I thought I was the only who thought it ridiculous I was expected to teach 7 course with 7 different preps.

I have a follow-up question to your initial questions:
My new school expects new teachers to attend an induction/orientation that begins 6 days before the contract actually begins. Therefore, new teachers will not be paid, nor receive health insurance during that time. While the school is planning several social excursions, housing and car searches during this time, they also are conducting the normal introduction to school IT, policies, procedures, reviewing handbooks, etc. Am I wrong to expect to be paid for this time? I'd appreciate anyone who can weigh in with insights.

I'm a teacher at Ruamrudee IS and was surprised that it was not listed among the top international schools in Bangkok. It ranks right up there with the other three mentioned. There are also other really good international schools in Bangkok, though they focus more on the British Curriculum than they do a truly international curriculum.

I have not worked directly with Stephen Messiah, as he is Primary School Principal and I am in the High School, but I have interacted with him regarding school-wide functions and have been very impressed with him, his dedication to the students and his vision for the Primary School. I also am friendly with many Primary School teachers who have wonderful things to say about Mr. Messiah.

Hey Tom. I can't respond to the first part of your inquiry, but as to the second part...
Does the Bank of China have online banking? If so, you should probably have the option to do an international money transfer order. You will need your account number, the branch number of your bank and the swift number of the bank in order to do the transfer. That is how I transfer my money from Germany to my U.S. account each month. I only pay about 14 euro fee for the transfer which is generally less than using Western Union.

Good luck.

I just wanted to share my experiences because as teachers we want to find the best and least expensive way to move from country to another.

I am mailing my books and printed material through international M-Bags. There is a reduced rate on shipping this type of material if it is all going to one person at one address. Material is put into an M-Bag up to 30kg. You can then choose to ship either by air or for cheaper by surface. This service is available from North America, Europe and Australia. It may be available elsewhere.

Now the reason I'm posting is not just to make people aware that they can reduce costs by mailing books (and only shipping or taking our personal belongings as excess baggage), but to also let you know to be prepared.

I had a great deal of trouble finding the canvas M-Bags to mail with. In the U.S., the post office provides these. Here in Germany (or at least Berlin) where I'm living, they offer the M-Bag service, but not the M-Bags. I was told I could use any type of canvas/cotton, hemp/jute or linen bag that could hold the weight of the books. I don't know if this is the same in every country. I got lucky because my school had about 8 M-bags in storage and let me take them.

My suggestion is once you find the bags and your shipment has arrived at your destination, store the bags for future use - just in case.

While there may be some complaining or worse on certain threads in this forum, I find the level of complaining and vicious back talk/emails to one another negligible compared with the TES Overseas forum. I hope that teachers will continue to rate and respond with both negatives and positives about the schools they work in. I also hope that administrators that have added their voice to the forum will continue to do so.

I'm beginning to think LTR tried to do too much too soon. The staff were really nice and tried to help me when I was having trouble uploading my picture to the site, but I got no offers from that site, and since I registered back in Nov they've had a message up that they will have the job postings soon. Here it is almost May already and they still aren't advertising any jobs. I think there are so many other reliable sources out there that this one hasn't caught on yet.

Anlily,

I was in the same situation 2 years ago, but don't fret. I got 3 job offers. Keep checking different job boards - CIS if you're registered, TIE Online (if you're registered, or the Times Educational Supplement which is a free service).

Good luck.

Hi Again. I actually rechecked the website, and Dobermanns are restricted but not banned. You actually need to check on the regulations with the German State you will be living in.

Here is the German Consular website that addresses this:
http://www.germany.info/relaunch/info/c ... /dogs.html

Again, I wish you luck. Sorry to have misdirected you earlier.

Last August I brought 2 large dogs and a cat to Germany from the United States. Typically, your dogs must have current rabies vaccinations between 30 days and 360 days old, other shots should be current, they should have a medical certificate from a state certified vet that they are in good health, and they should have microchips implanted in them.

I would not worry about transporting your dogs on a plane. I agree, accompanied lugggage is the best route. You reserve their place in the special pressurized, climatized cargo hold especially for pets. While some airlines sometimes don't regulate the temperature as well as they should, some high quality airlines you can trust are Lufthansa, Continental and British Air. The airline you chose to fly with will have the specific information on what you need to do to prepare your dogs - water, food, size of pet carrier, etc. DO NOT tranquilize your dogs. Even if they are a bit stressed, it is not safe for them to be tranquilized.

The only concern I think you should really have is if the country you are entering allows Dobermans. I know that Germany DOES NOT. Some countries have a list of banned breeds. Be sure you know whether or not your destination country will accept them! I would hate for you to have the experience of not being able to take your dogs. Mine have travelled from Central America to the U.S. to Germany with me. They are family.

I wish you lots of luck.