Jono Peacock

2008 Graduate
Has taught in Prague, Thailand and Taiwan
Email
Facebook

I was on the August 2008 TEFL course and, after a year of teaching adults in Prague, have now been living in Asia for two years. Firstly, my girlfriend and I taught high school kids in a government school in Phuket, Thailand, which was not particularly rewarding. The pay was low, the schools are badly run and they would basically take anyone who walked in off the street who could speak a bit of English!

Thailand is a beautiful country though, cheap to live in too – but of course the best thing about Thailand is the food! One thing we found difficult in Phuket was making good friends, as everyone is either on a two week holiday or more interested in the local women! I think this would be different in Bangkok or Chang Mai in the north of the country and would recommend those places more for teaching than Phuket.

After six months of backpacking around South East Asia, we now live in Taipei, Taiwan and have just signed up for a second year here. I teach primary school, so ages 6-11, and enjoy it a lot. Taipei is a fun city with a lot going on, although it is quite polluted and it does often rain. The best thing about Taiwan is how accessible the countryside is for day or weekend trips and also how good the pay is. I save over half of my salary each month and have more than enough left over to live comfortably, travel and have fun nights out.

Comments are closed.