Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Tobias]

Has anyone here ever taught in the Middle East? I'm looking to go there after my stint here is up, but I can't find much information on working there.

Here's what I've discovered so far:

1. Some of these places treat women like shit.
2. Some of these places will not allow you to leave unless you get
your employer's permisson. Doing a runner is out. That can't be good.
When you gotta go, you gotta go.
3. Some won't let you travel around inside the country.
4. Getting a school to give a prospective teacher the head's up on working there is like playing dentist.
4b. Getting a school to give a prospective teacher contact info of present
and former teachers is like playing dental surgeon.
5. Finding a needle in a haystack would be easy compared to finding what
a school's turnover rate is.

What I have been able to surmise:
1. Turnover in the Middle East is extremely high. Seeing an ad from an
agency here, there, and everywhere for the same job means no one sticks around there for long.
2. Not getting answers to my questions about a particular job means I need to stay very far away from that job. And based on the deafening silence I've gotten for replies from the outfits I've dealt with so far, I will be staying very far away from the Middle East.
3. Some of the jobs in the Middle East pay great. But good jobs that pay great are rarely 'easy' to get, Middle East or anywhere else. I've had about four well-paying jobs fall into my lap in one week. Of course, no one wants to tell me anything about these jobs other than their salaries.
Hmmm. High salaries + high turnover? These jobs must be hell on Earth. And doing a runner is out in some of these places.

Somebody tell me that working in the Middle East is great, and my gut is totally wrong on this. Should I just shit-can this Middle East idea and start looking in another direction, say, Japan? I've got about a month before I fly the Korean coop.

Thanks up front for any information.

[fadedgirl]

does Egypt count? I know that it's technically on the African continent but THEY consider themselves Middle Eastern....

Muslim culture is tough to assimilate into, especially if you don't wear the hijab.
They don't pay very much.
Teachers are considered servants. They are into the caste system.

Westerners are considered degenerate perverts who put it in girls' butts. Women are treated like meat. If getting leered at, hissed at, catcalled, etc every day for a year is your idea of fun, enjoy.

Taxis are worse than in Korea. They use rope to keep the doors shut. Don't turn their lights on at night. They believe they're saving gas.

They try to steal your money. Bargain. Check ALL of your receipts...even the grocery store receipt. There were a few times that I had to argue with the cashier because she charged me for something that I definitely didn't have.

keep in mind, this is just in Egypt. In Saudi, every woman must have a male chaperone...according to law. and I think wear the hijab. I'm not really down with that. Apparently, Egypt is the most liberal of Middle Eastern countries. supposedly.

[Tobias]

Afraid Egypt would be out. I've done my bleeding-heart, generous stint in Thailand. I've paid my poverty dues. Today I get paid to do this or I don't do it. I'm gonna have something in the end to show for my (mostly unappreciated) efforts. That something is 'coin'.

Speaking of Saudi Arabia, I've been told that Riyadh, the capital, is a place devoid of any attraction a westerner may use after work for relaxation. I'm talking no theatres, no bowling alleys, no bars...Sounds like a hoppin' place.

What is pissing me off about the Middle East, and I've not even gone there yet, mind you, is the fact no one at the jobs I've been offered wants to tell me anything about working at those places. I can't find out what my hours would be, the days I'd be working, if I'd have to work on the weekends, if I'd have to work some fucked-up split shift(s), if I'd have to pay a big deposit on my housing, if I'd be teaching brats, if I'd be the only whitey there, et al.

No way am I gonna fly to any job anywhere totally blind about it. I don't care if it pays 10 grand a month.

[Ukon]

My dad taught in Saudia arabia at the request of the government(they have a serious lack of professionals in a variety of fields)....he was paid very well(over 80k I would assume with housing). It wasn't ESL....

He enjoyed it and was gonna do it again, but he arrived back home about 2-3 weeks before september 11 and decided to stay.

The College he taught at tried to pull the typical money scams "We don't have the money to pay you this month" and my dad told them to pay up right away....which they did...

For after work entertain there is hookahs, coffee shops, public excution and punishment, certain sports, and shopping. If you want the regular entertainment you can get back home, you need saudi friends....my dad was telling me what they do is building the illegal stuff in their house....no movie theater? Watch a dvd in my house with a 90 inch projector....Need a gym...in the basement....etc.

He had someone drive him around becuase he was warned it was too dangerous....he said plenty of crashed cars along side the road.

I can't tell ya about the women situation....but I would guess if you find out how it works, your probaly be in heaven (very few foreigners to compete with)...there are slutty women everywhere. Suadi guys who want to pick up have all sorts of screw ball ways of getting around the religious laws and customs....

[candyteacher]

just wondering fadedgirl if your advice is based on experience or what you've heard/think etc. incase this comes across wrong its not an attack im qenuinely interested. ??!!

[candyteacher]

just wondering fadedgirl if your advice is based on experience or what you've heard/think etc. incase this comes across wrong its not an attack im qenuinely interested. ??!!

[endo]

[mises]

The only places you should consider are Dubai, Jordan and maybe other UAE places. Turkey isn't in the ME proper, but I worked there. My lady hated the hell out of it, mostly for reasons of muslim patriarchal chauvinism. And they're supposed to be the most "modern" of all.

Anyways, Dubai is probably the most "advanced" but it is a hella terrible city.

Why are you set on the ME?

[Chuvok]

Dubai is terrible. No first had experience, but I worked with a teacher who spent a long year there (by his account). He told me males teach boys, women teach girls, no exceptions. No surprise there. He also told me he was forbidden to scold students, even if they were yelling or smashing the classroom to pieces. The one time he did raise his voice to quiet a troublesome student, the father came to the school and nearly "jihadded" the place to the group until the teacher was forced by the owners to "humbly apologise for his rudeness to the boy"...

Rich Arab boys can get away with anything and they treat their teachers like low class servants.

[bucheon bum]

[Tobias]

[losing_touch]

I am also interested in this question. I also have a hard time finding reliable information. The money is very tempting. The vacation time looks great. Flights for defendants are included, so the wife could come. Some of these jobs even send you to the country of your choice for your vacation time.

While I could probably handle it for a year, I worry about the sanity of my wife. A Thai girl in the middle east ... well, I am just not sure. I would have to be in Dubai where I could at least get a damn beer once in a while.

[Fishead soup]

I taught in the United Arab Emirates. The pay the benefits and the housing is better than Korea. The holiday package is great all of Ramadan
The problem is the kids are really bratty. There is almost no concequenses of their bad behavour and if you try to get a kid expelled his family will phone the local Scheik and he'll be back in school the next day.

[fadedgirl]

candyteacher, I worked in el Ma'adi just a little south of Cairo, which is supposed to be the neighborhood where all the expats lived. Didn't meet that many. You had to join the Rugby team or work with BP.

I worked a Sakkara Language School and never got my work visa. I was always paid in cash...clearly I was illegal. When I opened a bank account, I was told I would be charged for depositing money, withdrawing money, getting an ATM card, and using the ATM card. In the end, I kept my money in an envelope in my closet.
I didn't get a cell phone because I would be charged for cell phone, SIM card, and top-up card, which the shop would charge tax on it, and then when I put it on my phone, the cell phone company would take money out of it too. So if I wanted 100 minutes, the shop would charge 117 LE, and then by the time I would put the minutes on my phone I would get 90 minutes. I know this from my roommate who actually DID decide to have a cell phone.

The water in my shower ran yellow everytime I turned it on. I boiled water everytime before I used it.

good luck if you decide to work for Sakkara Language School.

[losing_touch]