Well China is definately the place to go (H)



Peace

My next goal will be to learn chinese
I am thinking of spending a sabbatical either in taiwan or in Chinese and I promised myself to learn chinese ...no matter what..I almost learnt korean and japanese...

I can't really speak for S.Africa as I have not been there before, however, in China it was really nice working there. It also helped that I was there with my sisters and my boss knew my mom. He actually got us the job. The school he was working at needed good ESL teachers and he said I know 3 really good teachers and so we got hired. Of course we are good teachers Alhamdulillah but in China it's very easy to get a job. You can work through recruitment agencies but your pay is much lower as oppose to making your own contracts between you and the school (you just have to make sure that the school is licensed to hire foreignors). The pay range depends on the city you live in, for example, a teacher (foreign) in Beijing can make between 5000-10,000 RMB for full-time. That's a very good salary. So schools will even pay for your accomodations. But in other cities the cost can be less, much less. One thing I liked about Beijing is that there were many muslims there both chinese and foreign.
Transportation, I lived near my school so most of the time I just walked. For the schools that were out of walking range I used a taxi, for that I usually had someone in the office to tell them where I was going or else I would have it written down. But it's not anything you would have to really worry about.
Would you be interested in teaching in China? :)


Peace

If I were you I would go first to Islamicfinder.org
and look for muslims businesses or schools or masajid (mosques) and ask them. That's what i would do.
If you want to teach arabic you can tech local kids from muslim communities.

Apart from that I am not if i can help..but yeah
capetown is gorgeous.

Thanks Nationman...I am actually from Southern Africa and have family in South Africa but if I chose to work there for a year I wouldnt want to impose on them. The main things I worry about are having a car (and being able to drive on the opposite side of the road) and housing (in a safe area).

My questions are not necessarily stemming from an Amerian mind, but rather, from wanting to be adequately prepared!

JoBurg for a single woman is NOT safe...I was there for 6 weeks this summer. Cape Town I feel is safer and sooo very gorgeous!!!

But I think you are right...but take a risk and do it!

Does anyone know of any organizations that are recruiting international teachers???

I have been to SoiuthAfrica. It is wonderful
Your questions about transportation and the like are stemming from the american mind. You should not worry about that. I can guarantee that of you hook up with the local muslim community in cape town or Johannesburg (too bad a verygood just left) you will be taken care of. Upon my arrival the presidenet of the MSA of capetown did everything to make visit as smooth as possible and I was able to taste the great Desi food. If you want to go, just email a couple of people and pack...it is that simple in my book...and don't pull out the female verus male card :-)

Wow Peace - I think its admirable that you have the courage to teach abroad (and so young ). Do you do it though any organization or on your own.

I feel like I would love to go teach for a year in South Africa, but feel afraid of little things like - where would I live, how would I get around, and where would my salary come from!

How did you handle these two things? Was the salary enough to manage on? How about living and transportaion?

I have taught in China, Sudan and of course also in the states. In the states, I taught all the subjects however in China, I taught ESL (English as a second language). I love teaching abroad, some of my best moment were oversees.


Peace

Very nice to have you on board Szakiyyah. What countries have you taught in?

What subjects have you taught?