Thread: From Laos to Turkey - A Christmas story :)

Originally Posted by Simon43

Measured just now - typical speed, sometimes much faster

The company I work for requires 20 up and down. I agree, that would be a great picture to frame.

Originally Posted by Topper

The company I work for requires 20 up and down. I agree, that would be a great picture to frame.

Ah - that is why I tell companies to 'go away'. I know what speeds provide reliable Zoom, Skype and Zhumu comms, and it's much less than 20. If (on very rare occasions), the internet is too slow and the lesson is interrupted, I offer a full refund straightaway, no questions asked. The students (parents) are very happy with this policy and book more lessons....

Are you a slave to your tutoring duties or have you managed to enter into Mauritian society yet?

My interest has been piqued and wondered if there was an expat group that functioned independently of the locals, as life does here in LoS, or do incomers integrate.

I have had three Mauritian acquaintances in my time, one nymphet who was great fun in the sack and quite uninhibited without the need for any commitment. They seemed very much normal folk and nothing like as fucked up as the Thai.

Any insights?

Originally Posted by Seekingasylum

Any insights?

Yes, you should have stuck with her.

Originally Posted by malmomike77

Yes, you should have stuck with her.

You seem quite infatuated with me. You have become my shadow.

Quite creepy, really.

Originally Posted by Seekingasylum

Are you a slave to your tutoring duties or have you managed to enter into Mauritian society yet?

Unfortunately (for those seeking more details about Mauritian society etc), my teaching duties are currently 7 days a week. In my spare time before, during and after lessons, I go to the local beach to jog and swim. Yes, there are various massage businesses lauded on the sex websites. However, my spare time is valuable to me, and I have little interest in wasting time away from home with some hooker

Another cyclone is passing the island just now - my antennas have so far withstood the very strong winds...

There is a Facebook expat group, but it seems to be populated by .. er ... expats, who mostly seem interested in rescuing street dogs and cats. I haven't yet posted asking about slim hookers that make housecalls.

Originally Posted by Simon43

. expats, who mostly seem interested in rescuing street dogs and cats.

Swinger code Simon. Get yourself some car keys sharpish....

Originally Posted by Simon43

my teaching duties are currently 7 days a week

Aren't they going on break soon?

Crusty sweet… jeez haven’t thought about her in a looooong time!

Originally Posted by Topper

Aren't they going on break soon?

Actually, it makes little difference whether the kids are on break or not, holidays usually increases the demand for my teaching.

As can be seen from the iTalki dashboard, I have almost 1,000 lessons booked to teach. These are mostly 30 minute lessons, some are 60 minutes for older students. Some lesson slots are currently booked through by their parents to early 2024! This is to ensure that they actually can book a lesson with me

Of course, since I work for myself, it's up to me how many lesson slots I make available. For the moment, I'm happy to teach about 6 hours every day, with breaks in between. I do need to work out a long term plan for when my government pension kicks in, which will be in 40 months from now. My hope is to wind down the online teaching, draw my pension, and then work for someone like VSO International as a volunteer educator in some impoverished shithole, since VSO pays about $500 a month plus all expenses and medical insurance etc.




Christy Sweet! I wonder where she is now. There's a YT video of me and her at the Phuket crashed plane memorial service from years ago...

Originally Posted by Seekingasylum

Simon, I'm impressed by your altruism. What is your motivation?

Boredom. I can't think of anything more boring than pottering round my garden in my old age. On my deathbed, I want to be able to think back to all the crazy things that I've done and places in the world that I've visited, and consider that it's been a fcuking good life.

Knowing my luck, I'll get taken out by a missile in the civil war fighting in Myanmar, as I'm trying to help overthrow the military!

@Simon - I still encourage you to write a book about your life, if you can find the time in between lessons, video production and what not. Imagine if/ when you're at the sunset of your life, the author bio page (at the end of the book) describes you as enjoying life at the beach & doing philantrophic work as a hobby.

Originally Posted by katie23

describes you as enjoying life at the beach & doing philantrophic work as a hobby

and throating his decapitated doll in the evenings

Originally Posted by malmomike77

decapitated doll in the evenings

If Japanese, does it still squeak?

Goodonya Simon! All I can say is do make time to get out there and enjoy some of that Mauritian lifestyle too.

Originally Posted by sabang

Goodonya Simon! All I can say is do make time to get out there and enjoy some of that Mauritian lifestyle too.

Yes I know. I need to take at least 1 day a week holiday

Now where next? I know, how about back to Myanmar? Yep, that sounds fun (not!), especially when compared to romantic Pattaya, where I have been relaxing for a few months. But the Myanmar people and scenery are lovely, and there are a few things that I can do to help (in a very small way), the lack of access to stable education, due to the current events.

Anyway, I'm back there now, in Yangon. I'm actually happy to be back, Yangon doesn't seem to have changed too much in 10 years since I was last in this city

More news and photos to follow....

I'm looking forward to it Simon!

Originally Posted by Topper

I'm looking forward to it Simon!

Me too.

Originally Posted by Simon43

Yangon doesn't seem to have changed too much in 10 years since I was last in this city

Whatever changes you have planned, "try to solve the problem in a quiet and reasonable way".

Simon you have written on here one reason you left Myanmar was their reluctance to grant you a HAM license. Have you rectified that or will you just do without?

@Aging one, it took me about 8 years of 'lobbying' to finally get the authorities in Myanmar to grant me a ham licence, which they did in 2018. It was somewhat limited in allowances. In my recent emails with the radio licence office, they remember me from 2018/19, and they are again OK to grant me a licence with better allowances, in terms of frequencies that I can operate on.

Since Aung San Su Kyi was recently sentenced to 3 years in imprison for having several unlicenced walkie-talkies, I have left my ham transceiver in store in Pattaya, and will slog through the paperwork to get it imported and to start operating again.

However, there is more in my life than ham radio. If I don't get a licence, then no big worries.

Here is the current situation about youngster's education in Myanmar: Due to the military coup, most government school teachers refuse to work and have gone into hiding. The economy has tanked, so the poorest parents have no way to afford even the most basic of school supplies for their kids. Thousands of families in eastern Myanmar have fled to the safety of Taunggyi city in Shan State.

Overall, 1 out of every 2 kids is now receiving no education at all in Myanmar, not even basic primary education.

This is why I left the delights of Pattaya. I understand primary education and I am a whizzo at mobile technology, such as writing Android apps etc. In 2017, I combined the two by creating a mobile app that allows users to download educational videos, such as English language, maths times tables etc. It only had a few videos, but it worked well.

Now in 2022, even many poor families have a mobile phone. I am improving my mobile app library of short educational videos (not just to learn English, but also Myanmar language etc). Although these are all on Youtube, it's difficult for the non-technical to work out how to download videos from YT, let alone know the search words to find them. My app allows the end-user to search using Myanmar language from a resource of videos that I've chosen and collated, (including all the online videos produced during Covid by the 'real' Myanmar government education ministry). My idea is that users can even download for free by finding a cafe hotspot etc, search, browse and download the videos to their phone, then learn/practice offline at home.

It's far, far from perfect. But I always say 'every little bit helps'!

I attended my first day of work at my paid job, teaching kindergarten at an international school in Yangon. This is going to be a very stressful job, because there are 20 young female, Burmese teaching assistants that I have to work closely with...


But someone has to do it!

Simon, do you worry about being accused of teaching stuff like free thinking the government might imprison you for?