So, who's thinking about heading out on the Thailand Internship in May... feeling very jealous of you all already!

so eh... does that mean nobody is going?

Haha - no - there's around 15 people already signed up, but just a couple on Chalkboard so far:

http://www.tefl-chalkboard.com/cparry88

http://www.tefl-chalkboard.com/conhoga

You thinking of going yourself?

Yes, i've been  thinking about it for a while but recent events in Bangkok have put me off slightly.

Im trying to contact people over there to get a better idea of whats going on.

That's understandable - you might want to check out this post from one guy who's out there at the minute:

http://www.tefl-chalkboard.com/garethopenshaw/posts/919-bangkok-dangerous

Also, have a chat with Martin, who's also living in Bangkok at the minute: http://www.tefl-chalkboard.com/martin170587

If you have any questions feel free to get in touch and I'll do my best to help.

ehy all i'm looking to get in touch with other people that are doing this internship, i haven't fully signed up for it yet as i'm a bit nervous travelling all that way on my own!!

also is there anyone from ireland going?

Im from Ireland and im going! what part of Ireland are you from Jenny?

hi there, i'm heading over there and have a friend that works for the UN in Bangkok. Things have calmed down. anyone else from the us?

Hi all...i just signed up today..I live in Waterford in Ireland...cant wait.!! it's gonna b brill.My boyfriend and i are both going..:-)

aw i really wanted to go on that! a week too early for me though, i've exams til the 25th may :( there aren't any 3 month internships are there?!

hey jenna, i'm from sligo where are you from? do you know many other people over there ir that are going over? have you done all the course work etc? tell me all. i must get around to putting a pic up on this thing, i'm like the only person who doesn;t have one!!

Hi all.  I've been living and working in Bangkok for over 9 months now.  I'm fairly clued up on the place so feel free to ask me anything.  And for the record, I haven't noticed anything regarding the protests.  It's honestly not affected me in the slightest and some of the rallies have been very close to where I live.  Anyway, get in touch, would be nice to meet some new people.

Gaz

I'm coming over for the internship and wanted to ask some questions about the living conditions. Just to get an idea of what to expect. What's a Thai Style Apartment like, does it have kitchen? shower? how pricy are utilities. What about phone service. I remember having a happy top-up card for my singapore phone, trying to figure out how I can keep in touch with people back in the US. Are internet cafe's common?

hi there, i'm from the us too... what are your insurance plans? are u keeping us coverage or going with travel insurance? this is a big decision.

i actually asked garethopenshaw a similar question on some of the accomodations if you check out his blog you should find his reply to me.

also, have you booked your flight yet? i'm worried about waiting much longer for the letter to arrive.

looking forward to meeting you in thailand!

hi honor, do you know how many people are signed up now?

Hi guys, I'm from the UK and have signed up for this amazing opportunity....I can't wait. Anyone else from the UK? Looking forward to meeting you all - not long to go now :)

Has anyone received their paperwork yet?

Hello. I'm Conor Hogan from Clonmel in Ireland. This is the first time I've posted on the chalkboard. I've been accepted for the internship but won't be recieving the paperwork for a while, I don't think. They said in the e-mail that I'd get it in the next two weeks (which is cutting it fairly close) and so I'm not going to order my plane ticket until I get the visa. I'm a little apprehensive about travelling alone, so if anyone here is travelling from Ireland let me know. 

Hi all!

I'm also heading out to Thailand next month. I'm Welsh, but please don't hold it against me, and no sheep jokes. I see there's alot of Irish people heading out, should be good crack. All Irish people can't seem to get out of Ireland fast enough. I guess it's because it's completely water-locked and there's no bugger other country next to it you can runaway to!

Anyway, just thought I'd do a quick introduction, and if I don't post again I'll see y'all out there!

Matty B

Hey guys,

Glad you're all excited about it! Gothotglass, I've passed your questions onto our support team here, and will give you answers as soon as I know!

Jennebel, there's around 25 people now signed up, so there should be a good crowd of you going on! We're expecting quite a few more to apply today and tomorrow too, so should see a few more filtering through onto Chalkboard in the next few days.

hey guys i just saw in the new that there was some pretty bad attacks today in bangkok and that there are no flights in or out for the foreseeable future, what does this mean for all of us??

Hi all,

I'm not sure where you heard about flights Jenny - as far as we know, planes are getting in and out of Thailand fine.

Obviously, we will be keeping a very close eye on the situation in Thailand over the next few weeks, as we head towards the internship arrival date. We are in daily contact with our partners in Thailand to ensure we are kept up to date on the current situation in Bangkok.  We do not know how the situation will change over the coming days and weeks, but we do expect that you will be able to travel to Thailand safely. We are still 3 weeks away from arrival, and our experience with situations like this is that they can tend to fizzle out as quickly as they arise.

If necessary, we may need to change some of the current arrangements we have in place to ensure we avoid any hot spot areas where trouble may occur.  For example, if the situation in Bangkok worsens, we may arrange for your orientation to take place outside of Bangkok – your safety is our uppermost priority and we will make these changes if we deem them to be necessary. This would not affect your travel arrangements – your airport pick-up will still be available from Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok.

During your orientation we'll cover in detail what precautions you should take while in Thailand, including avoiding crowds and demonstrations, keeping an eye on the news and staying in touch with our team in Thailand.

If you're booked onto the internship we'll be keeping you updated on the situation in Bangkok as your arrival date approaches. If you have any questions please do get in touch.

Just another quick update - we've had the following email from Jeff Cobb, who works for AYC (our partners in Thailand) in Bangkok - he's written as follows:

"Dear all at i-to-i,

Thanks for getting in touch.  Everyone here is absolutely fine.

The Red Shirt protesters have consolidated into a narrow stretch of Bangkok which includes a high end shopping mall.  A new group of 'anti-Red Shirt' protesters has formed and congregated up against the Red Shirts in the Silom area which includes several office buildings, some hotels, and bars.  Last night we had a 2nd episode of violence at this location where exactly 4 bombs/grenades went off into the crowd of anti-Red Shirts.  It is not 100% clear who is responsible for these bombs.  One person was killed and 86 were injured.

The good news is that all of this action is concentrated into a known area and only participants in the protests (Red Shirt, Anti-Red shirt, Soldiers, Journalists) have been hurt so far.  This gives everyone the opportunity to avoid trouble to guarantee safety.  I don't see it likely at all that Thailand will turn into the Middle East with violence erupting in random locations with the intention of harming innocent members of the general population.

In addition, no interns will be placed in schools in Bangkok or the far southern provinces of Pattani, Yala, Narathiwat and Songkhla, where there's a risk of violence.

Sincerely,

Jeff Cobb"

Again, if anyone has any questions, drop one of the guys in our customer support team an email at courses.teamuk@i-to-i.com.

great to see that email from Jeff...i'm not too worried. We're all gonna go n it's gonna b brill, n these crazy protesters not gonna ruin anything for us..:-)  Just 3 weeks todat till I fly...wooo!!