Peter contacted Michael Williams and requested an invitation to attend the fair. He responded very quickly and we made arrangements in August to attend the fair the first week of November. As November approached the wet season in Thailand was the worst they had experienced in thirty years and there was a threat that Bangkok would be flooded. Peter contacted Michael and he assured him that the fair would go on as scheduled. He stated that international educators are adventurous people and the rainy season was something people in the region were used to.
We were monitoring the situation very closely the last week in October. The floods had reached Bangkok, but we were assured that the city center was safe. The EARCOS conference was canceled due to the flood so we thought that the fair may be canceled as well. We checked with the airline to confirm Peter's flight and they stated it would not be canceled. Michael sent all the candidates an email to assure us that the fair would be held, however he noted that since the conference was canceled many schools had decided not to attend. He was working to confirm attendance of the remaining schools.
Internally Peter was having second thoughts about going. He had never traveled to Asia before and the thought of flying into a natural disaster did not seem safe. Roberta was far more encouraging. She insisted that Michael would not put himself in harms way if it were not safe. In addition, she felt that many of the candidates would also cancel allowing me more one-on-one time with the recruiters.
On Thursday before a Sunday departure, Michael confirmed that 23 schools would be in attendance. While this was down significantly from the 80 originally scheduled, 14 of the 23 schools were on our list of potential employers. He also confirmed that it was indeed dry in Bangkok and that it was safe to travel. If it were not for Michael's continued communication and Roberta's encouragement, Peter probably would not have attended. However knowing that things were safe and high interest schools would be present, Peter decided to attend.
As promised Peter's arrival in Bangkok went without worry. The flights were on time and there was no sign of flooding at the airport. The airport was clean, the people were friendly, and he was in a taxi within thirty minutes of landing. As the taxi made its way to the city center there were signs of flooding as people had parked their cars on the raised express way and many building entrances were lined with sandbags. However, the entire drive to the hotel Peter did not see one flooded area.
Peter arrived in Bangkok one day ahead of the fair to accommodate potential jet lag and prepare for the fair. He made email contact with Michael Williams once he arrived and Michael responded immediately. The day prior to the fair Peter arranged for a site seeing tour and some shopping. In addition, he prepared his materials for the fair. Search Associates had arranged for use of the business center. Peter took advantage of this service to print his resume and prepare documents.
Peter discovered his first snag in the international journey. When he opened his documents on the business center computer the formatting was not correct. He discovered that the majority of the rest of the world uses A4 paper, not the traditional 8 1/2 x 11 that we use in the states. The A4 paper significantly altered the presentation of his resume. The important lesson learned is that either plan for the country you are visiting or print your materials prior to departure. After some 45 minutes of format changes, the crisis was averted and the documents were ready. The next day he would attend the fair.
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