Job Discussion Forums

[wheatifus]

I am planning to go to Quito in mid March to get a teaching job. I'm going on my own and was wondering if anyone is already there I could meet up with, who could help me find my feet and give me advice on finding teaching jobs and places to stay/live? Would be good to get to know some people already there. Even if you cant meet up, any advice would be really appreciated.

I have been in contact with a language school in Quito and I have a potential job... They are offering 40 hours a month (but the hourly wage is good at 7.5.) Would that be enough to live on or is necessary to get an additional job?

Cheers, I'm grateful for any help as this will be my first teaching job and just want to make sure I know what to expect before I get there. Plus the safety net of being able to meet up with anyone would be a great help!

Thanks

Jen (from Bristol, UK)

[matttheboy]

40 hours at $7.5 is $300 a month and you'll probably need to supplement a little to have enough money to be happy with. Who's offered you the job? $7.50 is a pretty good rate so i'm guessing KLS or EIL?? If it's not either of them then i'd recommend KLS as the bosses there are incredibly nice. Read Patrick and Hugh's posts in the job info journal as they both say pretty much the same as me. I worked with Patrick and have some good friends who knew hugh, both are good sources of trustworthy info.

If you're on your own then i would definitely recommend trying to live where i was in Lizardo Garcia (between Juan Leon Mera and Reina Victoria), a house for foreigners right in the centre of everything, lots of people coming and going, everyone has ecuadorian friends so you get to meet a lot of people very quickly. A bit of a party house as well-i met some ecuadorians, got chatting and told where i was living..'Ah, vives en la casa de la felicidad!!!' (although it was much much quieter when i went back to visit and most of the people in the house had changed).

It's owned by a woman called selma who also owns a hostel that i can't remember the name of on the corner of Rodriguez and Reina Victoria and last time i was there (march 2004) a room cost $180 a month all utilities included, a maid 3 times a week, cable tv, pool table, kitchen, garden...

Good luck and any more questions get in touch, chau, matt

[Justin Trullinger]

Hey Jen (and Matt)
I'm betting it's KLS, or maybe Inlingua. (If it were EIL I would know about it, and I don't )
In any case, Jen: PM me, I'll pass you an email, and we should get in touch. I'm in Quito, and will be for sometime, so I'm always happy to help.
$7.50 an hour is pretty good. 40 hours a month is pretty ungood. But it�s not exactly a demanding schedule, so you should be able to find other hours to fill it in, no problem. (Again, talk to me about this. Maybe I can help.)
And, Matt, when were you here? I've seen you recommend that place on Lizardo Garcia before. And in fairness, I've heard it used to be pretty good. But, I think prices have gone up since then. ANd the neighborhood has gone down a bit. It's become "gringolandia," and it's a good neighborhood for getting overcharged, meeting other foreigners, not speaking spanish, and getting robbed. (But the restaurtants are still among the best in Quito. And it's the only place to find a decent margarita!)
Anyway Jen, it depends on your tastes a bit. It's a happenning, party kind of spot down in "gringolandia." But if cable TV, pool table, etc are not so important to you, your $300 a month may go farther if you look around, check into a more moderate hostel, and find a flatshare. (often 100-150 dollars a month, sometimes less. No maid service though.)
In any case, get in touch.
Regards,
Justin

[matttheboy]

well i was there from september to december 2003 so a while ago now. I went back for a few days in march 2004 to fly back to blighty and catch up with friends etc.

The house had changed quite a bit in march-much, much less of a party house and most people that i'd lived with had moved on. It was, i think $180-200 for a room at that point but i guess it's gone up since then. The house was great for meeting people after first arriving and also for meeting ecuadorians. It was also really nice to have a sociable living room, always full of 'interesting' types...it's a safe house as well, behind a big fence on a busy street. I honestly don't know what it's like anymore though, my ecuadorian friends say they haven't been there since i was last there either.

The area was called Gringolandia long before i was there and for good reason but i found the most convenient place to live for work (20 minutes on the bus+walk to KLS) and also to where all my students were. Being near Amazonas is a big help for getting around. There's also a cracking Indian run by an indian guy from aldershot 1 minute away which is always a bonus. If you stay the hell away from papaya net (it's like starting a new school in there, everyone trying to make eye contact and new friends and everyone's about 18 yeards old) and eat in the very cheap local restaurants dotted around (especially the swarma places) then it's not particularly expensive and you'll save lots of money on taxi fares when you go out at night.

It is indeed a bit of a suspect area, there being 2-3 blocks which are safe and the ones surrounding these blocks a bit sketchy after dark but i was only mugged once and it was my fault really, walking home drunk from a club. Otherwise i didn't really feel threatened.

Away from el mariscal, i had foreign friends in guapalo (sp?), an area i really liked, quite boho, an amazing pizza restaurant and great views into the valley. It's a reasonably safe area once you're there but the steps up and down are a bit dodgy and they're a killer at 2800m as well...it's a bit further away and a bit of a hassle especially if you've got 8am lessons (and you will)...the north of the city is the safest but really, really, really boring, full of middle-class to rich quitenos who are too afraid to come out from behind their high, electrified fences.

Oh, justin-do you have to go and paint houses and do community work at EIL? i was offered a job there but chose KLS partly because i couldn't be arsed to give up my precious weekends for that (but mostly because KLS bosses were so top).

[wheatifus]

Cheers guys for info!

The job is with Inlingua (good guess) but I was slightly wrong on wage... its 7.2, (for all the difference it makes). But as you think Matt, it isn't going to be enough to live on, perhaps I will check out KLS or EIL as extras. Cheers both of you for those suggestions.

As for places to live... think I'll just have to live in a hostel when I first arrive and look into places around, either in 'gringolandia' or further afield (although Justin, your description of 'gringolandia' doesn't fill me with much desire to go there!) I'm not really arsed where it is but obviously want it to be reasonably cheap (I'm worried about my bank account more than home comforts) and safeish with the possibility of being able to meet people quite easily, Ecuadorians or foreigners... I don't really want boring so better stay away from the north! Guess I'll just have to see what's best when I'm there.

Justin, would be great to meet up, thanks for that... I'm slightly nervous of this leap of faith so it helps put my mind at rest. I'm arriving on 16th March, hoping to stay for about a year. Will pm for email address.

Anyway, thank you both, really useful info.

Cheers!

Jennie

[Justin Trullinger]

Hi Again-
Be in touch, Jen, and we'll try to see you when you get here!
And Matt, different strokes for different for different folks. I happen to like doing volunteer work. That said, I keep my weekends pretty free, getting some volunteering experiences in between my teaching. It's a great way to see more of the "real" Ecuador! Yeah, theoretically full time teachers (meaning those who have their visas sponsored by us) have to do 8 hours volunteer work a month. But it isn't really too demanding, and I've made some great friends that way.
Out of curiosity, do you remember who interviewed you when you were here? (It wasn't me, was it? I don't think so, but I'm drawing a bit of a blank, and the face in your photo looks familiar.)
Happy weekend everybody,
Justin

[naturegirl321]

What is KLS?

[Justin Trullinger]

KLS is Key Language Services. I think they have a website, but don't know the address. Matt?

Regards,

Justin

[matttheboy]

www.keylanguage.net

A really really good place to work, best bosses in the world and good pay too

It's highly unlikely they'll reply to an email with CV attached. I sent mine in a little before arriving in Quito and then followed up when i got there and they had no recollection of getting the mail. They said they tend to delete emails with CVs attached as they get so many. You might get lucky though.

Oh, Justin, i think (but i'm remembering from over 18 months ago now) that an american girl called Karen interviewed me...possibly..?