Teaching in Thailand is a great opportunity and market to all Filipinos who desired to venture here in order to alleviate the family's condition in the Philippines. Needless to say, we all came here for the sole purpose and that is to earn more and save for the future and family. But recently, I heard lots of rumors about Filipinos here who worked with the salary below the waist like 10,000 baht/month and worst 8,000 baht without free accommodation and food. But when I tried to ask them why they took the job, the reply is simply NO CHOICE than nothing. Some of my friends who worked for 2 years in the same school and earned 20,000 baht/month were fired because here comes these neophytes who themselves offered to the school director that 8,000 baht/month is enough for them. What a crab instinct! Pathetic! But it's the reality.

I always heard comments that we are better than those with white skin and blue eyes, more qualified and more industrious. Why won't we use these propagandas to ask for a better and higher pay? As for me, it's not a matter of no choice. We always have the choice to say NO and look for somewhere else better. Thai schools nowadays have opened their eyes towards the capacity and fluency of Filipinos in terms of English language than before. This I say to remind you of our purpose of coming here. How can we help our family and future if we earn less than we earn in our country? We always have the choice. To put a price on ourselves and believe that we deserve this pay because we deserve the job and we can do it! Our luck here in Thailand depends on how we look into ourselves. I can say this from my heart because I met this kind of situation, and I fought for it and won, and I have proven to myself that we can get what we want if we only believe in ourselves. Lastly, we must stop our bad attitude such as the crab mentality. It won't make us prosper...Thanks and mabuhay sa lahat!

Rey Murillo