Typical Khon Kaen-Isaan meal of grilled chicken, somtam (papaya salad), and sticky rice in bamboo containers. The silver bowls—filled with ice water—were not for rinsing greasy fingers, but for drinking out of.

Famous last words.

In our initial conversation, when I had booked my flight to Khon Kaen, the recruiter insisted on picking me up from the airport. I told her I would take a taxi, but she said “First impressions are important, so I want to be the first person you meet.” Famous last words.

I told her my plane landed at 5pm. At 4:50pm she sent a message asking me to tell her when my plane landed, and she would pull the car up. I told her we had just landed, to which she responded, “Well, we are eating dinner right now. See you at 5:30pm.”—huh? She ended up picking me up 40 minutes late.

Unfortunately, the unimpressive start was only the beginning of a long sequence of errors and costly mistakes. The recruiter (who is the daughter of the founder of the school) —to put it mildly—was very disorganized. During my interview, I had asked her if I needed to get my diploma and transcripts legalized at the US Embassy in Chiang Mai. She said “No.” She was wrong, but I didn’t know that.

Based on her answer, I left Chiang Mai without getting my documents legalized. When the recruiter took me to the school, I met the woman in charge of processing work visas and work permits. She told us that in fact—I did have to get my diploma and transcripts legalized, and thus, I would have to turn right back around and fly to Chiang Mai, where I had been in the first place!

Furthermore, the recruiter informed me that after getting my documents legalized, I would have to go to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Bangkok to get my documents legalized by that office. She sent me the website link, but it was all in Thai with no option to translate it into English. I trusted her when she told me to go there for a walk-in appointment.

I was crestfallen at the news I’d have to return to Chiang Mai, but I didn’t hold it against the recruiter. I still heard the plea of the head teacher saying, “It’s been impossible to get a native English speaking teacher”, coupled with my obsession to teach in Thailand.

I rationalized it as part of the risk of following my dream. 

I planned a whirlwind trip to take care of my business as quickly and as efficiently as possible. On Monday, I flew back to Chiang Mai—check. The following day, Tuesday, I lined up promptly at 8:00am at the US Consulate. Documents legalized—check. I immediately flew to Bangkok—check.

I hired a taxi to drive me to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. All the signs were in Thai. The information person did not speak any English, and led me to a customer, a Thai woman, who spoke a little English. I showed her my legalized document from the US Consulate and told her I wanted to get it legalized. She told me there were no more walk-in appointments allowed due to COVID-19, and all appointments must be made online! No check.

I was confused, flustered, and overwhelmed.

I left the office went to my hotel, realizing this entire trip to Bangkok was a waste. I realized that due to the poor organizational skills of the recruiter, I had spent $270 on flights, hotels, and taxis. The $270 didn’t even cover the cost of legalizing my documents at the US Consulate, which cost an additional $100. Plus I still had upcoming costs to convert my tourist visa to a work-visa (the school would not cover this).

In contrast: My previous employer was a well-oiled machine that hired people to know everything about visas, and those people nearly lived at the immigration office. When it was time for me to get my visa, they assured me that someone from the school would meet me there and help me with the process. When they notified me to appear at the work permit office, a person from the school was there to meet me, so I was never alone. There were never any missteps and certainly none that I had to pay for.

Time to set the tone.

I sent a message to the recruiter letting her know that my experience with her school so far was not pleasant, and had cost me $270 due to her not knowing correct information. To her credit, she immediately took responsibility and offered to reimburse me. I accepted her offer, and told her that I could not absorb another mistake for which I would have to pay. If there was another misstep, I would have to break my contract, and break my apartment contract, which would cause me to lose my deposit.

Since I was not able to get my diploma and and transcripts legalized in Bangkok, the recruiter finally made phone calls and discovered walk-in appointments were allowed in a province four hours away by car. She would escort me, using the school’s van.

I spent one night in Bangkok, then flew back to Khon Kaen on Wednesday. I took three flights in three days. I was dizzy for days.

Road Trip: Ten hours in the school van, driving through Isaan provinces to legalize my documents. We stopped for lunch at an outdoor restaurant.

Gorgeous, lush setting, on the side of the busy highway!

Attention to detail, even in the restrooms.

Going all-in.

It was a long slog in the school van. However, it wasn’t a terrible trip; passing through verdant rice paddy fields, seeing traditional homes and shops along the way provided a tranquil landscape.

The recruiter spoke minimally with me, spending most of the time up front, chatting with our driver. I didn’t mind; I tire quickly of social chit-chat and preferred to remain in a non-speaking mode. Looking out the window, passing rural schools, I held out hope that now, things would get back on track. I feared that this bad start to my teaching experience was due to my own stubborn clinging; that I was too obsessed about teaching in Thailand; that I refused to heed the warnings, even after going into a debt-hole after the failed Phuket Sandbox entry; that I was too attached and lacked the cool-headed perspective of wisdom.

“I don’t know,” I said aloud. I came here at such expense and time, giving all my effort. I had pushed all my chips on one number. All that remained was to see if my chips hit the jackpot.