Thank you for taking the time to read my comments. It's 2am. Forgive my broken late night English. :) I do think my letter has some importance. Please read and learn some of your rights.

I worked for EF Kelapa Gading(2002-2003)and EF Sunter in Jakarta Indonesia. I was swapped back and forth between those two schools for 5 long months before I was ever offered a KITAS. When I asked for a KITAS, they told me I was considered a part-timer and not eligible for a paid KITAS. Part-timer? I worked more hours between those schools than any teacher at each of those schools but because the hours were not in one location, I was a part-timer. The money was better than those other teachers because part-timers do get paid for travel. I had my own motorcycle.

After 5 months I finally signed a contract to work in Kelapa Gading. Once I signed the contract, I had to wait 60 days again for a KITAS. This was a "probation period." I tried to fight my way out of that but to no avail. In the end my KITAS was for 6 months.

Return Air Ticket - Every teacher is offered a return air ticket. Well that is what EF says. But because I was already living in Indonesia prior to being employed by EF, that was not offered in my contract. That is a loss of about $800 to my contract value. They also offered me a lower monthly salary than the other teachers. The new hires were getting Rp. 6.300,000. I was offered Rp. 5,700,000. (Translation: About $630 and $570) I did end up with the Rp 6,300,000. In my contract they would increase the salary by Rp. 300,000 after the probation period. When my probation was almost over, this American DOS asked me to come to her room. She explained they did not have time to evaluate me, so my probation was going to be extended another 60 days. So guess what? No raise as promised. The DOS is married to a local. She has everything going for her there. A house, kids, husband, and the owners loyalty to her. She really did not stand up for those workers from her own country.

Teachers - Sorry to sound mean here. In Ef Kelapa Gading we had teachers from Spain, Philippines, USA, China, Sweden, and England. The teacher from Spain, teaching English? I could not understand half of her words. Lovely lady though. The teacher from Sweden had an awesome accent. I would be horrified however if my children learned/studied English with that kind of accent. The teacher from China spoke far better English that any western teacher in EF. But again, it was not a native tongue.

Housing - After I obtained my KITAS I was offered EF housing. After one month I refused the housing that was offered to me for two reasons. #1 The house was dirty and had mold on the walls. It was the dirtiest house on the street. #2 The EF teacher I was sharing the home with had "pot" parties almost every night. Not long after I moved out of that house, the other EF teacher was busted on live TV (Busar) for having pot in the house. This person was jailed/imprisoned for a long time. During that time that he was jailed, the D.O.S. was very mean to me. She was looking for blood. She was friends with this jailed drug abuser and assumed I was the person who turned this young man in. I did not turn him in. I was interviewed by the police three time and I told them the complete truth. I was not going to risk being jailed for a drug abuser. The first police interview was at EF Kelapa Gading. I had no idea I was going to be interviewed. The EF teacher that was in jail said I was doing drugs with him. So the police came to talk to me about that. The DOS came and took me from the classroom, and told me in the hallway what to say to the police. This woman is nuts for asking me to lie to the police. Plain and simple, I told the truth and I took a drug test to prove I didn't do drugs. The DOS sat in on my interview. Needless to say, after that first interview, I was no longer a welcomed employee. I was marked. I was threatened. I had called in sick one day. That same day I was visited at home and told I was fired. They asked for my KITAS and passport. They also asked for $1200 for the costs associated with my VISA/KITAS. I was told if I did not give that they would bring the police over to talk to me and get me kicked out of Indonesia.

I stood up for myself and did not fall for their threats. I wrote an article about the teacher doing drugs. I printed 200 copies/flyer's. I took one flyer into EF and explained what I was there for. Nothing in my flyer was a lie. It was all truths and I named names. I stood outside the school and began distributing the flyer to the parents and students. It took five minutes for the DOS to wise up and settle fairly with me. I got to keep my KITAS for 60 more days. I got one more salary. I didn't get my plane ticket. They can not threaten to make us destitute. That is what they try to do to keep you in line. Always argue back. The U.S. Embassy wont help either. Lawyers are a joke.

EF is a great brand. It is marketed superbly to the masses. The brochures are cute and show how exciting learning English can be with happy, western and white teachers. Teachers are the biggest assets in EF. EF fails to accept that type of thinking. Money is always first...and last when it comes to salaries.

The good news is that even if you lose your job to a school like EF, don't get caught up in your sorrows. There are many other schools to go to in Jakarta. Get a phone book and make some fast calls to the other schools.

I love Indonesia. I am sure there are some schools that take really good care of their teachers there. Don't give up on Indonesia.