Myanmar is definitely not for you, Lydia.
Postbox letter from Naypyidaw, Myanmar
It sounds to me that Lydia didn't do her homework before accepting her job in Yangon. I can also suggest that Lydia is a 'glass half-empty' sort of person, which really is not the right attitude to have when working in a developing country
Myanmar's not for me
Postbox letter from Lydia
Having spent 2 years working at an international school in Yangon, education is at a developing stage and democracy has a long way to go.
Monsoon!
Surviving Myanmar's rainy season
I grew up on the west coast of the USA. We get rain, but we don't get thunder and lightning. I love experiencing it now. Don't grouse about it. Enjoy it.
Five things I've learned in SE Asia
From smiling to haggling and crossing the road
Of these five realizations, I understand that perhaps none of them will do me any good back home, but then again, I don't see myself going home any time soon.
Election fever in Myanmar
Why I'm in the dark when it comes to election results
Myanmar's recent rapid development has highlighted it's own weaknesses, infrastructure being first and foremost of them.
Back on American soil
Well, the American Embassy in Yangon to be precise
I was somewhat nervous about being back in America. It's two years now since I've left, and although it's probably not changed as much as I have over that time, I didn't know how I was going to feel with my feet on American soil today
Cultivating novelty
Making sure the novelty of living in Asia doesn't wear off
Sometimes I think about why I'm here. Why I left Thailand. Why I left America in the first place. The answers to those questions probably aren't all that different from lots of other foreign teachers here in this part of the world.
Taxi English
Surely this should also join the ranks of 'English for specific purposes'
When compared to a place like Bangkok, Myanmar's taxi drivers don't even get that many foreigners in the back seat, but on the whole, the drivers here speak much better English than back in Bangkok.
Trust your local doctors!
Believe me when I say that great medical staff can be found anywhere.
For the last ten days or so, I've been in excrutiating pain, first from bursitis in my knee and later from a bulging disk in my back aggravated by the funny way I had to walk with a bum knee. Tonight, thanks to my local Southeast Asian health care professionals, my horrific debilitating anguish has been numbed to a dull ache. Feels damn good, and how I got this way is an edifying anecdote.
Don't believe all you read
Sorting out internet fact from internet fiction
When I was doing some internet research on living and working in Myanmar, I read some disconcerting things. I read some positive things. And I read some preposterous things that I simply couldn't believe until I saw them with my own two eyes.
