the end of the year tends to be a little more relaxed than the beginning. (If you aren't teaching 6th form that is ....)

[lacsap]

September is great time to arrive, even or especially if you are teaching 6th Form. The Upper 6th leave in about mid October, then you are just teaching Lower 6th. December is a whole month off, so you wouldn't have very much to do at all. The new Lower 6th coming in don't start till March, so easy peasy really. Having said that, it's rare that a new teacher is posted to one of the 6th Form colleges, though not unheard-of. Good luck. Nice place to be, little stress or strain, plenty of family time, not a huge amount of work to do. Depends on yourself. Don't listen to the nay-sayers, when they say this is the Saudi of SE Asia. Rubbish. Alcohol is banned, but you can bring in supplies legally when you go into Malaysia, which is an easy drive away. Women can dress however they want, within reason. Most of the 30-odd secondary schools are mixed-sex. The 6th Form colleges are 2 thirds female as entry depends on exam results and the girls just work harder. Like anywhere else. Women occupy many if not most senior posts in the Ministry of Education. There are not crowds of leering young men hanging around the Mall annoying women like there are in just about all the Gulf states I have been to. There are plenty of things you can criticise about the place, ridiculous bureaucracy, stupid decisions by those in charge, but all in all there are far worse places to work. CFBT are very good at the start, but in the end become rather peripheral to your daily life and you can avoid them quite easily, despite what the current CEO would like to think. They pay on time, honour contracts, and if you do your job, they leave you alone. In fact, even if you don't do your job, they don't do much. Plenty of people get away with doing very little. Anything else you need to know, PM if you can.

[Javaggall]

Thank you everyone who has posted a comment or offered advice. We will follow most of it - think I will bring a small amount of bedding as you get used to things and we'll certainly enjoy anything that can help us get settled that little bit more quickly.

Our children will be 7 and nearly 5 when we arrive and they are great kids so hopefully they will enjoy the "adventure" - we'll bring some of their games and toys but I think part of the excitement for them is finding new things to do! They have discovered Nintendo Wii lately and we're considering bringing it with us - will we be able to use it? Strange question, I know!!!!

Thanks again - hopefully see some of you soon!

[jsteventon]

Hi

There are many great Wii games to be had here at Br$5 apiece...just wondering if there might be a problem with compatability...you might need to check that out.
If not, it is well worth bringing yours, as here the Wii costs around $600...

JS

[BOBBYSUE]

Hi Javagall, yes you have picked a good place for you and your family, in my opinion. A couple of my own comments about what has been said above:

Supported yes...but after you arrive and have gone through the Orientation, do not expect the same as it is no longer there. You are basically on your own

This is partly true in that the orientation etc are all very good and then you are assigned to a government school, so it's not like working in an international school, for example. I found this very difficult at first. But anyone who has ever worked directly for a foreign government in their schools could not possibly fail to appreciate what CfBT does even after the orientation has finished, and it's not true at all to say 'it's no longer there'. Apart from CfBT social events (we just had our annual ball) and educational projects that you can become involved in, you can also phone the CfBT office any time something goes wrong with your house (they'll sort out a plumber etc even though you may have to pay for it if it was your fault), the CfBT welfare officer is also great and helps us and our families with all kinds of mental and physical problems, and , in my case, I had an issue at my school that my CfBT line manager (who is wonderful) was able to come in and sort out.

CFBT are very good at the start, but in the end become rather peripheral to your daily life and you can avoid them quite easily, despite what the current CEO would like to think. They pay on time, honour contracts, and if you do your job, they leave you alone. In fact, even if you don't do your job, they don't do much. Plenty of people get away with doing very little.

There is a new CEO and he is beginning to make CfBT's presence felt a little more strongly. But I think this is exactly because of the last two sentences written above, which is understandable. When I arrived here I was a little annoyed by one or two colleagues who have been here a long time and are basically bone idle, and who were encouraging me to be the same. If you're working in a staffroom with these people, they are a big pain, not only because you end up carrying them, but also because they have set the tone for how your Bruneian colleagues view you. The onus is then on you to show you are different. You will also find that the same people who complain that CfBT does nothing to help them once they are in their schools are the ones who try to "avoid" CfBT by being uncooperative.
Anyone with half a brain should realise that it's common sense to show how much you want to be part of CfBT at every opportunity. Then when it comes to asking for CfBT's help when you need it, you will get it. I have found this with every employer I have worked for
If there's one piece of advice I would give you very strongly it would be to ignore some of the negative old timers that somehow don't understand this basic human psychology and find themselves making their own negative vision of the world into a reality.

All in all Brunei is not for everyone (a couple of guys have done a runner this year) but most people I meet here love it and find it much better than other overseas places they have worked, both in terms of lifestyle and in terms of CfBT. I love it and I have worked all over.

Good luck Javagall and allycupe - hopefully get to meet you at one of the social events soon!

[Javaggall]

Thanks again - I am feeling increasingly positive about everything - and I was excited in the first place! We will certainly keep an open mind and follow our philosophy that "life is what you make it"! IF we need CfBT we'll ask, if we can manage on our own, then that's great too. I was really impressed by the CfBT reps we met and couldn't fault the "service" we have received so far - every email is answered with encouragement and reassurances. It would seem even my petty/silly questions have been asked before and no one is phased by them!!!!

Will be great to meet up with you all - and put faces to (real!) names.

Anyone know about Wii compatability? Or know any way to find out? Cheers

[lacsap]

Just to clarify, Bobbysue, I wasnt advocating that people should avoid CFBT or try and get away with doing very little, I was actually bemoaning the fact how easy it was to do just that, given the way that CFBT are generally quite invisible in schools these days. Line managers used to visit regularly but now are a rare sight in schools, the CEO has yet to show his face in any school even after 8 months in the job. That could be the reason why there are a lot of people who perhaps need a bit of a kick up the rear. If there are any extra jobs need doing, it always seems to be the usual suspects who get dragged in. Anyway, nuff said, it's what you make of it. It's not for everyone, but having read the reports from many other places in the world, such as the Gulf, things could be worse.

[BOBBYSUE]

Hi Lacsap,

yes, i understood what you were getting at and I agree with you...I was criticising them and not you. The new guy has actually visited my school but I don't know how many others he's been to. He did say he's about to do some more in the last newsletter though.

I've also dropped by his office to discuss his plans with him a couple of times and I think he's getting most things right. I should come clean though - I was once in management and hated it, couldn't wait to get back to teaching...so I look on these pour souls with a sympathetic eye I apply this to my HOD too and find it keeps my stress levels down