Leaderboard

Learn to say McDonalds, KFC, Pizza Hut-- not because you'll want to eat there*, but because everyone will want to tell you about how they are an example of globalism because they started in the country in which you are living. In three Asian countries, I've been told repeatedly that all three chains began in the area and expanded worldwide. I asked a driver "Why Kentucky in KFC?" and he said "To make Americans buy it." * You may never, ever eat at KFC, McDonalds, or Pizza Hut when you are in your home country, but you'll probably find that you will as an expat teacher. WHY? There is an element of nostalgia, but the main reason is that you will trust the vendor-- a Big Mac is pretty much the same everywhere, and sometimes you'll want safe, reliable, and predictable.

Learn left, right, turn, stop, here, yes, and your address FIRST. Then you can go anywhere and always get home in a cab-- even when your phone dies. Turn on Closed Captions on your TV! You'll pick up many basic words very quickly -- the colloquial way to say: okay!, yes!, yes?, no!, no?, wait!, and what?, which are said ALL of the time. Learn the name of your country and state/ province/ area in the local language.