Job Discussion Forums

[ls650]

[delacosta]

So true. The universities along the coast are out on the edge of civilization.

Civilization is highly over-rated. I love living on the edge of civilization. But yes, it's not for everyone. One is alone with oneself, and that, for many people, is supremely difficult. It often seems to me that western concepts of 'civilization' are geared to never having to be alone with oneself, the goal being a never ending series of distractions with which to keep oneself occupied- movies, theatre, endless shopping possibilities, the Sunday New York Times, etc etc. Yes thank god for the internet, perish the thought of being alone with an unoccupied mind...why one might go crazy. Hey, isn't that the topic of this thread?

[moonraven]

It's not just the universities on the coast. If you look at the rest of that system of universities, you will see that they are all in spots considered to be undesirable for one reason or another.

The idea was to give access to a university education to folks in those marginal areas--which is an idea I support. The problem is that the university should also take into account the needs of its faculty for decent food and housing, at least. The on-campus housing, where it is in place, serves very few--leaving the rest of the faculty to compete for mostly uninhabitable living spaces with a growing student population. My digs on the coast were okay--but they also cost me 2,000 pesos per month. My digs in Loma Bonita were something out of El Chavo del Ocho crossed with a survival show.

To contextualize my comments, my home base is in the "campo"--a small town in Morelos. It's rustic--although we do have a microwave and a washer--neither of which I consider a necessity. You can't buy books there, or go to the movies. But there is a movie theater 15 minutes away, as well as a decent used bookstore. And it's two hours to downtown Mexico City. I am perfectly happy to live under those conditions. But having a movie theater and a bookstore only available during vacations doesn't cut it for me. And I am a museum-goer.

The bottom line here is that most folks who have the educational background congruent with being university professors have developed habits of reading and writing and attending cultural events--the positive elements of civilization, as it were--and do not take kindly to being deprived. The negative elements I can certainly do without: t.v., WalMart, etc. But reconstructing the Dark Ages under the guise of providing a university education doesn't make a lot of sense to me.

I am surprised we haven't heard from Mixteca Mike about this....

[delacosta]

It looks like the Mexico faction is hijacking this thread.
I get your point MR, about location being a factor in what makes life difficult down here, but I would have to disagree that it is the causal factor in this system's huge revolving door. I have seen many hard working, well-qualified professors leave here over the years, and in probably 95% of the cases it has been because of the inadequacies of the system, not because of the poor local infrastructure or lack of cultural activities. Although when taken together, perhaps the decision to leave is made a bit easier.

[JZer]

Well, since we are trying to decide whether the job or the location is the factor then I would like to ask everyone a question! Who would stay at a lousy job that they only have to be there 20-25 hours a week if the location was great? Lets say that the location has plenty of books, history, culture to explore, clubs, attractive members of the opposite sex, etc!

Of course many people stay in China because they only have to work 20-25 hours a week and it does not even have all these great things.

[Norman Bethune]

[merlin]

[Cleopatra]

[moonraven]

Merlin: I DID meditate. And my enlightened status left me no choice but to leave the place.

Otherwise, I might still be there--suffering the slings and arrows of life at land's end, along with doltex and delacosta.

It's no picnic for students, either. I remember the day we worked with the Dylan song, "What's a Sweetheart Like You Doing in a Dump Like This".....

[Justin Trullinger]

But, Moonraven, I know you brought the song with you! I doubt you could buy it there!

A note on the subject of working for NGOs. People often assume the salaries are higher, but NGOs, and their salaries, come in all shapes and sizes. (I'm in a small one, with a medium to small salary.) Sometimes the hiring requirements are influenced by this as well. In some NGOs, willingness to turn up and work for the money involved is about as demanding as they can get.

Regards,
Justin

[moonraven]

Yes, I had the song with me. Not the original Bob version, though. You never know when that song will come in handy....

[delacosta]

Jeez MR with the pretty picture we've painted how in the world are we going to get new victims, I mean teachers, down here to work...

[moonraven]

There are always potential victims.

There is an LA surfer type suffering here in Quito who is interested....

[delacosta]

noooo, no surfers, please, noooo

[moonraven]

How about if he is a middle-aged surfer? He has grey hair, anyway. And some EFL experience.