Thanks for the helpful information. I am married to a non-teaching spouse and we are in our mid-50s so this may be a good place for us. We hope it isn't like Bangkok!

I look forward to an interview. Thanks again.

Sorry, my Canadian friends, for misspelling Canadian in my subject line!

Does anyone have experience teaching or known someone who has taught at the Canadian Academy in Kobe, Japan? Any idea what the cost of living is? I have met the current headmaster before, Fred Wesson, and he was very nice. I'd appreciate any comments. Thank you.

I teach at an international school in Bangkok, and I enrolled in the University of Phoenix on-line Master's of Education program in Curriculum and Instruction in March of 2004 and completed the program in July of 2005. I doubled-up on courses some months because I wanted to finish as quickly as possible to get a raise. The admissions counselor and academic counselors were wonderful! They would call me periodically to see how I was doing. My Master's degree did allow me to renew my teaching credentials in Oregon. However, you need a very reliable Internet connection because everything is done on-line. No trip back to the US for classes. The only drawback is that every class requires individual as well as group work. Individual was a piece of cake, but the group work could sometimes be frustrating because if one person in your team didn't pull their weight, it could affect your entire grade. Most of my classmates were in the US and being in Southeast Asia I was usually ahead of them 10-15 hours. This could sometimes prove to be a disadvantage, but what else could I do?

However, it was still a wonderful way to get my Master's. Several other teachers at my school have completed their advanced degree with UOP with just as positive results. I recommend UOP highly.

I am 57 and have been overseas for 6 years. I'm looking for a new position now (probably will stay somewhere in Asia), but I was told that Malaysia laws won't let me work over the age of 60. Does anyone know if this true?

For me personally, I'm in better health than when I was "birthing babies" in my 20s. I've only missed one day of work in 7 years and that was because all of the staff came down with food poisoning from cafeteria food and the school was closed! However, I am afraid that schools will overlook me when they see my date of birth. If they only met me, they'd see I have more energy than some teachers many years younger.

Thanks!

I teach at an international school in Bangkok, but I know both the principal and assistant principal at Nakorn Payap International School in Chiang Mai. They are both fine men, and I just contacted them asking if they had an opening for me next year as I am looking for a new position. They do; however, the pay is so low that there's no way my husband and I could live there just on my salary. The pay I was quoted was around 45,000 baht ($1200)/month. Chiang Mai is a cheaper place to live than Bangkok, but the vice-principal said that his wife is teaching at another school because they can't live on the low salary. Taxes in Thailand are high. But if you are single, you can live in a cheap place and make it.