Job Discussion Forums

MO39 · Posted: Mon Aug 08, 2005 9:21 pm Post subject: What's Life Like in Oaxaca?

I have been offered a good job teaching English at a brand-new public university located in a little town (pop. 3000) about an hour's bus ride from Oaxaca City. Since there will be very little to do on campus and in the town itself once my teaching duties are taken care of, I expect to spend many weekends in Oaxaca. I would love to hear from anyone currently living in or near Oaxaca City; I don't have any friends there at the moment but would love to make some new ones!

MELEE · Posted: Tue Aug 09, 2005 2:44 pm Post subject:

I used to go to Oaxaca City as often as evey other weekend. But now I rarely go. It's very charming, very nice, and have many many things to spend your money on! But in a way I feel like its not real.
see this thread
I was in Morelia from January to July and while it is similar in its colonial buildings and proximity to other cultural and wilderness sites, Morelia has the feel of a live city where people really live and work, While Oaxaca's Centro Historico feels like a contrived tourist attaction to me.

The other teachers at this new university (the Mexicans, I believe there will only be one or two English teachers) will also be from other places, so they will be a good source of new friends. Besides, if you're going to be a the campus that I think your talking about the area is so beautiful, who'd want to leave.

MO39 · Posted: Tue Aug 09, 2005 7:58 pm Post subject:

Melee,

I will be English teacher #2 at this new school once I officially accept the position, which should happen very, very soon. From what I've been told, the campus is in a lovely area, just a stroll down the road from a quaint (but real) small town of 3000 and surrounded by beautiful countryside good for walking and hiking. I haven't been to Oaxaca City in quite a few years, so I wasn't aware of how bad the pollution had gotten - thanks for the warning (from your attached thread) - I'll be sure to bring my allergy eye drops with me. I had been concerned about making new friends in a fairly isolated place (my nearest friends in Mexico are in the D.F.), so your words about the imported Mexican faculty are cheering. Your mention of Morelia is quite a coincidence because before this job came up, I had been thinking about moving there this fall or next spring, though without a solid job offer in hand.

Mil gracias

MO

ls650 · Joined: 10 May 2003 Posts: 3484 Location: British Columbia

ls650 · Joined: 10 May 2003 Posts: 3484 Location: British Columbia

MO39 · Posted: Tue Aug 09, 2005 9:22 pm Post subject:

That's good news for my sensitive sinuses!

MixtecaMike · Joined: 19 Nov 2003 Posts: 643 Location: Guatebad

Meelee saying unkind things about Oaxaca, I'm shocked!!!!!!

I thought Plaza del Valle and surroundings was OK: KFC, McDonalds, supermarkets, big play area for the kids, but then my idea of good places to visit is quite different from most peoples. Smile

Yet I'm still in a small city with no Walmart or McDonalds, because I do like clean air and no crowds. Oh, the sacrifice...

(For all my hippy/anti-business/anti-globalism friends and co-posters, please don't get upset, I'm only teasing.)

moonraven · Joined: 24 Mar 2004 Posts: 3094

My former partner did his Master's thesis on Air Pollution in Oaxaca City in 1997. He also presented those findings at El Colegio Nacional in Mexico City in 1999 in a national conference of experts in the field. They were subsequently given to the Mayor of Oaxaca City.

So far as he knows, no real measures have been taken to date to control the problem--and population and polluters have increased since his research was done, although the biggest problem continues to be the brick factories, which shoot a steady stream of particles into the air.

I have not been there for a year--but the air then was still the asthma-producing nightmare of previous visits.

I have to agree with MELEE that it's basically a tourist place now. The Centro Historico looks like a set getting ready to be shot by Gabriel Figueroa. Food and lodging are very overpriced and the quality is mediocre.

delacosta · Joined: 14 Apr 2004 Posts: 325 Location: zipolte beach

What's the name of the little town where you're going to be working? It can't be Miahuatlan, as that's way more than 3,000 people...

MELEE · Posted: Wed Aug 10, 2005 6:28 pm Post subject:

Tony there are several new universities opening up (more than I think the state can support by the way) Miahautlan is up to 4 teachers I think. I suspect that MO39 is heading to the Itxlan vicinity. (If it weren't for the kids, the house, the dog, the in-laws, etc. I'd have gone there myself.)

MO39 · Posted: Wed Aug 10, 2005 9:46 pm Post subject:

Yes, Melee is right - the new university is located in Ixtlan. Has anyone at Dave's ever been there? What were your impressions of the place? If I take this job, it would be an important part of my life, at least "entresemana".

delacosta · Joined: 14 Apr 2004 Posts: 325 Location: zipolte beach

Ixtlan, eh? WOW! I knew they were opening a school there but as the poster said an hour from Oaxaca city it didn't occur to me that it could be there. I'm not sure how long it would take to get there by car or bus but it took me over eight by bike from downtown Oaxaca-and I think i jumped on a chivera for the last hour.

How would I describe Ixtlan? Idylic. Beautiful. Peaceful. It's what you would imagine a small village nestled in the middle of a pine forest to be-cobble stone streets, nicely built houses, very friendly people, and in this case clean as a whistle. I have been contemplating going there myself, perhaps after my sabbatical in a couple of years time.

You would need to be fluent in Spanish I believe to become part of the community. There isn't much in the form of 'entertainment' or cultural pursuits. But the surrounding scenery is some of the most breathtaking and untouched that I've seen in all of Mexico. If you're into mountain biking, hiking, camping, etc you'll have a blast.

Of course the first couple of years of the University opening and getting things organized will be very challenging...

MELEE · Posted: Thu Aug 11, 2005 2:34 pm Post subject:

DelaCosta is right on.
My husband and I have often talked about going there when he's finally done studying. However DelaCosta is also right that the first few (maybe the first ten!) will be very challenging work wise. The vice-rector administrativa is from UTM and very much on the "rector's team"!

MO39 · Posted: Thu Aug 11, 2005 6:21 pm Post subject:

Delacosta, thanks for your evocative description of Ixtlan - makes me want to leave yesterday and get away from the awful heat wave the east coast of the US has been suffering from most of this summer. I've found a website that says that Ixtlan is 61 kilometers from Oaxaca City; the person I've been in touch with about this job (English Teacher #1) wrote me that the trip from Oaxaca City to Ixtlan takes about an hour by bus on a "twisty" road. My Spanish is on the fluent side, though this won't help me if I encounter any Zapotec speakers I want to chat with; I've heard that many of the townspeople are bilingual. This would be a chance for me to pick up bits and pieces of a third language!

Melee, what is the UTM and what are the implications of the Vice-Rector Administrativa being on the "Rector's team"? If there's any useful information you feel comfortable imparting to me, could you send me a pm?

Thanks to all for all your comments!

delacosta · Joined: 14 Apr 2004 Posts: 325 Location: zipolte beach

MELEE I've been wondering that myself, how is this massive (umm massively misplaced?) project going to be financed? It seems that it is a black hole of money...
MO39 I think what M is referring to is the fact that this system is extremely autocratic in nature, i.e. decisions come from the top down-from one rector who is now in charge of 10 public universities strewn across Oaxaca. They are all essentially based on the model devised for the original university, Universidad Tecnologica de la Mixteca, in Juajapan, where MELEE works. As the rector doesn't allow anyone but himself to make decisions, anyone in administrative or academic positions is quite limited in their ability to do their job and make the required decisions as they come up. Hence most in those positions are there based on their ability to say 'yes sir' rather on their ability to do a good job. I'm not saying that many of them don't do as good a job as they can under the circumstances, but they, and hence the rest of those that work in this system, are severely limited as to what they (we) can do. This is very unfortunate. Even if the rector were the only person capable of establishing an adequate university in this difficult state, I believe it is next to impossible to maintain the degree of control that he has, in the past, maintained over 10 universities-all of which , in addition ,are where they are, in part, because of their remote locations.
Am I more or less describing it as it is MELEE?

But hey, don't worry about the above, enjoy your little piece of paradise!