Hi!

So, said bluntly, I'm looking for advice and any and all given is greatly appreciated.
I'm a recent graduate and have a year or 2 from medical school. During that time, I'd like to travel, learn and keep from squandering the little time I have left, all the while keeping the IRS and loan companies off of my back. I recently found about the vast opportunities afforded by teaching English abroad. From my initial impressions and up to now, it seems to fit exactly how I'd like to spend my time. It allows me to travel, to learn by teaching (because, in many way form my experience, people do learn much by teaching) and by immersion, to make a difference (I guess I'm a bit of an idealist), and, from my initial impressions, pays and pays well enough. A break from the West, I suppose.
I was wondering what my chances were and what they were of not getting screwed over. I graduated with a BS in Psychology, although I have a strong science, literature, and EALC (East Asian Languages and Cultures) background, with the EALC portion focused, to a great degree, on Chinese intellectual history. I have minimal teaching experience, having taught a martial arts class to kids (3 class/day, 5 days/week) for a summer in a local summer school a few years back.
I should say that I don't have a TESL or any certification of the like, simply due to cost and time. (Being a pre-medical student is fairly expensive) Although I'd be more than willing to consider an online course, I also feel that an online course wouldn't be of too much use. Plus, I do have relatives and friends in the educational system here (US) that I could gain advice from.
I've been hitting up the job and discussion boards, with an interest in going to either China or Thailand, and am simply growing increasingly cynical by the amount of scams and rip-offs I hear about. I have found a few promising picks in Changchun, Tianjin, Ningpo, and Shanghai; but could really use some help pointing me in the right direction. I've heard that I should stay away from the private schools, but it can be somewhat difficult discerning whether or not an ad is for a private school, is an agency, etc.
I've also checked out a few programs that match prospective teachers-to-be, like me, with schools, but the ones I know of charge a large fee, which seems silly to me.

Anyway, with all said (and probably more forgotten for the moment), I was wondering whether or not I had a good shot at a teaching gig (with said credentials), what to avoid/look for, etc. etc.
Also, a lot of schools I've seen in Thailand seem to underpay. Although I'm not looking for money per say, I also don't want this to become a grind, struggling day to day, nor do I wanna go broke in the process.
I also want to make a it a point that although my formal teaching experience in minimal and I don't intend on teaching as a career, I would take my job very seriously and would bust my ass (can I say that here ?) to make it a positive experience for everyone. I'd be a guest and would conduct myself as such.
Thanks, and again, any and all advice would be greatly appreciated. Free Coke in the mail for the first 5 callers !

Plus, I'm of Asian descent, but American-born. Does that have any bearing, positive or negative ?