Interview with Kristen Cucinotta, Thailand Q & A

Hi! I’m Kristen Cucinotta. I’m 23 years old and from the United States.

I have a BBA in Marketing from Temple University in Philadelphia, PA, USA.

I spent one year of my undergrad studying abroad in Europe. I spent my fall semester of junior year in Paris at the American Business School and my spring semester in Dublin at UCD. I travelled quite a bit while in Europe to Belgium, Switzerland, Germany, Italy, England, The Netherlands, Spain, Portugal, Czech Republic, Hungary, Scotland, Poland, Denmark, Sweden, and Greece. Suffice it to say, I caught the travel bug.

I wanted to teach abroad for 2 reasons. First, I really wanted to continue travelling before settling down with a ‘real job’ or graduate school. Second, I no longer wanted to work in the business market and wanted to switch to Elementary Education. This seemed like a logical step to take. (Logical to me, irrational to family and friends. I had a lot of convincing to do!)

Personally, I wanted to see if teaching was for me. And I have succeeded because I answered my question. I do still want to be a teacher, but I want to teach in a westernized society. TEFL is amazing and I loved this experience, but it’s not what I want long term.

I applied for this program on my own! I tried to convince a few friends to do it with me, but ultimately I knew that this would be a solo adventure.

I knew one person from studying abroad that had started teaching the semester before I did. She was a lot of help!

My concern was that I would be in way over my head. And I was, I think all new TEFL teachers are. But, it’s a steep learning curve. As you’re thrown into teaching, you have two things to rely on: 1. Your TEFL training and 2. Your instinct. Both will serve you well. It gets easier!

I had been working with kids for a few years before deciding to become a TEFL teacher, but that wasn’t in a classroom setting. I had no idea what that structure looked like so I thought a TEFL course was a good move. I chose TEFL Heaven because my friend had taken the course the term before and highly recommended it!

I took a few online classes in college and I can tell you I did not learn anything in them. It’s hard to focus on a computer when there are so many distractions. And its not very fun. A face-to-face TEFL course is so much more useful. I can say with certainty I would have failed as a TEFL teacher if I took the course online. Also, the group of friends that I got from the course is irreplaceable.

I was on the Thailand program in Koh Chang of April 2017.

I enjoyed the people most. We had such an amazing group of trainees and trainers. We became like a family and I still meet up with everyone all over Thailand when we have time off! They definitely made the course fun and interesting. My fellow trainees have been apart of this experience since day 1. Some of us met at the airport and most of us stayed in a hostel together leading up to training. By the time the course started we were already all friends! So thankful to have them.

I was very anxious for my first teaching position. But that’s because I was told time and time again that all schools are different and I won’t know how mine is until I start. And that is SO true. But I was confident in my ability to wing it and to run my first day of classes, and that is all in thanks to what I learned on the course.

I started teaching in May 2017 and I am planning to stay until the end of the school year (March 2018).

The agency that I was set up with through TEFL Heaven set me up with my school. They also helped me find an apartment nearby and with my visa processes.

During the working week I wake up at 5 am (I’m a morning person..) and am out of my apartment at 6:40 to get the song taew to school. Morning assembly starts at 8:00 and my classes start at 9:00. I teach 4 different kindergarten classes and see them each 4 times a week. My workload is definitely minimal compared to a lot of other teachers I know. While I only have 3 hours of actual teaching each day, those hours are a whirlwind. Kindergarteners move through activities so quickly that I need to have about 10 activities planned for each class period. Sometimes we get through them all and still have time, sometimes all 10 take one class, and sometimes I only get through a few. It depends on the day. I leave school every day at 4 and am in my apartment by 5. I am usually so wiped out from the day that I plan for the next day and watch Netflix or call family/friends at home before passing out.

I teach Annuban 2 (5 year olds). My classes have 15-20 students each and I see each class 4 times a week.

I love how excited the kids get when I walk in. They know we are going to have fun and they enjoy it. When something clicks for them or when they finally pronounce something correctly its feels like a win!

My school helped me get my visa. First I had to extend my 60-day tourist visa an additional 30 days. Then I switched it to a Non-B immigrant. After that, I got my work permit and I will have to extend my Non-B one more time before the end of semester. My agency did ALL of the paperwork, they just gave me what I needed and told me where to go. I did not have to get my degree legalized and neither did most of the other teachers I know.

My agency helped a lot with this. They provided us with a few different options via Facebook. I accepted one and they drove me to the apartment and helped me work out the deposit/rent a few days before school started. To be honest, I wish I waited to book an apartment. I would recommend going to your town and asking around at different places. This way you can see the room before you commit. My room isn’t terrible, just the area is very boring. My room is a basic studio apartment. I have a bathroom, balcony, desk, bed, dresser, and fridge. It’s not lavish, but I’ve made it home.

Being placed around Bangkok isn’t terrible. You have lots of options for weekends away. Ayutthaya, Bangkok, Khao Yai National Park, Pattaya, Koh Larn, Hua Hin etc. In Thailand, it’s easy to get places. There are vans that will take you ANYWHERE for super cheap. I can get to Bangkok from my town for 30 baht. It definitely depends on your area (you might have to get a van to Bangkok and then a van from there) but you’ll typically be able to get one to wherever you want. Just note that vans take far longer then flying places so a good chunk of your traveling time will probably be dedicated to transportation.

Rent: 4000 baht/month

Food: I usually spend 30-40 baht on lunch and 20-40 baht on dinner. I also spend about 100-200 baht a week at the grocery store on water, breakfast, snacks, etc.

Other bills: Water bill is 100 baht/month. Electricity is 1500-2000 baht/month (I keep the AC on whenever I am in the room).

Social life: My town is pretty boring so I don’t spend much during the week. But I am usually elsewhere on the weekends and spending on that varies. I typically spend 1500-3000 a weekend if I am away (Bangkok, Ayutthaya, camping at a National Park, etc.).

Transportation: I spend 30 baht a day to get to and from school (15 baht each way on the song taew)

Phone: 400 baht a month for unlimited data

I definitely live comfortably. But, I am not able to save much. My check is usually gone after a month of bills and traveling. If I stayed put on the weekends I would be able to save for sure. But, I personally came here to travel around and that’s my priority over saving.

My advice would be to just give in to Thai culture. You are probably going to feel confused A LOT. You are not going to know what’s going on. For some reason all your classes are cancelled and you are at an assembly and have no clue what anyone is saying. Just go with it. Being very type-A I want to know what days I have off far in advance. That doesn’t happen. I was told 3 days before that we would have a 10-day break. Also I highly recommend you bring 2 things: 1. A portable speaker!!!! No one told me about this. Make sure it’s LOUD! And 2. Bring a pair of track pants. Every teacher I know has to wear track pants and a polo on a specified day every week. If you don’t end up needing them I’m sorry but it’s better than having to find a pair that fits (or a pair that won’t rip after 2 washes).