kevwemanuel:
@whyna please do justice to the following questions:

1)Do you have an idea of the average hourly pay rate for business English and IELTS teachers?

2)Is there a good demand for these kind of English teachers?

3)In one of your posts, you said bus fare is #130 naira, if one decides to use their public bus transportation instead of bykes can you give me an estimate of how much will be spent monthly. You can use your current number of schools as a case study to do your estimate.

4)If one decides to use their public bus, is it common for traffic to be a problem?

Thanks.

1) As much as 30-40 dollars per hour. People earn higher. It depends on the Center and also if you do one on one

2) Yup

3)The thing with buses are, just like in Nigeria, you still have to take a bike to your final destination or walk some distance. I won't advice this except you intend to combine with bike

4) Of course. Same road,same traffic. Another reason I won't advice it. Plus, they tend to take longer routes to cover all designated bus stops sometimes. This is only advisable after your class and you're going home. That way, no pressure, you just relax and get home when you get home

NewAjala:
Been a silent reader... Learnt a lot already n still learning! Quite an eye opener.

Thanks @WhyNa ... I'll keep praying for you.

Thanks bro

OladiTwo5:


I will want you to talk about IT job over there. 1. How easy to get one, 2. How lucrative it is also

Sorry but I don't know anything about IT jobs here and I don't want to give wrong info

iamadonis2:


Wow... $1,000 ? Truly God’s people perish for their lack of knowledge. I’ll just chalk this info up as a goal for 2021.

Thanks a lot for your time, Ma’am! You may not know this, but starting this moment, you’re my prayer point.

PS: I just googled return air fares with a reputable Airline and I saw 575,000. So added to the $1,000 budget you gave, a million naira should do the magic for the entire trip.

Yup. Check again. I modified that comment after you quoted me. $500 is more than enough

iamadonis2:


Dude is all shades of annoying. 3 years now and e no wan change.

BTW, you’re an early riser. That’s nice.

I asked a question up there. How much in dollars will be enough for a one-Month stay, if I were to live frugally?

Went to bed early so here I am. Lol.

On a normal weekend, I should be ready to leave my house by now but luckily, class today starts at 9am l

iamadonis2:


You have a striking semblance with my girlfriend. Una nor de gree.

Let me take you up on this but I don’t know if my question falls dangerously near the ones you’ve just banned. I’m looking to ask my longtime suppliers in Vietnam to “invite” me over for a one-month trip by next year.

If I’m living quite frugally for that period of one month, how much (in dollars please) will be enough to cover my documentation, return ticket, accommodation, feeding, transportation?

First, your documentation and flight ticket would vary on airline and your supplier.

Accomodation depends on the area and province which you didn't mention

Feeding for a month...since you're staying for a month and wouldn't be cooking, you can budget 2-3 USD per meal times how many times a day times s month

Transportation...if you can ride a bike, you can rent. Otherwise, use Grab which is their u we here. Price also varies according to distance and how much you go out.

So for feeding, vacation and site seeing, accommodation, transportation, you shouldn't spend up to 1000 USD a month. 500 USD even. You shouldn't spend up to that

iamadonis2:


Hehehehe.... See that exclamation I emboldened? That’s the name of one constantly annoying Supplier in Vietnam

Lol. it's spelt Khai or Khanh depending on the pronunciation

shadray:
Weldon my sister,I pray for more of Gods blessings for you

Amen, thanks

Truthspoon1:
@WhyNa
Before leaving Nigeria, how did you keep yourself motivated for the move? What was your inspiration?
BTW Reading your updates has been a source of inspiration/motivation to me, thank you very much.

If you look at my past comments, you'll see I've always wanted to leave.

It's always been a dream right from childhood. By the time I finished youth service and started earning peanuts on top insults, I doubled my hustle

Joohan:



Lol. I dread lesson like plague. IRL = In real life
They are so, arrogant and they profile you immediately they know where you're from. When I introduced myself as a Nigerian, he was going about calling me a "Nigerian prince". I schooled the idiat. And most of them could only speak well, but their spelling is wack.

Their spelling and grammar is wack and if you listen closely, they mix up their tenses too Some not all though

Joohan:



I got to know that the previous picture was mid autumn festival. Thanks for the update and congratulations on the new job.

I encountered lots of native speakers on a WhatsApp group and they seem to be arrogant. Majority of them believe that non native speakers are not fit to teach the English language.

Have you encountered any IRL?
Secondly, how flexible is their lesson plan?

True. Many of them are arrogant and stupid. Pay no mind to them

If by IRL you mean interracial relationships, yes. There are lots here. Many of our Naija guys are married to Vietnamese. Lots of Vietnamese ladies are also married to westerners

About lesson plan, each school or center has it's own. Some will send you a well prepared one. Others will give you the syllabus and ask you to prepare yours. It all depwnds

Citygal:

Well done maami, you are doing well by giving us hope here. My question is about accommodation, you once said your 1 room self contain is $237, does it have every home appliances like washing machine, iron, cooking stove and all or you start to buy them yourself? Does every house you rent have major appliances? How long does it take to learn riding bike and who teaches you?.

Do you do online teaching? And do they pay well too, I mean online English teaching jobs?

Nope. My previous apartment, one room self contained was 206 USD. It only had a fridge and AC. Washing machine was general. My friend upstairs was paying 237USD. Also a self con but bigger, had TV and washing machine and fridge.


My current apartment is one bedroom and it's fully furnished down to spoon and hangers and I pay Sam 237 USD.

It all boils down to location. Apartments that are not furnished can be cheaper but cheaper is relative

About learning to ride a bike, it depends on you and the teacher. I learnt after four lessons. A friend learnt after 2 lessons. A friend can taech you. it there's also this group on Facebook that teach people

About online jobs, I online did during the lockdown and I was new so I accepted any and everything to survive. There weren't jobs then and bills needed to be paid.

Some online jobs pay well but you need to be careful. People teach for one month and pay day, company blocks them and no longer exists.

Anago55:
. I am looking for a relatively cheap or should I say easy visa processing countries to send my brother to, I have followed this thread from inception till now, mind telling me the processes involved, the budget and all that it takes. you made me fall in love with Vietnam so no going back on Vietnam

N/B: my brother is in school now,but by January I am certain he might have finished with them , polytechnic though

Nwanyi oma biko, I need your guidance to achieve this fit and I would always be indebted to you if you can help me out

First, you need to read from page one of this thread. It was all mentioned

I forgot to add...

Just as they love trees, they love flowers too. There are large flower markets here.

Even home and I mean every home has at least 2 flower pots

Here are some more criterias to consider before accepting a job offer.

Sometimes, the salary may be a bit low but if the hours are much, then a win win. i did not say accept 8-11 dollar job ooo. That's slavery when your mates are earning 40 usd per hour.

So let's say you get an offer for 21 usd for twice a week.(Can be 2 or 3 hours a week)
That's 42 - 60 usd per week and 168 - 240 usd per month

Let's say you get another offer for 10usd 5 times a week. (can be 20 hours a week)
That's 1000 usd a month. (I can only encourage a beginner to take this to help gain experience and recover the money spent on visa and all

These are just examples. So follow this calculations and it will help you decide.

Also note that most jobs that offer 100 hours a month mean you can't work in the evening or get other part time jobs. You're stuck with them cos they will make sure they keep you busy in the morning and evening. So be sure to check all these things and read the contracts very well

These are mine. Met them here. You can see some have died. It's not my calling but I try my best

PS: I'll take questions now. Please nothing related to visa processing or agent or TEFL cos those questions have been overflogged. Also, since the borders are still closed, there's nothing new. i'll answer questions on these again when the borders are open and people begin to process their visa and have real time questions or need guidiance.

if there's anything you want me to talk about too, leave a comment and I'll try to do justice to it.

True. Once they spot you, waving spree and Hello teacher begins. Doesn't matter how many times they see you in a day

TopeQs:


nice nice update...
congratulations on your new job.

seems one student saw you taking the picture and pointed....

Some things you'll get used to seeing when you here

1. Females weer pyjamas about like a normal cloth. Some even wear it to the mall

2. As I said earlier, exercise is a thing here

3. You'll see ninja dressed females during the summer. You'll eventually join them is you own a bike

4. Lunch is by 11am

5. No shops or organisation are open from 11am to 1pm. They take lunch and sleep during this period including those at work. Hospitals are no exception. Maybe emergency ward is different. No idea

6. A bike is as good as a trailer here so get ready to see all sorts on the road

7. If you drive a bike, you need to have or learn James Bond skills. Be extremely careful of those old people on bicycles. They come out of nowhere and enter the road like it's their palace

8: You cross the road while vehicles are in motion. Once you start, keep walking and don't stop. They calculate and either dodge you or slow down. You stop, you get hit. It's crazy and scary at first but you'll get the hang of it

9. Pork is their main meat here

10. They go big on vegetables here. Every meal is also prepared and eaten fresh

11. You can be sure to buy fresh items every morning in the market for majority of the foodstuff.

12. They don't observe weekends here. Infact, weekends are the busiest for Centers and some kids go to school on Saturday

13. There is always construction noise coming from someone

14. You'll see random people mount speakers on the road at night and sing karaoke

15. There are lots of karaoke and massage parlours here

16. The North is cooler in terms of weather than the South

17. The 20,000 and 500,000 currency look alike. You should be careful when you get here newly make you no go give person 500k think say na 20k.

18. Their currencies include 1k, 2k, 5k,, 10k, 20k, 50k, 100k, 200k and 500k. By k, I mean thousand. There's also the 200 and and one other one which is not common. Only supermarkets give you this as change

19. Figure are rounded up when shopping. Say your bill is 230,570k, you're paying 231k or 230k

20. They have 4 seasons. Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter. It's usually really cold but doesn't show. I heard it snows in one or two places. Will find out soon

21. There are loooots of vacation sites and packages and they are very cheap too

22. Food is very cheap here

23. The Vietnamese language is a bit difficult. It has lots of intonation and one word can mean several things depending on how you pronounce or spell it

24. They are not big on school uniforms here. Every school I've seen including private schools wears the polo shirt with their logo on it. This polo shirt is quality as it doesn't fade like ours and it's worn on Mondays and Fridays. Other days, come as you like. The secondary school wears a white long sleeve with the school's logo in it. So it's possible to think it's all one big school with different branches. The logo distinguishes them

25. They aren't big on the socks and school sandals thingy too. Majority will wear a sneakers or a kito like sandals and they're good to go. Others just wear their slippers.

26. Just like back home, you take off your footwear before entering someone's house. Same thing with schools or centers

27. Electricity and water is pay as you use. Be sure to find out the rate per kW and co before moving in. Some landlords use this to make extra money

28. Your first few months, prices of things in the market will be hyped to you. Always price except you don't mind paying extra.

29. You can shop from start to finish without going to the local market too. Just buy at the supermarket. Prices are fixed and difference isn't that much. Everything is there

30. When a Vietnamese sneezes on the ground floor, you WILL hear it on the 16th floor. No kidding. You'll get used to it

31. Be careful when buying second hand bikes. Phones, okay. Bikes, no

32. They are also big on online shopping. You can order for anything including food and it will be delivered to your doorstep

33. The fastest way to get a job is through recommendation. Employees receive lots of emails and may sometimes not open or reply it. Recommendation doesn't guarantee employment. Your demo when invited does

34. There are cameras in classrooms and almost everywhere. Shops, bars, houses, etc

35. In Hanoi, it is normal for your building to have a thumb print access. Here, in Ecopark, we use access cards

36. Buses run on schedule and they are numbered. You need to figure out what number goes to your destination, the timing and bus stops. Bus fare is 130 naira to anywhere. Student go free

37. Kids start learning to ride a bike from as little as 2 years. That's how they become road "monsters". They ride their bikes to and fro school. The older ones have electric scooters and some secondary school students ride normal bikes

38. If you're a dog lover, they've got lots here. They also eat them. Lol. Be sure that your landlord accepts pets before moving in if you intend to buy one. I'm getting one next year

39. You don't beat kids here. The Vietnamese teachers are however strict and yell at them. Sometimes squeeze their ear. You can't try that. The most you can do is ask them to stand up or threaten not to give them a star or sticker

40. I once threw a chalk at a kid whose mind was always far like the kid in "Like stars in earth" They sha reported me.

Here, exercise is a big deal. As earliy as 5am or late in the evening, you'll see even the elderly engaging in exercise. In the parks, there are free exercise equipments too although not as sophisticated as the gym.

Theses are pictures from the new school. After first period, they all come out and a song is played and they choreograph to it. 11am, they go home for lunch.

When I taught kindergaten, theirs was every morning. 11am, lunch, then they sleep till 2pm

Tell me what else you notice in these pictures

What I finally chose....

To start with, I rejected all of them and I'll tell you why...

Offer 1, highest offer but Kindy is not my thing.

In all you do, make sure you're teaching a level that you're absolutely comfortable with else it turns to be a nightmare and you start dreading going to work.

There are lots of people who love teaching kindergarten here, they claim it's super easy. So if you can handle the chaos and noise and have lots of patience and can clown around all day, then Kindergarten might be for you.

Other levels include primary, secondary, adult, tutoring those sitting for IELTS,TOIEC, SAT and the likes (This is huge money) and then just one on one for any level. Know what level you function best. You'll know by experience when you get here



Offer 2

My ideal candidates. Easy to teach them but one thing you have to bear in mind with this level is, you have to be good or at least teach yourself phonics especially secondary school. And I don't mean the letter M or letter T sound, I mean the ones with weird looking letters. They are called graphemes.

I however didn't take this cos if I did, I would then have a full time weekend job, 2 evenings teaching in one center with a different employee and another 2 evenings teaching in another center under a different employee.

I'd still be all over the place and still wouldn't be getting the maximum or at least the desirable pay at the end of the month. I'll probably need to get another job (I'll explain in more details later)

Offer 3

I also rejected this. Lol

This was however supposed to be the best offer as it was a full time morning job with my ideal candidates but the salary was poor.

You need to be really careful when taking a job at a public school.
Make sure the salary, bonuses if any and working conditions are right as you'll be signing a long term contract.
You'll be fined if you break that contract and it's not like the centers where anything goes.


To be honest, after I rejected the job, I started asking myself whether I made the right decision. But then I knew if I accept it and something better comes, I'm stuck.

As God will have it, 3 days to the end of September, I get a message asking what's up. I tell them my problems is with the salary so they ask me to cover the last two days of the month to further evaluate and discuss.

Long story short, the salary was increased, came with bonuses and other packages and at least 70 hours a month.

So I still get to keep all my previous jobs even though I'm thinking of changing some due to distance. I've been asking God to keep directing me and provide new and closer opportunities for me.

Gentlerespect76:


Glad to hear from you again, Whyna. Thanks to God you are keeping well. Generally, life has been made unimaginably difficult as the world battles this dreadful Covid-19 disease. So many have lost their livelihood and you are all alone in a strange and faraway country. But the good thing is that you are capable of taking care of yourself; and God is also on your case.

On the issue of choosing in this situation, I will go by the 3rd option. It is true you did not specify how many hours beginning from 7:30. If you can take 5 periods per day in this situation, you have 60 dollars per day and I think if you able to hit 250 dollars per week under covid 2.0, God willing, when the world puts this trouble behind it you can make far above that. You can still look for a weekend job that can give you 20/3 dollars per hour to add on top. Maybe because I am more used to a kinda stable arrangement I fear big offers that come with big uncertainties or that leave gaps! Just like the 1st and 2nd offers.

Whyna, whatever you choose, may God see you through and keep you in this terrible times! I am waiting to hear more! Thanks for your updates.

Great analysis. Respect

nuelzy:
Cc: whyna





Fry us... We are your garri!!

Noted

Bqudds:



Go with the third job ... cause it is during this period you're motivated and can earn as fast as possible ....but the second job will be ok since it is much easier and so this ppl wont be thinking bad about you........

EbonyCy:




I'll go with the second offer becos they will be easy to handle...

Noted

Joohan:



The Kindergarten class looks enticing but, kids below the age of 6 are hard to handle, so you must have lot of patience.

As a guy who loves an interactive class and loves to carry the learner along always, I'll go with the third one. Everyday class with pay...looks yummy

Anyone you choose is a nice choice, it all boils down to how you can handle and control your class.

The third one

Noted

TopeQs:


WhyNa!! been a while, welcome back.

my response depends on the time your twice weekly evening classes are.

You're in a place to hustle, you stated you'd like improve your earnings so I'd go with the 1st offer..


if it were me though, I'd go with the 2nd offer, secondary school kids will be better for me than kindergarten.

The third offer seems like much work that can disturb your other classes.



in other news, wow you sabi cook oo, seems vietnam is not advisable to someone who can't cook..
thumbs up.����

Lol. Your choice has been noted.

There's really no big deal in cooking. Sorta. I'm sure you can learn. There are also people here who do the I cook and deliver, you pay thinngy

Lol. How do you change the toppings of a noodle soup It's just like you asking them to change the "toppings" in fried rice or pizza. Best they can do is remove it

That's why when it comes to Bun for example, there's Bun Ca, Bun Cha, Bun Nem, etc

3 days? Not enuogh time to judge if you ask me

igbesachick:


i mean their soup noodles that leave you hungry soon..this dry one looks enough for a meal

the only impression they left on me is , they are a very rude ppl, and impatient. once i asked them to change the toppings of a soup noodle, the eatery owner just removed them and handed me the bowl back and charged me the same money.

i ran away from vietnam after 3 days. surprised you stay for so long .

Try read na.

WhyNa:


True their noodle soup leaves you hungry after one hour and that's why they mostly have it for breakfast followed by lunch at 11am. There are other dishes that hold you too. I've posted some on this thread. Don't want to repeat pictures

this is an example...fried noodles.

igbesachick:


this one is african food cooked by you ? looks like asian style

On the way they treat Africans.....

I'll speak for myself.

I've seen nothing but love and curiosity except on few occassions which I'll talk about.

Up till now, people still want to take pictures with you in the market, still touch your hair, kids still surround you and chat endlessly mostly trying to show off what they just learnt....What's your name, where are you from, how do yoou spell your name? This is unit one and two lesson in their school lol.

I have this kid in my building that wherever he sees me even on the street, even if he just saw me 10 minutes ago, he lits up, eyes wide and screams TEACHER!

Yesterday, in a minimart, I actually had to twirl and sing Let it go, let it go...(Elsa from Frozen's song) because a 3 or 4 year old walked up to me with her singing toy and kept gesturing for me to do what she was doing. She smiled and left me alone after I did.

People will randomly say hello to you or nod and smile and if they are with kids, will actually stop and ask them to say hello to you.

The times I've hrd not so good experience was either a vietnamese replying your email or a recommendation plainly saying they don't want black skin people.

There are also times when you're actually get to class especially kindergaten and 1 or 2 will be scared of you. By the next day they are your friend sha

During the second wave of the pandemic, I was at a traffic light on my bike and the truck nect to me with 3 occupants put on their mask and roulled up their window. On two or three occassions, no one wanted to enter the elevator with me. (I don't experience this again though)

2 days ago, I just left a friend's apartment and stepped out of the elevator when about 3 7 or 8 year olds started covering their nose muttering corona and dodging me. So I mad it a point of duty to follow them round while they kept dodging. We die here I wanted to even purposely sneeze or touch them and make them freak out more but then I remember say no be Naija I dey and an elderly woman was coming. She was the one that cautioned them.

On the bright side, The treatment is great cos asides the ones listed above, I haven't had any other challenges. Today in class, an 8 year old just walked up to the teachers desk and gave me her candy and a heart sign. (You'll have kids give you the heart sign if they like you here) Another kid collected the candy on my way to my next class while giving high fives on the stairs

I forgot to mention...you'll get stares sometimes when you enter a local resturant to eat and some giggles. You'll giggle and stare too if you see a westerner eating amala in a bukka

Food I cooked by myself two or three weeks ago.

igbesachick:


you buy from outside or your school canteen serves you or you buy the raw materials and cook by yourself ?

they look good. but i can see they come from different sources.

igbesachick:


i know you are great wherever you are. that is why i feel curious for you and your trip.

thx for enlarging my vocabulary, but i also asked lots of other questions, will you condescend to answer them too?

i , honestly , can not hold my contempt to vietnam, i need to be honest to myself, hope this will not affect our talks.

how can you survive eating those pitifully scanty rice noodles ? they leave you hungry again 1 hour later.

how is the attitude they hold towards african ?

On food......

There's rice and spaghetti and macaroni here. You can make stew
There's fish, beef, pork if you're a fan, chicken and turkey. There's even cow leg and goat head.
There's plantain
There's rice flour for semo or you can get semo and garri at the African shop. i eve heard there's fufu
There's Okro here
If you want othere soup, you should bring the ingredients from home
There's sweet and irish potatoe
There's cocoyam
There's bread

What else.......?

True their noodle soup leaves you hungry after one hour and that's why they mostly have it for breakfast followed by lunch at 11am. There are other dishes that hold you too. I've posted some on this thread. Don't want to repeat pictures

this is an example...fried noodles.

I hardly eat out though. I only do when I'm hanging out or craving some of their dishes that I love

v

igbesachick:


i know you are great wherever you are. that is why i feel curious for you and your trip.

thx for enlarging my vocabulary, but i also asked lots of other questions, will you condescend to answer them too?

i , honestly , can not hold my contempt to vietnam, i need to be honest to myself, hope this will not affect our talks.

how can you survive eating those pitifully scanty rice noodles ? they leave you hungry again 1 hour later.

how is the attitude they hold towards african ?

b

igbesachick:


i know you are great wherever you are. that is why i feel curious for you and your trip.

thx for enlarging my vocabulary, but i also asked lots of other questions, will you condescend to answer them too?

i , honestly , can not hold my contempt to vietnam, i need to be honest to myself, hope this will not affect our talks.

how can you survive eating those pitifully scanty rice noodles ? they leave you hungry again 1 hour later.

how is the attitude they hold towards african ?