Phil Jablon, 2005

 There is no better way to understand a society than to participate in its everyday life. Following graduation from Temple, equipped with a BA in Asian Studies and an enthusiastic demeanor, I heeded that advice and returned to Thailand in search of a job. Soon there after, I rented a pre-furnished apartment in downtown Bangkok and found work teaching English at a small private school. The modest salary was enough to get by on, affording me a bit of travel and three square meals per day.  

 In recent years, a demand for the English language has emerged in many parts of the developing world. In order to meet these demands, native English speakers from around the globe have been recruited to teach English in non-English speaking countries. Government schools have implemented English language programs and a wide range of private and tutorial schools have opened their doors for the more financially endowed segments of the population, leading to an explosion in the number of English language teaching jobs throughout the developing world. Thailand is no exception.

 Unless one has the benefit of having found work with an American company that has an office in the host country prior to depature, there is no better employment avenue for the novice ex-patriot to explore than teaching English . The jobs tend to be secure and are a good way to ease into a totally new environment. It allows for cultural exchange with the locals and -- if you are at a school with other foreign teachers -- a built-in social network.
 
 Time flew by in my first weeks back. I reaccustomed myself to the everyday rhythms of life in Bangkok, picked up on things that had formerly been unknown to me and slowly began to feel comfortable speaking Thai. Having studied the language intensely before returning made life much easier and I found great satisfaction in such trivial things as being able to read street signs, or give a cab driver directions. Many hours were spent exploring more of the smog-choked megalopolis. I found my way to new neighborhoods, crowded street markets and night bazaars. I became familiar with most of the places of interest in town. I learned bus routes and train routes and soon knew the best ways to get from one end of town to the other in the quickest possible time. The fact that the vast majority of people living in Bangkok are not from there brought me in touch with a multitude of attitudes and ways of thinking. Aparently, during the dry season, when there is less farm work to be done in the provinces, Bangkok's population swells, gaining an additional 50% on top of its regular population. Competition for low paying jobs is fierce and the typically laid-back Thai adopts a more aggressive approach to life. Bangkok, in turn, gets an adrenaline rush. The fast pace and constant commotion gives Bangkok an addictive quality, a quality which often wears down a mellow soul.

  Before long I found myself settled into a routine. It was life, complete with all the peaks and valleys that tend to accompany it the world over, only I was in a foreign land. It was during this time that my thoughts really began to come together.

 Living in Thailand gave me the opportunity to really grasp the characteristics of a developing country. My interest in the process of urbanization, its causes and affects increased. I sought out work with non-governmental development organizations, but quickly learned that I was underqualified, or did not know the right people. After months of thought I concluded that my best option was more education, which brings me up to the present. I am in the midst of the application process for graduate school at Chiang Mai University, Thailand's leading university for rural and sustainable development studies. My hope is that after graduation I will be able to find work for a development organization and do work in the Southeast Asian countryside, affording myself the opportunity to live in various places, experience different ways of life, learn more languages and help the world develop its resources in humane and sustainable manner. It took me a good amount of time to reach this conclusion and there were several years where I was completely unsure of what I wanted to do with my Asian Studies background. After all, it is a broad subject and there are numerous routes that can be taken with such a degree. But the fact is that taking action is the first step. Things will begin to unfold the more experience one gets. So if your Asian Studies career seems to be at a standstill, maybe it is time to take a trip to Asia and see it for yourself.