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Working in Sicily

 
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Vince



Joined: 05 May 2003
Posts: 559
Location: U.S.

PostPosted: Wed Sep 10, 2003 2:08 pm    Post subject: Working in Sicily Reply with quote

What's the living and teaching situation like in Sicily? I hear it can be rough, but is it doable? I'm American and don't have citizenship with an EU country. How's the visa situation for someone like me? Thanks.
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Caroline



Joined: 23 Jan 2003
Posts: 29
Location: USA

PostPosted: Wed Sep 10, 2003 3:10 pm    Post subject: teaching in Italy Reply with quote

I teach in the center of Italy, so I can give you some information about the general visa situation. Most established schools prefer to hire people with an EU passport, so you will have difficulty arranging anything in advance. But if you go "on spec" and are willing to work in a smaller town, you could find a school that would pay you under the table. You would probably be working illegally, though.

The Job Information Journal has more information on the visa situation. I have an EU passport, so can't personally address the possibility of a work visa for an American - but my school says it's very difficult and time consuming to get.

I have been to Sicily three times and it's beautiful. It is still quite traditional regarding the roles of men and women and unemployment is very high there, but the people are among the friendliest in Italy.
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James Stunell



Joined: 29 Aug 2003
Posts: 21

PostPosted: Thu Sep 11, 2003 6:50 am    Post subject: Working in Sicily Reply with quote

Very difficult without an EU passport. Most schools offer you a freelance contract - for which you can't get a working visa. You would need to be offered a "dipendente" contract for that. No school in their right mind would offer you one of those without knowing you extremely well, due to the rigidity of Italy's labour laws. And even if you do find a school willing to do so, they would have to jump through bureacratic hoops to get you a visa (even more difficult in what is still a very backward part of the country). And the fact that there are so many Americans with EU passports looking for work in Italy makes your situation very difficult. I'm not saying it's impossible, but be prepared for a lot of setbacks.
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Carolineos



Joined: 13 Apr 2003
Posts: 3
Location: Banyoles, Spain

PostPosted: Fri Sep 26, 2003 2:21 am    Post subject: Quagi in Sicily Reply with quote

Sicily's a great place but don't work for Quagi schools, trust me.
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Andare



Joined: 08 Jul 2003
Posts: 43
Location: Czech Republic

PostPosted: Thu Oct 02, 2003 4:01 pm    Post subject: Sicily Reply with quote

The earlier advice sums up the visa issue very well. On the off chance that you do get something sorted, Sicily is a great place to teach. It's a bit of a hassle to get around unless you have a car, and don't figure on too many trips north of Calabria, but get a job somewhere like Siracusa (two good schools there), Palermo or Messina and you'll be laughing. I'd steer clear of Catania unless you like tripping over used syringes though. Or maybe I'm just biased Wink
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grahamb



Joined: 30 Apr 2003
Posts: 1945

PostPosted: Fri Oct 03, 2003 12:37 pm    Post subject: Used syringes in Catania Reply with quote

Does it have a big drug problem?
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Andare



Joined: 08 Jul 2003
Posts: 43
Location: Czech Republic

PostPosted: Sun Oct 05, 2003 8:49 am    Post subject: Catania Reply with quote

To be honest, the drug problem in Catania is probably no worse than in any other European or North American city of an equivalent size. There have been a couple of busts there in recent years with stuff coming across from North Africa and Malta, but the Mafia culture is arguably much more entrenched on the west of the island, especially in Palermo and Trapani. I did see more than a few used syringes lying in the lava dust in the streets off the Duomo though, and it's a much rougher town than, say, Siracusa or Ragusa. Try the Curva Nord on a Sunday afternoon and you'll know what I mean!
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SueH



Joined: 01 Feb 2003
Posts: 1022
Location: Northern Italy

PostPosted: Sun Oct 05, 2003 9:37 pm    Post subject: Catania Reply with quote

Do their Ultras have a team they love to hate then? I still have my Cagliari Ultras scarf from 1990 when I went there for the world Cup and met up with the local fans - great time, but their local rivals were only Sassari:-).

Chi non salta � carabiniere

Sue
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Andare



Joined: 08 Jul 2003
Posts: 43
Location: Czech Republic

PostPosted: Mon Oct 06, 2003 3:38 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I think they hate Messina more than anyone else - a Messina fan actually died during a play-off game against Catania a couple of years back when he was hit on the head by some object or other inside the ground. I always preferred the Southlanders at Siracusa but Serie D's not exactly the highest standard of football in the world.
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Frater



Joined: 17 Apr 2003
Posts: 42

PostPosted: Thu Oct 09, 2003 9:45 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

CATANESE BASTARDO
BENVENUTO ALL'INFERNO
MESSINA TI ASPETTA
ETNA = VESUVIO
CATANIA COME POMPEI
TI ODIO CT

(Some graffiti I saw today in a station on the way to Messina)

But in Messina, we also hate Reggio Calabria.

My favourite piece of graffiti on this topic is the beatifully simple

RC=HIV

'Frater'
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