What not to do in Taiwan

What not to do in Taiwan.

Taiwan is a cool place but there are plenty of things not to do.  Most of it is common sense stuff or stuff that will be forgiven because you are a foreigner, but it's important anyways.

http://thetravelmanuel.com/what-not-to-do-when-relocating-to-another-country/

(1) Do drugs

That states are slowly decriminalizing or legalizing marijuana. Taiwan takes a very draconian approach. I have a friend who was caught with a small quantity of hash -- most people are immediately kicked out of the country, but since he was in the middle of a Master's program they let him stay to complete it. The guy who sold him the hash wasn't so luckily and is now facing seven years in a Taiwanese prison because of it. Listen doing drugs is always a stupid idea, but doing them in Taiwan is incredibly stupid. Don't do it, and if you find out your friend is doing it -- slowly dissociate yourself from them.


(2) Overstay your visa

Taiwan is such a great place some people overstay their visa. It sounds all wonderful at first because you think to yourself "how long will I be here anyway?" so you overstay your visa to pay some sort of fee later on. Yet, what you really did is screwed up yourself if something unexpected happens. I have a friend who came to Taiwan to teach and make some extra money. He was annoyed with going to Vietnam and such for his visa so he decided to overstay. Slowly but surely life grows it's roots around you and Taiwan becomes your home. You find someone you love, got a great apartment and a wonderful teaching job. You don't want to leave. Yet, your friends are going to Thailand on an awesome trip and you want to go. Well, too bad because if you go to Thailand you won't be able to go back to Taiwan because you overstayed last time. Got a family member who is sick? If you go back to the US you'll be able to spend time with them but your life in Taiwan is over.

Don't overstay your visa.


(3) Date everyone you see

If you are a guy, Taiwan can be a very nice place. Lots of guys there punch above their body weight and find great girls. (Western women tend to have a harder time in Taiwan) Yet, a good portion of Taiwanese women who are attracted to foreigners are not the best of stock (same is very true in the reverse.) Lots of Taiwanese women seem like ten years behind in the dating scene and don't take break ups well. I have had friends who breakup with their girlfriend only to have them harass them at work or with immigration have the break up. One guy decided to "fake marry" his Taiwanese girlfriend in order to get a Taiwanese green card. It ended very poorly when she decided their was nothing fake about their marriage at all decided to harass him out of the country.


Lots of the stuff above is common sense but sometimes when you are in a new country your common sense goes out the window. Enjoy your time in Taiwan but keep your head level.

How to make more money teaching English in Taiwan

This is everyone's favorite subject. How to make more money. Well, I don't have any secrets here -- the best option to make more money is going to be work. More work, the more money you can make.  Yet, the smarter you are about it the more money you will make.

www.taiwanese-secrets.com

(1) Ask for more money from you boss. Are you a better teacher than you were before? Try to get a raise. That simple, generally bosses in Taiwan do no give out raises under any circumstances. The only circumstance they "might" give out a raise is if you are attracting and retaining students. Do that and the boss will let you get away with murder. Now the opposite is true. Having a hard time getting students or students don't sign up for your course again? Well, you might not have a job for long.

(2) Start to private tutor on the side. Meet lots of Taiwanese people and tell them you teach English. Also mention you do private tutoring. Eventually someone will ask you about it. How much should you charge? Well it depends on your experience and things like that -- I'd so 600-800NT is reasonable price right now but it really depends.

(3) Start your own school. I'd actually put this on the list of losing money but if you are in an excellent location with a good reputation you might be able to make this work. Be careful of rents though, some places in Taipei have ridiculously high rent -- so high that it will be nearly impossible to have enough students to make it profitable. I have a good friend who started a school in the middle of nowhere in Taiwan, he is doing reasonably well.

(4) Start you own mobile school. Personally, this is where the money is in terms of teaching English. Not many people do it, and few people do it well so there are a few tips. I hope it helps.

(a) You'll need a to find a "networked mom" -- this is some mom who really wants their kid to learn English and knows lots of other moms. Since a one-on-one classes don't do well for little kids it's best to do group classes, also one-on-one classes are cost prohibitive for young families.  So what you do is, charge 200 to 300 for each kid in a class for an hour of teaching. Try to get 5-6 kids in class you can start with 4 but really 5 is the sweet spot. At 5 kids at 200 you get 1,000NT a hour. Lots of times parents want to do more than 2 classes a week so you can make 2,000NT a week just off this one class.  Do a good job on these small classes and they will grow organically. One mom introduces you to another mom. All of the sudden you'll have 20 of these classes a week (only 20 hours) and with five kids in each class that's 20,000NT a week. Pretty darn good. Best part is these classes are mobile. So sometimes these classes will be at a third party like a dance studio or other times they will be at a parent's house. As long as you are charging 200 to 300NT an hour the parents are getting a very good deal out of it and will work with you.

How to survive and thrive in Taiwan

Great you've made it to Taiwan, but not you are in a foreign country with lots of people you don't know and probably don't speak English very well. What to do? 

Make friends

http://www.tv.com/shows/friends/

(1) Find a group or activity you like to do. Like to run? Lots of great running spots in Taiwan, meet new runners. Like to drink and watch sports? Lots of western sports bars like Brass Monkey in Taiwan where you can meet other foreigners interested in the same thing. Once you find your people you'll be much happier. 

(2) Get your living space decorated in a way the suits you well. You might be living abroad but that doesn't mean your apartment needs to look like a locals. Go to Ikea and decorate your place. You want to feel at home in your apartment, gets going to chaotic in your new apartment. 

(3) Go sightseeing. Lot of beautiful things to see in Taiwan -- make sure you go see them all before you leave.Scuba diving, hiking, awesome bike trails -- the more you go out the better you'll do! 

How to get a job teaching English

Here are all the steps you need to find a job.

(1) Fly over to Taiwan, Teaching jobs in Taiwan can by very competitive -- there are programs like Hess which is a for profit school that may hire you from the US but there is no guarantee that will hire you full time after orientation. I actually started working for Hess, and my roommate was never offered a full time position. He spent all his money from South Africa to come to Taiwan and they rejected him. 

(2) Go to www.tealit.com to see all the teaching positions out there. Tealit really has a monopoly on ESL jobs on the island. It's best to go here. If you are a first time teacher, look for jobs that accept first time teachers. Generally these positions pay less or in less convenient locations in the island but it will get your foot in the door. 

tealit.com

(3) When you find a school that interests you, call them up or e-mail them. Generally it's best to send your resume and a picture of yourself. Make sure the picture looks professional or somewhat professional. Say you are excited to meet up with them.

(4) When you get invited to do an interview with the school. Dress professionally. It's shocking how poorly dressed lots of foreign English Teachers are. I had a friend who would win over schools with a lackluster education because he dressed sharp.  You'll need to do a demonstration or "demo" during the interview. It's very impromptu, they just want to see how you handle yourself. Don't worry if your demo doesn't work out well, it never does. They'll ask you to teach something you don't you've never taught before and you'll teach it in a way they don't like. Just try your best, don't act flustered (even if you are and wing it.  Also, act like you love hanging out with kids. High fives and hellos. You'll want to act like a "cool teacher" (whatever that means) so the kids like you. If you nailed the demonstration in terms of teaching but they kids don't like you -- no job. Yes this part is kind of stressful but try your best at it. 

(5) Probably 80% of the time they'll offer you a position right after the demonstration if they like you. If they don't -- don't worry about it. I did demonstrations at schools where I didn't get the job and I'm happy I didn't get those jobs because it wouldn't have been a good fit. Places that constantly interview new teacher is a really bad sign. That means teachers are leaving that school left and right, either because they were fired or quit -- either way it is a horrible sign. 

(6) Keep on repeating steps 2 - 4 till you get a job. Really it just takes time.Probably three weeks of interviewing should be enough. Be prepared for public transportation expenses and hotel/hostel/buddy's place rent until get a position. It will happen, it might be a rough ride at first, but it will be an incredible experience. 

(7) Great you've found a job. Show up on time, be courteous to your colleagues, prepare for your classes and you'll do well. 

How to get a job teaching English in Taiwan

You've decided you want to teach English in Taiwan! Congratulations, you'll have a great time no matter if you plan on doing it for a summer for a life long career.


This site will lots of information on how to get a job teaching English, how to get prepare yourself on the big trip, what to do when you get there so you enjoy yourself!

http://www.reachtoteachrecruiting.com/application.php