Job Discussion Forums

[TravelnLass]

Just a quick note as I peck here in my utterly empty (save for this laptop and a lawn chair!) Seattle apartment - just 72 hours til that silver chariot (on a ONE WAY ticket) rises off the tarmac en route to Hanoi.

Just a big THANKS to all who helped me here earlier on age issues, visas, et al - it was a big help.

I believe I'm set now. Thanks to Arthur, I nabbed an online VOA letter through smiletravelvietnam - just $21 fee + $50 pmt at Hanoi airport for a 3 mo. multi.

Flying Asiana on a one-way ticket, and I've double/triple-checked with them about the VOA, and they're fine with it - apparently quite familiar w/ such.

I've been accepted into the ILA CELTA course (starts Nov. 14th) in Saigon, but plan to "play tourist" for a week up north (Ha Long Bay of course, along with a few nts. Sapa), then fly down to Saigon on the 8th - giving me about a week to settle in before the course starts.

Th-th-that's it for now in a nutshell. If you like, you can read more at TravelnLass dot com

Thanks again to all here, and trust that I'll be poking in now and again once I'm settled. Hopefully I can eventually "pay-it-forward" and offer some assistance to future newbies.

[Slippy]

Good luck!

[Anglophony]

How did the post-CELTA job hunt turn out?

Take long to grab a job?

[TravelnLass]

Gosh, I've been so busy here in Vietnam, I've not ducked in here to the forums in ages.

Yes, yes, everything is great here. Have been here in Vietnam for 3 months now (but for a 3 week holiday to see the orangutans in Sumatra, etc. just 'cuz it's so blessedly CHEAP to move around SEA from here!).

Took the month-long CELTA course here in HCMC (it was uh, doable, but extremely G-R-U-L-I-N-G) with ILA and they offered me a 6 month contract (I start next Saturday - yikes!) Just part time (12 hrs. per week, 3 classes each on Sat. and Sun, so the rest of my week is free) as that's what I asked for. But you probably could get full time (20 hrs.) if you wanted. That is... if you're a native speaker, look Western and have at least a B.S.

But I highly recommend the CELTA - excellent training, and with it, you can pretty much write your own ticket here. My pay to start is $19/hr. (which 'cuz of the cheap cost of living here, translates to more like $40/hr.)

Also, I just applied to renew my visa. (btw, I got a 3 mo. multi-entry via the online pre-approved letter thingy - I think it was less than $20 to the online company, and $50 upon arrival in Hanoi - no problem whatsoever.)

ANYWAY, as my 3 month visa was expiring 29 Jan. I went to immigration here in HCMC to renew it for $60. As I have a teaching gig w/ ILA they stamped my app, so it was easy-peasy. Though b/c of the Tet holiday, I won't get my passport back til the 31st.

Not sure what it would take if I didn't have ILA to sponsor me. They would have done the visa renewal paperwork for me (same price, $60) but I have a Vietnamese friend who can translate and knew where to go to immigration here in HCMC, so I opted to do it myself.

We'll see... (on the 31st) if it's for 3 months, multi entry or what...

In short: Come on in the (Vietnam) water's just fine!

(even for we dodderin' ol' lasses)